Abdominal work ?

[robs2nd75]

I have read more contradictory advice on abdominal work than any other subject. From number of sets to weighted vs non-weighted movements to recovery it seems that everyone has differing opinions. I wanted to see the general thoughts of excelmale members on the ideal ab workout and recovery period needed.

 

[Gene Devine]

I do no ab work whatsoever and have a pretty tight group of muscles.

I am a believer, as are a number of pro bodybuilders, that the abs can develop on their own if the right set of core movements are incorporated correctly.

It's a great discussion believe it or not; half say no need for ab work outs and the other half say there is a need.

Guess it just depends upon the individual.

 

[SoCalSurfer]

Oh what a subject.
I do some ab work almost daily. Leg raises and planks mostly. Even though I can hold my legs 6 inches off the floor for minutes on end that does not help with the dang layer of fat covering them LOL. I know I wont see any abs until my body fat is very low. being more of an Endomorph its not an easy thing to get ripped abs.

 

[Jeffrey Becker]

I like an ab roller and pull-downs off a machine.

 

[JWSimpkins]

I love doing abs exercises with the Power Wheel and a TRX.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

I am afraid of the power wheel due to potential back issues. I use an exercise ball

 

[jimithing]

Using full body movements in the gym will give you plenty of abdominal work. Front squats will really tax your abs and "core". Squats, Deadlifts, kettlebell swings done correctly. If you want direct abdominal work hanging leg raises, planks, and the evil ab wheel will work.

 

[paco]

I have a degree in kinesiology and was a personal trainer for several years. It's important to note that "spot reduction", or the idea that you can reduce fat in an area by working the muscles underneath, is a myth. So, it's fine to work abs daily or at high reps, but don't do it in the mistaken belief that this will give you the coveted six pack of abs. As Gene mentioned, auxiliary muscle groups like abs, shoulders, and even arms get a lot of work from doing compound movements like squats, pull ups and bench press. However, they can benefit from additional strength training (i.e., in the range of 6-20 reps and even sometimes fewer reps) which will build up the muscles so that they are more prominent WHEN BODY FAT PERCENTAGE IS LOW ENOUGH. Personally, I like to do one exercise that involves flexing the trunk (minimizing the distance between the bottom of the rib cage and the hip bone) such as the rope crunch along with one exercise that involves statically flexing the deep abdominal wall such as planks or lying leg raises with the lower back held flat. Again, each exercise should have enough resistance so that you can't do more than 20 reps, so adjust the weight or angle as needed. Like other muscle groups, you should work the abs at various rep ranges over time. Build them up and eat/train/get hormonally balanced for lower body fat, and you will be very pleased with the results.

 

[JWSimpkins]

Check out the work of Dr. Stuart McGill. He has some interesting ideas on core strength and back health:

 

[Jerry Brainum]

The former Soviet sports program scientists considered direct abdominal training a waste of time, since they noted that the abdominal and oblique muscles functioned to stabilize the torso, and therefore were heavily involved in most lifting movements. The late Casey Viator, the youngest man ever to win the Mr.America contest at age 19, once told me that his abs were purely the result of dietary changes, and he did nothing for them. On the other hand, Bill Pearl, a 4-time Mr.Universe, was a strong believer in lots of direct ab exercises, and he usually started his workout by doing 12 different ab exercises, 1 set of 100 reps each. Pearl told me that he judged his overall conditioning by the appearance of his abdominals, and he firmly believed that the level of exercise that he did maintained their condition. That, of course, is spot reduction, which doesn't exist. My feeling is that the appearance of abdominals is related more to diet, and reducing body fat to a lower level will along produce prominent abdominals. However, doing some direct ab exercise will produce thicker abdominal "cubes," since abdominals are capable of hypertrophy as are all muscles. Since the obliques work in concert with the rectus abdominus in stabilizing the torso, they are automatically activated in most abdominal exercises, so no direct work is necessary, and exercises such as side bends and torso twists do little to enhance abdominal appearance, but they do provide a shearing effect to the spinal vertebrae.

 

[Slate]

I beg to differ, Mr. Brainum. I have seen direct abdominal work recommended in coaching manuals from the former Soviet Union (both track and field and Olympic lifting) and also from the East German sports machine.

The problem with making such a generic statement is that there were thousands of coaches and 100s of thousands of athletes, and many of these coaches jealously guarded their training protocols because they were their bread and butter. If they didn't produce, they found less and less resources coming their way, both personally and professionally.

In my own experience as a competitive lifter and thrower, I found that neglecting "core" work decreased my stability significantly. I approach the core from a stability viewpoint, not a "visible abs" viewpoint, thus include things such and rotational twists and kettlebell get ups in my personal program.

 

[sewaregell]

Wow thanks for the information. Until, know I thought that only doing crunches would help me to gain abs muscles.