The Logic of Abs Training by Rossella Pruneti

Chances are you made only ten double leg raises and ten full sit-ups when in high school.
On the contrary, you have been doing a zillion of sit-ups in your lifetime – but your abs aren't much improved…
Also, you may be a fitness buff who includes his/her abs work at the end of the workout – and you always skip it altogether.
Since brief, high-intensity workouts are big nowadays, take advantage of your saved time and make the most of it training your abs!

“IF YOU CANNOT SEE SOMETHING, IT DOESN’T EXIST”

Since you probably haven't ever seen your own six pack, you may believe you don't have it. You have got it – you bet! Never think if you cannot see something, it doesn't exist.
When women began competing in body building events, in late 1980’s, they didn't need to show washboard abs. Nowadays, with all the hoopla about six pack, ripped abs are a must everywhere. Most remarkably, washboard abs are big outside the narrow realm of bodybuilding stages and gyms. Armani’s models and aerobic buffs have got their six pack too. Developing six pack has become a real, mainstream mania.

HOW MANY MUSCLES ARE THERE IN YOUR MIDSECTION?
Let’s go through abdominal anatomy – you may find out that we have got…

Rectus abdominus: from your sternum to your pelvic bone.
The rectus abdominus curls your spine forward and also keeps your trunk still when you exercise other parts of your body.

External obliques: run diagonally on the sides of your torso.
External obliques curl forward, twist, and bend your spine. Last but not least, external obliques provide lower back and bowels support.

Internal obliques: run diagonally on the sides of your torso.
Internal obliques have the same functions of external obliques.

Transversus abdominus: it sits beneath the rectus abdominus It’s the deepest muscle in your midsection.
Transversus abdominus provide an essential bowels support.

Doing the math, we have 1 rectus abdominus, 2 external obliques, 2 internal obliques, 1 transversus – 6 abdominal muscles in all!
Old abdominal training method and gym jargon get fitness beginner to formulate a peculiar, quirky theory on abs. This theory may be summarized in the following four conjectures:

FALSE CONJECTURE #1
There are upper abs and lower abs in your midsection.

Traci Redding

Upper and lower abs are entities brought up to existence by a linguistic ambiguity. Gym lingo – the jargon bodybuilders use to describe their physique and their training techniques and feelings – is a bit too prone to oversimplifications in human anatomy. In the gym your body consists of just delts, lats, pecs, abs, bis, tris, glutes, hams, quads, and calves. Nonetheless, gym lingo can even be such meticulous that you have exercises for upper lats and lower lats, upper and lower pecs, upper and lower abs.
Gym lingo doesn't want to be rocket science. You don't really have upper and lower abs. Actually, rectus abdominus – abs, for short – is one long, continuous muscle.
If you still like to believe in upper and lower abs, you can do two abs exercise that specifically emphasize the upper portion of your rectus abdominus and two that focus on the lower portion.

FALSE CONJECTURE #2
Abs aren't useful. Trim, strong abs benefit only appearance.

Abdominal muscle are a sort of natural girdle to hold in the basic contents of your abdominal cavity – liver, stomach, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, rectum and, if you are a woman, uterus and ovaries. You'll understand why it’s essential to take care of abs. A toned, strong midsection helps lower back to stand your trunk up and partially prevents you lower back pain.
In addition, the very fact all those bowels are held in only by tissues – peritoneum, muscle, fat, skin – explains you because your midsection easily changes in size. If these tissues are flabby – most of all the muscle tissue – your natural girdle is like a worn-out corset. Again, a strong set of abdominal muscles is vital for your physical health more than for your aesthetics.

FALSE CONJECTURE #3
Abs aren't muscles or else, if they are, they aren't like every other muscle group.

FALSE COROLLARY
Since abs aren't muscles, you don't need to care of their range of motion and muscular insertions. In addition, you don't have to train them according to progressive resistance training – that is for muscle.

The previous false conjectures and corollary urge me to approach “the logic of abs training”.

PROOFS & REFUTATIONS TO FALSE CONJECTURES

Nowadays exercise scientists teach us sit ups and leg raises aren't primary abdominal exercises. They also work hip flexors. Since hip flexors arise from the lower back, sit-ups and leg raises may give you back pain. Arnold Schwarzenegger also completely rewrote the abdominal training chapter in the 2nd edition of his Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (New York, Simon & Schuster, 1998) to meet current scientific opinion.
Mistakes that are common with abdominal training are all derived by the false assumption that abdominals aren't like all the other muscles. Here some proofs and refutations.

1) Abs work as stabilizers even when you do many other exercises and you do the house works or gardening. Don't do zillion of repetitions – quality is the most important thing here.
2) Abs, like any other muscle, get bigger when you train them with overweight and progressive-resistance training principles.
3) Abs recover quickly. It means you can work them out more often than other body parts. You can do your abs work in every workout – whatever from 3 to 6 days a week.
Once you have developed your six pack, relax a bit. However, be careful since those six chiseled bulges may be a short-lived success!
4) Abs are the most ignored body part by beginners. When you aren't conditioned, they do burn! Ouch!
Do you prefer to train your abs at the end of your routine in order to focus better on other body parts? I do. Anyway, I'm sure not to leave them out.
If your tummy is your pet peeve and you feel exhausted at the end of your workout, I recommend you to train them at the beginning.
5) Abs don't get quality training: isolation, slow, and full-range movements.
Do your abs work slowly and with control. Avoid arching or flattening your back; moving your elbows; lifting only your neck and lacing your hand behind your neck – stressing your neck vertebra.

SIT-UPS ARE DEAD. LONG LIFE CRUNCHES!

Karen Zaremba

Crunches mimic the primary movement of the abs – to draw rib cage and pelvis together or vice versa, maybe even the both at the same time (like in leg tucks).
Any kind of crunches is an ab-specific exercise and you can get a great abdominal workout by focusing on crunches – and you won’t get bored by doing crunches in all their variations.
Please, ask your trainer to teach the following exercises to you, or refer to a good training technique handbook or a video or both. In this article I'm not explaining the exercise basics. I'm listing my favorite exercises together with training no-nos and special tips.

BASIC CRUNCH
As you curl up, look at any point on the ceiling. Don't look at your legs lest you should yank your neck and cause neck pain.
The only equipment you need to do crunches is a mat to pad hard floor– no other odd abs gizmo. Mats are essential because if you lie directly on the floor, your vertebra are hitting the floor and you feel a discomfort at every peak contractions of your repetitions.

BASIC WEIGHTED CRUNCH
My favorite method is: 8 reps with a resistance (a dumbbell or a plate), 20” rest, 20-30 reps, 1’ rest. Repeat for 3-4 sets.

CABLE CRUNCHES
In my opinion, these are the best weighted crunches. Attach a rope to an overhead pulley. Kneel down. Holding the rope, curl downward not with your arms but with your abs.

REVERSE CRUNCH
It’s always crunch but it emphasizes the lower portion of your rectus abdominus Make sure not to do leg raises: your legs must remain bent.
Do 3-4 sets for 15-20 reps without overweight. For advanced: superset 10-12 reps with ankle weights and 20-30 reps without overweight.
Don't forget to breathe.

KNEE-UPS
Lie on your back on a bench with your legs up. Grasp uprights behind you for balance. Lift your leg upwards and your butt two or three inches off the bench. Hold the position for a moment, and then lower slowly.
Add overweight only in advanced programs.
Strange enough, men have a lot more of difficulties than women in doing this movement. I guess it’s due to differences in body barycenter.

SIDE BENDS & SEATED TWISTS
Since obliques are muscles too, over weighted side bends and seated twists may well thicken your waist. On the contrary, you need them in order to tight your waistline and chisel your abs. Don't use overweights.
3 sets for 15-20 reps.
Don't expect your love handles disappear only by doing this exercise!

STRETCHING
Abs stretches are easy and relaxing.
Lie on your back with your head and neck relaxed. Place your straightened arms behind your head. Try to straighten your arms as though you were reaching something backwards on the floor.
Give your abs a stretch at the end of each set. Hold the stretch for 10-30 seconds during each set rest.

THE TOTAL APPROACH

To be successful in health and fitness, you need a holistic approach. Let alone the false conjectures on abs, which else are the enemies of your six pack?

1) Problems in your spine – e. g. swayback, flat back, and so on - can pull your belly forward or out.
TIP: If you have a spine paramorphism, please see a specialized physician. In case you have a simple type of bad posture, it'll suffice to gain your right posture – standing straight and holding in your gut - and you'll see your tummy flatten automatically. Keep your abs pulled in most of the time.

2) Gas in the intestine from food intolerances, carbonated soft drinks, and the contents of your guts – constipation, at worst - can distend your abdomen and make your stomach look big. Even chewing problems and excessive talking while eating can introduce too much gas into your stomach and intestines.
TIP: For gas, purchase charcoal pills or tablets with simethicon at your local health store. For constipation, check your diet. Are you eating a good quantity of fibers?

3) Your abdominal region can look bloated due to water retention. If you are a woman, you can notice that before your period begins.
TIP: Drink lots of water. Dandelion root can occasionally help.

4) If you are a woman, pregnancy may ruin your midriff. After many pregnancies or just one pregnancy that caused you gain a lot of weight, your tummy may hang loose.
TIP: diet and training. Last resorts: tummy tuck or liposuction.
During pregnancy, uterus – and belly - must grow. It’s a physiologic change and growth.
TIP: Don't do anything to fight it. After the first trimester, you mustn't place any mechanical stress on your abdominal wall. Put off everything after the happy event.

5) Not all abs are created equal. Having a small waist is as important as lean, hard, and strong abs. Your abs can have less than “six” bulges and their own muscle shape. These are all things where we can but to blame – or to thank – the role of genes.

THE ARMAGEDDON OF SIX PACK

1) Subcutaneous fat is the worst enemy of a firm abdomen because it can hide your washboard abs. You must work off the fat layer between skin and muscle tissue to reveal the muscularity underneath. So, burn calories by doing whole-body – you surely know spot reduction doesn't work - training both aerobic and weight lifting and don't overeat. Don't make the mistake to believe that if you cannot see something, it doesn't exist. Maybe it is hidden!

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