Old Forum Hardstyle Abs & Consistency

[David Whitacre]

Hi guys,

I've recently added hardstyle sit-ups to my training (doing 3-5 sets of 3 reps) but I've run into a problem. On my first 2-3 reps, I can get a really powerful contraction in the midsection (a near cramp!), but after those I can't seem to duplicate the effect. None of the reps after those first few produce that same level of contraction.

I've tried increasing the rest periods to 4-5 minutes after a 3 rep set, but still the quality seems to degrade with every set after the first.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Inuk]

Theres plenty of ways to work your midsection. So maybe you should switch to another exercise that works the midsection for a period and return to hardstyle sit-ups when you get stronger. Or you could just reduce your sets to only 1. Again just for a period of time. When you get stronger you always add more sets.

 

[Steve Freides]

David, cut the reps but keep the sets, e.g., do 3 singles instead of 3 rep sets. Build on that gradually, e.g., once you feel you can get three singles in good form, work on getting four then five singles in good form, then work on turning some of the singles into doubles and so on.

You may also experiment with frequency of training, e.g., if you're doing these 3x/week, try 2x/week instead and also 4x/week (e.g., Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri) to see if either of those feels better to you.

-S-

 

[Pavel]

David, Steve is right: cut your reps per set without reducing the total volume.

 

[David Whitacre]

I will give that a try! Thank you, gentlemen.