Crunches and odd 40-year olds from northern Sweden

[Bigger Daddy Shinryuu]

Hello again! Now I know I said that I would join a gym when school started. Well, ironically enough, now that I have the money I don't have the time. *Sigh*

Well, one of my questions is what is the best ab exercise? Is it old style sit-ups, or crunches (the ones I am doing)?

Also, a question on one-legged squats... What do I do with the other leg? I can't find a comfortable position.

And, a classmate of mine (he is 40-something, no disrespect for the older guys on this board), said that walking burns more fat than bicycling... I said hell no! I explained to him that one would never get near ones maximum heart rate by walking (unless you are walking very fast). He asked me "Why would you wan't to get your heart rate up?". It became a long discussion and after a while I sighed and gave up, well, I guess that explains how little he knows... Or does walking burn more fat?

[Priapus2000]

Shinryuu, your friend who said walking burns more fat than bicycling is right. He is talking about calories burned over a fixed distance. In other words, a 10 km walk will burn more calories than a 10 km bicycle ride because you have a mechanical advantage with the bike.

Incidentally you burn the same number of calories if you run a km as if you walk a km. The only advantage to running is you are done quicker and get a better cardio vascular workout, which is not the same as calories burned.

As to your question about exercises. I assume you are talking about exercises that you can do without weights and other equipment in a place such as an apartment. That being the case here are two excellent ones you might want to try:

1. Superman pushups - These are the most difficult type of pushup and will exercise every muscle in your upper body. These are done by lying on the floor with your feet in the standard pushup position and your arms straight out in front of you as if you are superman flying through the air. Now try to raise your body off the ground keeping your arms and legs straight. Few people, no matter how fit they are, can do more than one without knowing the secret. The secret is you start by putting a couple of phone books or a stack of magazines 8" high under your pelvis. If you can do more than 10 superman pushups then move the phone books back a few inches towards your feet until you are at a point where you can only do about 7 or 8. Whenever you find that you are able to do 10 or more move the phone books back a few inches. Eventually, after several months, they will reach your feet and you can dispense with them altogether. At this point you can amaze your friends with your strength. Even though they are pushups they are also an excellent ab and back exercise. In fact I think they work your abs harder than crunches.

2. Sissy squats - Don't let the name fool you, these are great for working your quads. To do them grab onto a railing, door handle or other solid object strong enough to support your weight with one hand. Now lean back, rising onto the balls of your feet, until your torso is parallel to the floor. Using only your legs, pull yourself back to a standing position and repeat for as many reps as you can. Try to avoid using your arm to pull yourself back up.

[Bigger Daddy Shinryuu]

I guess I'd better apologize to him... =) But if you look at the activity calculator on www.cyberdiet.com and enter your weight and time (say 35 minutes) on the activity calculator (it is under assessment tools) it says that bicycling burns more calories than walking. Is it because it only takes in the time factor instead of the distance factor?

Superman pushups and sissy squats. Hmm. I think I will find some time to go to a gym anyways... =)