Is there a way to a 6-pack abs...

[idontknow]

...without going to a gym or buying expensive equipment, even if it takes a long, long time? My New Year's Resolution is to do at least 500 crunches everyday, & if i somehow skip a day, i do a total of 1000 the next day, in addition to doing other workouts maybe (like Up-Downs, Push Ups, etc.) Is this worth my effort?

[Rainman]

Doing so much crunches will probably get you pretty fit abs. Mind you that it is ok to take a break every once in a while. It gives the abs time to build up.

However, you're not going to get noticable results if you've got a layer of fat over them.

[vegeta1215]

If you do 500 cruches a day, I think you will definitely get a 6-pack. As a side effect you will also probably pass out from exhaustion (I would)

[Pablo]

Maybe 500 crunches every other day would be a good plan, that seems like a quick way to severe pain and slow muscle building. Alternating days gives your muscles a chance to rest, like Rainman said, and it helps avoid injury.

[mikeron]

You need to develop your abdominal muscles, especially the rectus abdominis, and decrease your body fat. Doing a bunch of crunches every single day can be counter productive, as your muscles need a day of rest to grow. Check out The Abs Diet (http://shop.menshealth.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10004&storeId=10053&productId=14778&langId=-1)

[{DSG}DarkRaven]

Holy crap, five hundred a day? A little ambitious, aren't we? I'd start out a lot lower, depending on how good of shape you're in, and then slowly work your way up. Starting off with that many will more than likely make you too sore to keep it up after day one, since you'll be sore for about two or three days afterwards with such a strenuous workout. And of course, trying to make up for it by doing 1500 after that, well, I don't think I have to tell you how incredibly bad of an idea that is.

Exercise doesn't stack, like working overtime on a job. You work your body to a certain limit, and it increases your muscles. But working too much past that limit won't make your muscles get huge suddenly. You'll be counter-productive like Mikeron said, and like I said, it won't get you anything but a sore abdomen for a few days.

Also, don't work out with just your abs. Working your entire body, alternating which area to work on day by day, will speed up the whole process of losing body fat and replacing it with muscle. Plus, it'd just be silly if you had rock hard abs and flabby arms.

[Archibaldo]

Last year I took weight lifting in Gym class. My teacher said that you shouldn't exercise the same muscle two days in a row because you have to let the abs heal. Because when you excersise,what your doing is ripping apart the muscle and the way it gets bigger is it grows new muscles overlapping your torn ones. Get it? No pain, no gain.
Also you should eat plenty of protein, because that builds cells.

[Brasel]

Actually, abs might be one of the only muscles you can excercise on a daily basis. I might be wrong, I can't remember. I'll tell you later, when I get back to the daily army thing.

How many you do to get to the six pack really depends on how far you are from it. If you're fat like me, you'll never get there. Remember, don't just do the normal crunch, try to work as much of your abs as possible by doing other sorts of crunches as well...yeah.

[Drunken Tiger]

About two years ago, i done 100 every two days.. and got there in about 5 months.. But then i slacked off and aslo got sick.. so its reduced to nothing.. ;)

I tried everyday to begin with, doing more harm than good...

[Lutraphobiac]

It seemed to me that the only people who had abs in high school were people who were athletic and did other exercise besides abs. One was a cross country runner who ran almost 10 miles a day over the summer. Maybe jogging could help.

I too want abs, and I have been doing crunches every time I work out which is three times a week. I am pretty skinny now, but I have only a hint of abs.

[Pangolin]

Put one of those electfofieying things on you. They give you horrid electric shocks, which tense and untense your muscles, thus, after some long peroid of time, they cause a gym-less, excersize free 6 pack.
However, who'd chose to be electrofied?

[idontknow]

It seemed to me that the only people who had abs in high school were people who were athletic and did other exercise besides abs. One was a cross country runner who ran almost 10 miles a day over the summer. Maybe jogging could help

Ironic! I was a cross country runner in high school! Yet i've never really had abs--i'm just a skinny stick. Actually, i am fairly fit, i just dont have the stomach & muscles i want so i'm trying to do crunches everday, or maybe 2 out of every 3 days, to help shape myself, especially since i've sorta stopped running since i've been at college.