Abdominal Exercises – Training The Abs And Core

Core muscles – What you should understand

Your core muscles are important, whether you train for looks, athleticism, fitness, or games and sports.

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Muscles of the outer abdominal core of interest to athletes and bodybuilders

Important core muscle groups

In this section, I give you the rundown on the most important parts of your core/ab muscles and how you should train them.

Rectus abdominus – the six pack muscle

When you look at someone’swashboard abs — also known as the six pack — you’re seeing his rectus abdominis muscle.

When this muscle group contracts, it flexes your lower (lumbar) spine. Basically, it moves your ribcage closer to your pelvis.

But even when you’re not moving, it can function to harden your abdomen and increase your intraabdominal pressure which stabilizes and strengthens the spine during exercise. (Readweight lifting belts for a more complete discussion of how your spine is supported by your abdomen and core muscles.)

Contrary to popular thought, this is not really a series of six (or more) muscles. Instead, it is a pair of muscles stretching from the ribcage down to the front of the pelvis on either side of the body’s centerline.

Just as a butcher uses twine to keep a roast from losing its shape, connective tissue keeps your rectus abdominis properly positioned in your body

The reason your sixpack appears to be a group of muscles is because it’s restricted by several bands of collagen connective tissue (similar to tendons). Along with a fibrous sheath which surrounds the muscles, these bands of connective tissue hold the muscle in place.

Think of the connective tissue like a belt holding your coat in place. Without the belt, your coat would flop around; and without these bands, your muscle wouldn’t be able to move your body effectively. (To learn more, read Tendinous intersection at Wikipedia.)

Obliques

The external and internal obliques have many different functions, but for our purposes here, we’ll simply note that they flex your lumbar spine laterally; they also assist in rotation. As with most core muscles, they contract toharden the abdomen and support the spine during exercise. The obliques connect the side of your ribs to the outer part of your pelvis.

Interestingly, the internal obliques help you breathe. They work in opposition to the diaphragm (the muscle which inflates your lungs). When you get a stich in your side during heavy aerobic exercise, you’re experiencing a cramp of your internal oblique muscle.

In modern times, training the obliques has fallen out of favor. This is because bodybuilders don’t like to train a muscle that makes their waist appear thicker. They want that V-shaped taper from their wide shoulders to their narrow wasp-waist. Large obliques spoil this aesthetic.

But athletes need strong oblique muscles, and they train the obliques with just as much care as they give to the rest of the core musculature. So, don’t neglect your obliques just because bodybuilders ignore them. Make sure to strengthen your entire core so you don’t develop any weak spots.

External core muscles on a model with low body fat levels.

Transversus abdominis

Frank Zane makes his waist smaller with a vacuum

The transversus abdominis (I’ll call it the transverse abs) is a relatively small muscle that pulls your internal abdominal organs “upward” when you hollow out your stomach area during a “vacuum” exercise.

During the height of the bodybuilding movement, bodybuilders thought it was important to suck in the abs to make the waist appear smaller. They called this “pulling a vacuum”.

Because of the huge, drug-induced bellies on most of today’s world-class bodybuilders, this technique is no longer widely used. You might still see it in drug-free competitions where the participants are much smaller because they’re not supplementing with human growth hormone.

The transverse abs are controversial. There are lots of unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of direct training the transverse abs. Much of it seems to be hogwash, in my opinion. One thing’s clear: no pro athlete spends time trying to isolate and train his transversus abdominis muscles. If having total control over your midsection is important to you, feel free to train these muscles. But don’t do it just because someone tells you it’ll help you in a mystical, hard to explain way.

Lower back muscles – Erector spinae

Erector spinae muscles on a bodybuilder.

Yes, the lower back is part of your core, and if you neglect it during training, you’ll pay a price.

The lower back muscles you need to think about are your erector spinae. They’re the muscles just above your buttocks, on either side of your spine.

The erector spinae straighten the waist (along with your hamstrings). When you arch your lower back, you can feel your erector spinae working.

Give your lower back the chance to grow and strengthen along with your front core muscles. Don’t just work out your six-pack muscles and totally neglect your lower back. Remember: balance your core muscles or you set yourself up for an injury.

Lower back training with heavy weights is for advanced lifters. Since it takes longer for the lower back muscles (especially the internal ones that are not under your conscious control) to recover from a max-effort workout, you have to be careful to avoid overreaching and over-use injuries in this area. There is little need to use massive weight to directly train the lower back until you get a decent amount of experience in weight lifting.

Abdominal training – Low reps or high reps?

Many people on the ‘net say you can and should train the abs with low reps, just like other muscles.

I disagree with these folks. I like to use high reps during direct abdominal training. This doesn’t mean sets of 100, but I’d certainly like to see you do at least 15 reps, and 30 isn’t out of the question.

Once you develop some muscle mass and endurance in your midsection, you can reduce the reps and add some resistance. By then, your tendons will be stronger and more resistant to injury.

Please note that the core muscles get a lot of isometric training during other exercises like heavy squats, deadlifts, or overhead lifts. This indirect isometric work can be considered low-rep training. But for direct isolation exercise of the core/abs, I believe in high reps for beginners.

Some professional bodybuilders use low reps and heavy resistance to train their abs. But these pros are not like you and me. They are on anabolic drugs which stimulate muscle growth. Most of us need more time to make the absgrow. Pro bodybuilders can’t wait around; they need to build as much muscle as possible during their growth cycle — recovery and injury prevention are not primary concerns.

Abs are designed to function all through the day without fatigue. They respond very well to light loads and high repetitions. Except for pro bodybuilders on steroids, I’ve never seen anyone build showy, exceptional abdominal muscles using exclusively low reps and heavy weights. Perhaps it’s possible to use low reps to maintain what you already have, but this risks injury for no good reason that I’m aware of. I have seen guys get injured taking this sort of shortcut.

A sensible approach to abdominal training

Some guys just want to get a six-pack. They don’t care about athleticism, long-term muscular balance, or strength. If you’re one of those guys, skip ahead to the next major section. This section will show you how athletes and fitness enthusiasts train the core. It’s a different approach to training from that used by bodybuilders or underwear models.

Frequency depends on your reason for working out

Work out two days a week if you use lower reps and high resistance. So if max strength and mass is your goal, a low number of sets per week is appropriate.

But if you want a muscular endurance workout, you can work your core three days a week or more.

Just try to avoid overuse in the spine-stabilization muscles; take it slow and easy at first, and don’t be in a hurry to make your workouts more intense.

Think about movements not muscles

Don’t worry about trying to isolate the various muscles of the core. Unless you’re in a pilates class, there’s no reason to think about each core muscle as a separate entity.

In fact, many people delude themselves into thinking they’re exercising one muscle when they’re actually working another. For example, you may thinkyou’re working your lower abs when you’re actually using your hip flexors. Or, you might be working the deep muscles of the back when you think you’re using your obliques. Isolating a core muscle is difficult, often unnecessary, and occasionally dangerous.

It’s more productive to think about training movements:

• Crunch movements – front and side
• Leg raises
• Rotational core movements
• Lower back work

Here are some example exercise movements you can include in your core workout program. Note that there are literally hundreds of core exercises, so I only list a representative sample.

Front crunches

Crunches primarily work your rectus abdominis. Floor crunches target the upper abs, while hanging crunches (where you curl your lower body up towards your ribcage instead of the opposite) work the lower abs.

You can’t really flex one part of a muscle without flexing the whole thing. But as with most complex systems, it’s impossible to make a blanket statement that applies in every case. In fact, the rectus abdominis, is unusual in that you can ‘target’ the upper and lower part by using different cruch variations.

1. Crunches (easy) – with or without added weight held behind the head. Curl the upper body towards the pelvis, feeling the upper part of yourrectis abdominis doing the work.
2. Hanging crunches (medium difficulty) – mix things up by crunching from a dip station. Curl the pelvis up towards the ribcage and try to feel it in the lower part of your rectis abdominis.
3. Ab wheel (difficult) – use an ab wheel to really blast the front of your core. Make slow but steady progress and avoid overuse injury.

Side crunches

1. Floor side crunches (easy) – on an exercise mat, lay on your side and crunch the side of your ribcage towards your hips. Or, lay on your back and swing your upper body from side to side (parallel to the floor) while keeping your hips immobile on the floor.
2. Dumbbell side bends (medium difficulty) – stand up straight and hold a heavy dumbbell in both hands (or one hand). Bend at the waist from side to side, using your obliques and other core muscles to straighten up against resistance. Go slowly for best results. Remember to think about the movement — not the muscle(s) — because this is a deceptive exercise; you might think you’re targeting the obliques, but you are really using many deep core muscles.

Leg raises

Leg raise variations primarly work the hip flexors. Many people think of the hip flexors as core muscles, but whatever your opinion, leg raises are useful. If your abs are weak, you often compensate (without realizing it) by using the hip flexors.

1. Lying leg raises (easy) – lying on your back on a mat, put your hands under your hips to take pressure off your tailbone. Raise your straight legs to a 45 degree angle. Feel the resistance in your lower abs and yourhip flexors.
2. Hanging leg raises (medium difficulty) – while hanging from a dip station, lift your straight legs out in front of you. Wear ankle weights for more resistance. Use weight lifting straps or ab straps to help you hang from the bar.

Rotational abs

Rotational abs are often neglected. But for many sports and athletic events, they’re extremely important. Work them slowly and work against resistance. Be careful not to tweak your lumbar spine.

Russian twists with 10-pound medicine ball

1. Crunches with elbow to opposite knee (easy) – On your back with your knees in the air, crunch up and touch your elbow to the opposite knee. Alternate sides.
2. Russian twists (medium) – Suspend your upper body at a 45 degree angle, using your abs to hold you in place. Rotate from side to side through a full range of motion, touching your hands down on either side. This is hard on the lumbar spine, so don’t overdo it.
3. Rubber band rotations (medium difficulty) – Using an exercise band, rotate against resistance while standing in a sport-specific posture. For instance, simulate punching or swinging a baseball bat against the resistance provided by the exercise band.
4. Russian twists with weight (difficult) – Hold a weight in your hands while performing the russian twist exercise.

Lower back

Using a barbell for good mornings. No need for this much weight unless you train to be a competitive deadlifter.

1. Plank hold (easy) – Use yoga’splank position — elbows and toes on the floor while your body is held in a rigid straight line — to work the lower back isometrically. Start from the knees to reduce the intensity if necessary.
2. Good Mornings (medium) – stand up straight and hold a light barbell across your upper back and bend forward at the waist as if bowing. Use the lower back to help you straighten up again. Keep the legs straight and try to avoid using your hamstrings to straighten your back. Be careful.

Other ab/core exercises

Pullovers

1. Pullovers (medium) – Lying across a bench, pull a dumbbell from behind your head to your midsection, keeping your arms straight. This works the serratusmuscles that look impressive on ultra-lean guys. Try to avoid using the lats and move the ribcage.
2. Bicycle crunches (medium) – This is a great way to get a quick workout for most of your front core muscles. It works crunchingand rotation at the same time.
3. Punching (easy) – A great functional workout for the rotational core muscles.

How to build an impressive six pack

I really don’t want to write a how to get a six pack article, because I believe there is more to ab training than looks. But since this topic is is such high demand, I’ll give you the facts and you can decide how to use them.

If all you want to do is look good on the beach, here’s how to get ripped abs.

You need to accomplish two things:

1. Get skinny (below 10% body fat)
2. Train your rectus abdominis muscle until it almost becomes an obsession

Read on for details:

1st part of having a six pack – Lower your body fat percentage ’till you can see your abs

If you’re not skinny, forget about having good abs. You can have the greatest abdominal musculature in the world, but if it’s covered with a layer of blubber, nobody will ever see it.

For abs that turn heads on the beach, you need to get your body fat percentage in the single digits. You should be able to feel every detail of the muscle under your skin. The skin on your abdomen should be stretched taut like a drumhead.

This means you have to prioritize. You can’t bulk up by eating a surplus of calories, because the fat on your midsection will hide your rectus abdominis.

While it’s true that many high-level bodybuilders and fitness models are heavily muscled while also being ripped to shreds, what you have to understand is this:

• Bodybuilders and heavily-muscled fitness models don’t look that way year-round. Those impressive pictures are taken after a radical diet. The other 11 months of the year, they’re big but they don’t look ripped.
• Many heartthrobs or underwear models have impressive abdominals. But they are very small by bodybuilding standards. They focus on their abs, not on overall muscle mass.
• Some people will never have impressive abs. Ectomorphs can easily get a ripped six-pack; other body types won’t have as easy a time of it.
• Pro bodybuilders use drugs; that’s a simple fact. These guys get paid to look a certain way, and without drugs they can’t look huge and ripped. Even the so-called natural (drug free) bodybuilding (and powerlifting) contests feature many guys who at one point in their lives used drugs to aid their performance in the weight room or to aid their dieting.

World class IFBB bodybuilder Lee Priest looks much different in the off-season than he does when posing in a bodybuilding contest. Yes, that's the same man in both pictures.

2nd part of having a six pack – Build up your rectus abdominis muscles

Work it like a rented mule. Try this:

• Lay on your back on an exercise mat. Put a radio behind your head for some music to help pass the time.
• Do sets of crunches. Feel free to hold a weight behind your head as you do your crunches, but don’t strain your neck. Aim for sets of 30. Do larger sets if you plan to enlist in the army or something similar, because they love ultra high rep sets of stomach crunches. Their aim is to promote muscular endurance, not size. For size and looks, just shoot for 30 reps.
• Never pull on your head and/or neck.
• Make sure to get a full range of motion. The higher you crunch, the more work the lower part of your rectus abdominis gets. Although I usually claim you can’t preferentially work different parts of the same muscle, the six-pack muscles are a bit unusual in that you can target the lower abs by crunching farther. Details are unimportant, just make sure you use a full range of motion for best results.
• Since you’re training for looks, there is no need for more advanced (or more intense) exercises. The stomach crunch will get you a great six pack. For maximum range of motion, some people use an exercise ball. But this isn’t necessary unless you just like to have every workout gizmo money can buy.

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So there you have it. You now know which muscle groups in your core are important for athleticism or for getting a six pack. And you have some ideas about how to train them (and how frequently to work out). Go ahead and put together a sensible plan for abdominal training using what you know. Be sure to focus on safety and the long-term instead of trying to do it all at once. Feel free to use the comment section to let us know what you think.

Cheers for this skinny bulk