Good abdominal muscles can mean much more than a ‘washboard’ stomach. Not only do strong abdominals look good, they are also important for avoiding lower back pain and injury.
You may not be aware of the fact that many lower back problems come from poor abdominal development, rather than from weak spinal erectors. And in terms of looking good, one of the first spots someone’s appraising eye falls on is your midsection. Great ‘abs’ tell others straight off that you are fit and care about your health and personal appearance. Finally, having strong abs is a key to improving performance in many sports.
How often should I train my abs?
The amount of abdominal training you need to do is dictated by your specific goals. If you are looking to flatten your tummy a little, then you might be able to achieve that with 8-10 minutes of work 3-5 times a week. If you are looking for that awesome, lean, six-pack look, then you had better be prepared to blast train your abs. If you think that you can achieve magazine-type results with some ‘TV gizmo’ or ‘infomercial whatchamacallit’, you will be sadly disappointed. Great, rock hard abs can only be attained through strenuous, brutal abs workouts.
I have heard too much abs work will widen my waistline. Is that true?
Nonsense. It takes a massive amount of work to initially develop awesome abdominals. The last thing you need to be thinking about is backing off abs training.
You might find however, that weighted, heavy side bends could rapidly enlarge your obliques. This may not be desirable initially, depending on your particular genetics and current state of midsection development.
How do I know I’m training my abs correctly?
You should feel a deep satisfying ‘burn’ in each muscle group during every set. Further, after each abs session, your muscles should look and feel pumped, much the same as other muscle groups.
Are some abdominal exercises better than others?
Certainly, some exercises are better than others; however, we believe that everyone should experiment with different exercises to see which ones work best for them. The key is mental concentration. Research has demonstrated that muscle fibre recruitment is dictated most specifically by what area of the abs you are thinking about during abs training. For example, a set of crunches will recruit more upper abs fibres if you think about upper abs, while the same set will recruit more lower abs fibres if you concentrate mentally on your lower abs.
Will abdominal work improve my posture?
Abdominal work can improve posture but, if you do not achieve a balance of work between the ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ abs, your posture may actually worsen. For example if your ‘upper’ abs strengthens compared to the lower abs the pull of the hip flexors will increase and cause your belly to stick out further. Or pelvic instability could result, which could cause you to appear as if your back is arched.
Good posture is best attained by completing specific exercises aimed at improving posture.
