Abdominals

[Sean]

I believe your Abs should be treated like any other muscle and by adding weight you'll bring them out better and faster then doing them with high reps IMHO. Arnold did them but he stressed that don't add weight to workout your Obliques. Of course to see your Abs you have to Diet, Diet, Diet... Also, more reps help bring out the definition IMHO. (So build and then define)...

Ab training that really works
by: Pete Sisco


Introduction

Training of the abdominal muscles has recently been the subject of more misinformation and mythology than any other part of the human anatomy. Gizmos and gadgets abound that are alleged to give you those coveted "six pack" abs. But here's how you can rationally train your abs to their absolute maximum limits of development using everyday gym equipment.


What Builds Abdominal Muscles

There is nothing unique about abdominal muscle as far as their training and response to training is concerned. The principles that apply to biceps and triceps apply equally to abs. So the three critical elements of your ab workouts are:
high intensity of muscular overload
progressive intensity from workout to workout
proper spacing of workouts to avoid over-training or under-training

Most people do sit-ups or crunches as an ab exercise. While these are basically good exercises that can satisfy point 1, above, how many people use them in a way that satisfies point 2?

Muscles will only develop in response to overload that is above normal. So if you do 20 crunches every day for a year, why would your ab muscles develop beyond that capacity? They won't. To force new development you need to increase the intensity. You could add a few crunches every day but that really just increases duration. There is a better way to get fast results.


Why TV Abdominal Machines Are a Joke

You've seen all those exercise gadgets on late night TV -- lightweight gizmos that make it easier for you to rock back and forth on the ground while doing a crunch. Have you noticed that none of them allow you to add serious weight to increase intensity? Some have rubber bands or similar devices to add a bit of overload but it's a trivial amount.

I work with clients who have progressed to the point of doing crunches with 300 pounds! That's the kind of power and level of development your abs are capable of. Really! So fiddling around with cheap equipment or those belts that "stimulate" your ab muscles using the minuscule power of two flashlight batteries is beyond laughable. Let's see two flashlight batteries generate the power to lift a man's torso and 300 pounds 20 times in one minute.


The Best Ab Exercises

We tested common abdominal exercises and ranked them by their ability to deliver high intensity muscular overload. We tested ab machines, vertical leg raises, Roman chairs and others. The winners were:

Weighted crunches
Weighted incline sit-ups
Weight sit-ups

The best way to do weighted crunches is to lie on the floor with your head close to the low pulley weight stack. Using the rope handle attachment, grasp the ends and pull the cable until it is tight and your hands are resting at the side of your head near your ears. Now contract your ab muscles in a crunch that lifts your shoulders off the floor and draws the weight stack up an inch or two. Choose a weight that is so heavy you can only do 8 to 12 reps.

If you don't have access to a low pulley, there is a good alternative. You can use the high pulley that is normally used for lat pulldowns. Kneel on the floor or sit in the seat directly under the rope handles that you attach to the high pulley. Lock your legs under the hold down. Pull the handles into position next to your ears then contract your ab muscles into a crunch that raises the weight stack an inch or two. Choose a weight that is so heavy you can only do 8 to 12 reps.

As a further alternative you can lie on the floor and do a sit up or crunch while holding a barbell plate against your chest. The limitation of this exercise it that, as you progress in strength it will not be possible to hold enough plates on your chest safely. But that's a good problem to have.

On each successive workout, shoot for a 5-15% increase in the weight you use. If you can't get a 5% increase it's time to add more days off between your workouts.


Conclusion

There is no mystery to developing your abdominal muscles to the limits of their genetic potential. And you certainly don't need quirky gadgets. High intensity exercises that can be progressed from workout to workout will have you sporting that six pack this summer.

[onemuscledbeagle]

Hey Sean. Great post again! I totally agree. The muscle fibers that make up the abdominal muscles is the same type of muscle that is in the bicep, tricep, etc...The only difference here is most people treat the abdominals like it is made of a different type so therefore that can train them 3-4x's a week or they train them from the top down. Most ab exercises focus on contracting the fibers from the ribs to the pelvis. Whether it is cruches, ab machines, etc...They also need to be trained from the pelvis to the ribs with reverse crunchs, hanging pelvic/leg curls, etc...The fibers do run from the pelvis to the ribs. We could get into insertion and origin but in this case it doesn't matter. Bottom line is when you are doing ab exercises from the ribs to the pelvis, the pelvis must remain immobile and stable. The same is true if you were doing reverse crunches the rib/torso muscle remain immobile and stable as well. The only way a muscle can contract is if one end is stationary while the other end is moving.

Failure occurs and the muscles must rest to insure that the fibers that have been frayed mend. This poo poos the idea of doing them daily or 3-4x's a week. If you were to be able to do blood work on these individuals the timing would be similar to having a heart attack. Diagnostically, we draw blood on person with a possible heart attack and certain enzymes are elevated concluding that the heart muscle has been damaged. The same goes for any muscle, once you have failed the muscle and drew ezymes they would be elevated and until the went back to baseline should you train them again. On average this is 3 days. So at most you should be training abs is 2 x a week with a 3 day rest period in between.

[Sean]

Good post yourself...