Stomach and Lower back

[big man]

Hi Guys

Got fed up with myself a couple of months back, so changed my diet and started exercising (rowing twice a day - 5 times a week). I've managed to shift a couple of stone in the last 8 weeks, but altough it's a visible loss and i feel much better for it - i'm still carrying a massive gut around.

I need to shift this, and i guess that sit up's or crunches are very good for it, but on the downside, my lower back is quite weak (and i'm 6 foot 7) so when i do these, it really strains and hurts my back.

Can anyone recommend any exercises i could do to help shift the gut and / or stengthen my back ?

I'm prefereably looking for something that i can do at home without equipment if possible

Cheers in advance guys,


Big man

[ShadowMoses]

only real advice is cardio work, if you are using the rowing machine, in my experience it only really works the chest and back fully, so you will loose weight but wont be fully working on yer gut!

try and mix in a bit of treadmill work if you are comfortable, you say you are using the rower twice a day, really one good work out will be enough now as you have lost a lot of the weight you had, therefore try and substitute treadmill work for one of the rowing workouts a day. Say do rowing in the morning and running in the afternoon.

Running helps you to lose things like your gut, but it doesnt tone the muscles as much as sit-ups do (i finds anyway, it's different for some people), but if you just want to lose the excess flab then it's ideal

Sit-ups some people do find hard to do at first. How are you doing them, i.e your form when you do them, also are you trying to burn off 300 sit-ups a session, this can be a problem for some people if they have never done any situps before as their lower back and stomache aren't fully able to cope with it!

hope this helps!

Moses

[toto67]

Hi Bigman,

Well m8 sit-up n crunches etc are most good for when the excess fat is away,
as this in itself wont shift the fat m8 ..you need to do plenty of cardio m8 and
best time to lose fat is first thing in the morning and last thing at night m8.
exercise in the morning as you body is depleted and doing say 30 mins on stationery bike will burn up those calories and anything you eat after exercising will be burned up more quickly as your metabolism will be increased due to the bike etc..
Your body burns fat when you sleep so doing something before bed speeds up
your metabolism and burns more calories whilst sleeping..
You could do hyper-extension m8 or dead-lifts....but keep the d/lifts light to start off
not want to cause more grief to your lower back..
but you will need to get a barbel ,weights etc if you want to do it at home.
but best bet m8 is going along to you leisure centre and using their equip..
Training at home is fookin hard m8 cause theres always someone to annoy you,phone you and when you go to the gym you are surrounded by other ppl
training too,which in itself can make it a bit more bareable as thats what everyone is there for( well some ppl)
But up your cardio m8,and instead of just sticking to the same routine change
it and say spend 15mins bike,15 rower,15 walker etc then change again
after a few weeks ...you would be suprised how easy you body gets used to doing the same exercise...good luck:thumbs hope that helps.
anything else just lmk

[flumperino]

that's some really useful information guys, thanks

[big man]

Hi guys

Cheers for the quick responses

I know a lot of people have trouble training at home, but i'm actually find it easier (and a damn sight cheaper !) than a gym, but i can see your point.

At the moment, i'm not doing a great deal - 5 mins when i get up and then 10 mins when i get in from work before my dinner - about 3k a day on the rower, but i'm slowly increasing it as i get fitter. You said one good work out willl be enough, but i find that if i do that i get bored very easily and find stupid excuses for not doing it - so for the time being i'll stick to my two a day.

Running is a definite no unfortunately, as my knees are completely shot (and carrying all this weight hasn't helped them!) so it looks like i might have to get the old bike serviced and back out on the road as an extra

As for the weights, i've got some old dumbells somewhere, so i'll dig them out and give them a whirl.

And as for the sit-ups - no i'm not going straight in trying to do 300 at once I guess i'll have to work on my technique


Thank you both for the advice

Big man

[ShadowMoses]

lol no problems, i hadn't expected u were doing 300 lol

all i meant was to not go straight in the deep end with them, say try doing 15 in the morning and 15 at night, then when u find these EASY to do increase it and make yerself do 20 every time and so on, surprisingly you can build up the number you do quite quickly.

tbh though as far as technique goes u cant be told how to do it over here, someone has to show you and point you in the right direction. Perhaps you can ask a local gym worker or a friend that goes to the gym or trains at home to show you quickly. as it is quite hard to describe how to do them effectivly on a forum

Moses

[whatnow]

A dancer (ohhh lovely) taught me a good way to strenghten/tighten your back and abs.

lye down on your back
straighten your legs and body with your hands down by your side
lift your legs (kept straight) to roughly half a ft off the ground
tuck them into your body
straighten them again
(at all time do not drop your legs to the ground or use your hands)

if that is or gets simple try changing the bend to:

tuck your legs in
raise them so your body is flat out on the ground and your legs are 90 degrees upwards(and straight)
lower your legs and keep them straight (still hovering half a ft above ground)
reverese the procedure and keep that going.

btw - 10 of the first one is good for a beginner, 10 of the second is damn hard...it gets easier after the first few days of doing it. I find it works my entire front abs and not just eh six pack and it also helps my back (although not at first but time makes it better)

a good number is to do 20 compleate cycles of the harder one in the morning and maybe 30 in the evening...it's fooking hard work tho!!!!

good luck & hope it helps.

[big man]

Nice one mate - willl have to give that a try later

[easy]

If your looking to strengthen your lower back big man, try some of these: (but first a little background, i'm a field hockey player and as such i need a strong back as my sport requires alot of bending and low powerful stances)

The main excersise i would suggest is a Back Curl. Basicly your going to look like a Seal when doing this excersise if it helps you to imagine what i mean. Lie on your stomach (Tuck your tackle away at this point or much pain will follow). Now lying on your stomach with hands by your sides (they never move during this excersise) try and lift your chest off of the floor, once you lift your chest off of the floor all the muscles erecting the spine (your back muscles) are contracting ie. working so this is all you need at first. Now as with any fitness program i would suggest a test before doing any excersise for improvement, so if you'd like i can give you a number of excersises, stretches and ways of testing and comparing (that can be easily completed at home) for you to do?

Just give me the word and i'll write something up for you.

:thumbs

[ShadowMoses]

If your looking to strengthen your lower back big man, try some of these: (but first a little background, i'm a field hockey player and as such i need a strong back as my sport requires alot of bending and low powerful stances)

The main excersise i would suggest is a Back Curl. Basicly your going to look like a Seal when doing this excersise if it helps you to imagine what i mean. Lie on your stomach (Tuck your tackle away at this point or much pain will follow). Now lying on your stomach with hands by your sides (they never move during this excersise) try and lift your chest off of the floor, once you lift your chest off of the floor all the muscles erecting the spine (your back muscles) are contracting ie. working so this is all you need at first. Now as with any fitness program i would suggest a test before doing any excersise for improvement, so if you'd like i can give you a number of excersises, stretches and ways of testing and comparing (that can be easily completed at home) for you to do?

Just give me the word and i'll write something up for you.

:thumbs

is there any chance you can send me this if possible?? I am looking for more back exerecises to do at hime as atm i only do that kind of work in the gym with weights

if not no worries

cheers

Moses

[whatnow]

or just all get a good sticky going with just good exercises for all the common problems, like backs, stomaches, abs and all that stuff...just need to get all the good material together.

[easy]

Cool guys, i'm half way through writing a little something for all you to have a look at, i think the idea of stickys with an accumulation of this sort of thing i'm writing is a great idea. So get ready to say bye to those beer bellys :thumbs :thumbs

[ShadowMoses]

yeah sticky idea is a very good one, go for it!!

Moses

[toto67]

Hey Big-Man just thought id bring up this thread you started m8 to see how you are getting on.....hope that's ok .....Let us know if you have managed to keep at it and your experience too...hopefully help others m8....

[gunner]

Well hes no stick but he has definately lost some weight since he first posted this!

[chizh]

Most people suggest 'superman' exercises for back strengthening. Basically you get down on all fours and slowly raise and stretch out with opposite limbs. Right arm-left leg then left arm - right leg. This helps with stability and strength. You can also use a pilates ball or similar exercise ball one you feel confident with your balance and form. Take a look at :

http://www.diynet.com/diy/home/artic...273198,00.html

As for warming up, stand feet shoulders apart with arms by your side, palms in. Slowly bend to one side, keeping the palm of your hand in contact with the leg, toward the knee. Hold and then come back up to repeat on the other side. Never raise the heel or bend the leg and always keep yourself upright and looking forward. You'll feel a good stretch in the opposite side when you stretch down. Do remember, this is not a rapid exercise and you are not supposed to be rocking. Two or three seconds per movement should suffice, holding at each point right knee-upright-left knee-upright should take 12-15 seconds including holds.

[big man]

Hey Big-Man just thought id bring up this thread you started m8 to see how you are getting on.....hope that's ok .....Let us know if you have managed to keep at it and your experience too...hopefully help others m8....

I did lose some weight, but then i managed to break my rowing machine, and i've been crap since christmas. Tying to get the rowing machine fixed so i can get back into it as the gut is creeping back

Still, the 'diet' isn't too bad as i've managed to cut most of the crap out, but more importantly stopped my weekend Burger King Fix :whistle

It's still gonna take a while, but i'll get there

@ chizh. Cheers for that mate. Looks good

[toto67]

I did lose some weight, but then i managed to break my rowing machine, and i've been crap since christmas. Tying to get the rowing machine fixed so i can get back into it as the gut is creeping back

Still, the 'diet' isn't too bad as i've managed to cut most of the crap out, but more importantly stopped my weekend Burger King Fix :whistle

It's still gonna take a while, but i'll get there

@ chizh. Cheers for that mate. Looks good

Well try n not let that hinder your progress m8,try something different always try n change your exercise too..it can make it a bit more enjoyable than doing the same shit all the time...I cant emphasise enough but keep at it m8 any time you need help or anything just ask away