Developing a great set of six-pack abs is really quite
simple once you understand the how to firm and flatten your
abs with this information, which includes two important
components:
1. A workout program consisting of carefully selected,
biomechanically correct abdominal exercises, and
2. A nutrition program that optimizes fat loss and
maintenance or growth of lean muscle tissue.
As simple as this sounds, I'll be the first to admit that
ab training can be an extremely confusing subject at first
because there is so much conflicting information on the
subject.
Opinions Are Just That! Opinions
Countless opinions, rumors, and theories about ab training
are continually being circulated by an endless parade of
"experts" including doctors, personal trainers, infomercial
gurus, and even friends, teachers, and parents. Some
information is valid, but most of it isn't. It's hard to
sort through it all, let alone know what to believe.
Abdominal mythology abounds, and some myths never seem to
die.
To help you cut through the myths and lies and lead you
straight to the truth that will help you develop the type
of body that you'll be proud to show off the next time you
hit the beach.
Before we discuss the anatomy and physiology of the
abdominal muscles or the actual training routines, the
first thing to do is clear your mind of the myths, lies,
and misconceptions that have been polluting your brain as a
result of gym folklore, false advertising, and bad advice
from self-proclaimed experts.
More bad information is published and told about ab
training than any other health and fitness subject, and
I've boiled it down to 14 myths that are particularly
damaging and pervasive. I will explain 3 of them in this
article.
Let's put them to rest permanently, shall we?
MYTH #1: If you train abs every day, you're guaranteed a
six-pack. One of the most common abdominal myths is that
training your abdominals every day is the best way to get a
small waistline and develop the six-pack look in your
stomach. This misconception was probably funneled through
the bodybuilding world, because so many bodybuilders train
their abs daily prior to competitions. Despite the fact
that bodybuilders appear on stage with incredibly ripped
abs, their abs come from their diet, not just their daily
ab workouts.
Daily training is not only a waste of time, it's an
approach that won't work for the average person who doesn't
use performance-enhancing substances or have a naturally
high recovery capacity.
There are two reasons that daily abdominal training is
unnecessary and does not guarantee you a six-pack.
First, the muscle tissue of your abs is virtually the same
as the muscle tissue in the rest of your body. Abdominal
muscles cannot become stronger and more developed without
time to rest and recover after each workout, just like any
other muscle group such as your biceps or chest. You
wouldn't do 100 barbell curls every day to "see your
biceps" or 100 bench presses every day to "see your pecs,"
so why do the same for your abs?
Second, even if you could achieve excellent muscular
development in the abs with daily training, you won't be
able to see your abs if they're covered with a layer of
fat. Daily abdominal training does not burn the fat off
your midsection! Fat is lost by creating a calorie deficit
through your diet. Build the muscle tissue with exercise;
burn the fat with diet.
During the initial phase of the Firm and Flatten Your Abs
program (Level 1), I recommend that you perform exercises
daily for the first two to three weeks. However, these
Level 1 exercises are very basic movements using only your
body weight, and they are designed to prepare, strengthen,
and neurologically program your body for the more advanced
exercises to follow.
For the long term, you can get fantastic results training
your abs every other day (about four days a week), and once
they're developed, you can maintain your abs with even less
frequent training.
MYTH #2: You can eat pizza and hamburgers and still
maintain a six-pack as long as you work out right after you
eat them. The truth is that developing your abs is achieved
through exercise, but seeing your abs is more a function
your diet than any other factor. You could have a great set
of abs completely covered with fat. The secret to
uncovering the abdominal muscles is nutrition.
Theoretically, you could lose the fat covering your abs
while eating whatever you wanted, as long as you still had
a caloric deficit. However, eating calorie-dense junk food
makes it much harder to maintain the caloric deficit you
need to burn body fat. Furthermore, eating fast food and
other nutritionally-void junk as regular daily staples in
your diet will eventually exact a serious toll on your
health.
You simply cannot expect exercise to cancel out poor eating
habits. It takes proper exercise and nutrition to get
optimal results. Go into your local fast food restaurant
and look around. How many people do you see that have an
envious abdominal region? Chances are, you won't see any!
MYTH #3: Sit-ups develop the abdominal muscles best. It's
ironic, but the sit-up, which is the most popular exercise
in the world for the abdominals, might be the absolute
worst exercise and could even be dangerous for some people
under some circumstances.
What most people don't realize is that the sit-up is not a
true abdominal exercise. During a sit-up, your main trunk
flexor, the iliopsoas muscle, often does the majority of
the work while the abs are not optimally recruited.
Because the iliopsoas muscle originates on the lower back,
the sit-up literally pulls on the lower back with every
repetition, especially if your feet are held down or
anchored, or the repetitions are performed quickly in a
jerky fashion. This is why too many sit-ups can lead to a
strength imbalance between the iliopsoas and abdominals, as
well as poor posture and lower back pain.
Some people who have very strong abs and lower backs may be
able to perform conventional sit-ups more safely than
others. There are also some safer and more effective ways
to perform sit-ups. One is the Janda sit-up. This exercise
uses the law of reciprocal inhibition, which means that if
one muscle is working, its antagonist (the opposing muscle)
must relax.
During a Janda sit-up, instead of holding your feet down,
your partner reaches around and holds your calves. As you
sit up, you contract your hamstrings and glutes by pulling
your calves back against your partner's hands. (You can
also press your lower legs back against small dumbbells or
a heavy weighted barbell.) When the hamstrings and glutes
contract, this shuts off the iliopsoas, making your abs do
more of the work.
If I prescribe sit-ups, I simply have my clients do Janda
sit-ups. However, Janda sit-ups can be difficult to perform
on your own and because of the injury potential from
sit-ups in general, and since there are so many other more
effective exercises, I have left sit-ups out of this course
completely.
It's incredible, but true: You can develop amazing abs
without ever doing a single sit-up!
----------------------------------------------------
David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditioning Coach and holds
multiple certifications including three from the
prestigious CHEK Institute. Plus he is also the author of
the popluar selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs,"
which teaches you how to develop a ripped abdominal region.
Lean how to shead bodyfat and eliminate low back pain and
recieve his free newsletter by visiting:
http://www.flattenyourabs.net
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