why the 50 rep of crunches???

[decypheredbeats]

something that gets me about boxing is that they always having you do 50 or 100 reps of situps. Well the abdominals are made of of predominatly fast twitch fiber, same as all the other large muscle groups in your body. So tell me, would you do 100 reps of bench press? I dont think so. Exceeding 30+ seconds on any specific excercise starts dumping lastic acid in your muscle wich essentially destroys it. So to build bigger stronger functionable muscle the Ideal rep range is 12 or less under 20 seconds. Granted the 50+ method might build endurance, and throwing punches is alot of abs, But you are not constantly throwing a barrage of punches for over 30 seconds, you rest for a little bit betweeb each punch, So your glycogen and ATP levels will be restored.

SO please explain? Is it just a tradition that coaches are stuck in even though modern science disagrees OR is there any scientific validity to it. please explain....

[hashpuppet]

Its for getting hit in the stomach for 10 rounds, endurance is important.

[decypheredbeats]

Originally posted by hashpuppet
Its for getting hit in the stomach for 10 rounds, endurance is important.

wouldnt training repetetive blows to the stomach be a much more effective solution? and then explosive ab contractions while training abs build more core strength?

[sercuerdas]

that yoga breathing is probably best as far as taking punches goes. becuase taking apunch is about tensing the core and not curling your spinal column like the way crunches work.

[hashpuppet]

They do both, but abs are like armor so they need to have good endurance.

[decypheredbeats]

Originally posted by hashpuppet
They do both, but abs are like armor so they need to have good endurance.

armor needs to be strong, and you are correct, the abs protect your inner organs kinda like our ribcage, but muscle.

but I still dont buy that shit, muscles dont grow when your are doing 100 reps and they are filled with lactic acid.....

they grow when you keep the lactic acid out and put protien in.

[hashpuppet]

Muscles still grow when you do 100 reps, just not as much. They have better endurance that way. It's more important for boxers to have fairly strong abs that protect them for 10 rounds than really strong abs that only protect them for 2.

[Bau13]

why would fairly strong Abs protect better than really strong ones?

Do bigger muscles wear out faster when they get punched???

No...

Stronger Abs= more protection


Its not how many reps you can do... its the QUALITY of your reps... you have to really get that pump in the abs to get an efficient work out. Hold and squeeze the abs as tight as you can for each rep.

For me I do 4 sets of 25 slow and controlled reps.

If you can do 100 proper reps in one go then you are either a freak or you are doing them wrong...

your abs should start to burn within the 20-25th rep if youre doing crunches properly.

[hashpuppet]

You don't understand, higher and faster reps build more endurance. It's not about strength, sure the guy who does 20 with weight behind his head is gonna have stronger abs but he won't be able to consistently get hit and tighten them through a long fight.

[ad_infinitum]

Originally posted by Bau13
If you can do 100 proper reps in one go then you are either a freak or you are doing them wrong...

your abs should start to burn within the 20-25th rep if youre doing crunches properly.

Define "proper" execution and I will give you my max.
Is it situps or crunches? Where are the hands? Are the legs secured? Be as descriptive as you can to have a good reference.

Aside from that, in my experience doing situps and crunches is pretty much like running (once you get used to it you can go it a long way)

[grubbogoppoly]

"in my experience doing situps and crunches is pretty much like running"
Wow, I don't think you realized it but that was actually more true than you know, at least for the sit up that is.
The part after the crunch that makes it a sit up. Well, that initiates the use of your hip flexors not your abs. In running you obviously need your hip flexors. But, anyways the real point I was going to make was that sit ups don't isolate the abs as well as crunches do. If you are looking for pure abdominal isolation go for the crunches.
I am sure MOST of you know this but just thought I would throw it out there for those of you who didn't know.

[hashpuppet]

I can do crunches until the sun comes up, even when I feel the burn, if I ignore it I can going for a long time until muscle failure and I've only been training seriously since the beginning of the summer.

[Thai Bri]

Then you're not doing crunches.

Theres a "knack" to performing them correctly. I know people who reckon they can do hundreds of press ups. When you watch what they are actually doing.... it certainly aint press ups.

[decypheredbeats]

Originally posted by Thai Bri
Then you're not doing crunches.

Theres a "knack" to performing them correctly. I know people who reckon they can do hundreds of press ups. When you watch what they are actually doing.... it certainly aint press ups.

CORRECT

Im sure I could sit there and do hundreds, but I wouldnt be doing abs, the correct way to do ab work is to contract the abs for each rep, let the contraction do the movement. Many people dont know this and they wonder why their abs still suck.

I like rope crunches and machines for hard targeted ab work. Even 12 reps of bodywieght crunches should give you considerable work.

of and to the people taking about "burn" after alot of reps, This is lactic acid breaking down your muscle, it is not a correct way to gauge your workout...

[sercuerdas]

i believe in doing incline sit ups over crunches. sure your hip flexors come into play, but you rare would use just your abs in moving. if training for sports you shouldn'y isolate, but work compound movements.