hi,
i am getting very frustrated here
after having baby,6 months back i have been contolling my diet since a month now and do half an hour cardio and ab crunches for 10 minutes daily.
i started the crunches week back and since then i have gained 5lbs.
what the heck is this?
i am eating the same diet and measuring each and everything
any idea whats happening?
another question,
when i started doing the crunches i use to feel tightenings in my whole area(front only),now they are not that intense as they use to be
any idea y is that happening??

thanks for listening
huma

i guess you could have plateu'd although i am not sure it happens that quickly.......maybe try increasing your reps or if they are too easy maybe try something alittle more challenging. as for gaining weight i have no idea my fiancee gained abit after having our baby. what are you doing the crunches for?? maybe try doing some other ab exercises. i am probably plagerising ll over the place here and apologise for any offence but try looking at this http://s6.invisionfree.com/MACentral...hp?showtopic=7 alternatively there are loads of posts about abs here. hope this helps and most important of all stick wih it

What is happening is that your body is adapting to the crunches...simple as that. Whatever overload you subject your body to must be continously progressed in order to get continued results. Try doing the crunches with your arms extended overhead, or with a weight across the chest, progressing to a weight held behind the head.

Inevitably, you are gaining some muscle mass. Like many people, you are making the mistake of just reading numbers off the scale. Yes, your weight has increased, but I would likely assume that your % body fat has slightly decreased and/or your muscle mass has slightly increased. Just remember that the weight on the scale tells you nothing about your body composition. How do you feel in your clothes? How does your body feel? Firmer, tighter? That's what counts!!

yes the good thing i noticed is that have started to fit into my clothes easily and my belly has tigtened a bit,,i hope to see more results.
now do i have to increase the reps of the crunches(i do the basic crunches)or should include some new ones?

p.s. thanks for the replies!!

i would include a few new ones. basic crunches are for starting out ... once your stomach has gotten used to being worked out, it's time to add variation ... possibly some weight, but i think that weight isn't necessary as there are so many variations that can challenge without weight

Like I said, doing the crunches with the arms overhead will increase the resistance (due to a longer resistance lever), so that you are not just increasing the reps. This would be a way to begin a progression, eventually followed, of course, by changing up your exercises completely.