All about Abs ...............................................................................................
Abs are everywhere these days, from infomercials featuring “ab-flattening”
products to the covers of fitness magazines, promising ten steps toward wash-
board abs. To have great-looking abs — and who doesn’t want that? — you
need to develop the abdominal muscles through strength training. But keep
in mind that even rock-hard, six-pack abdominal muscles won’t look like a
washboard if they have a layer of fat over them. If you’re overweight, abdomi-
nal strength training will hone your abs, but you won’t see those ab muscles
until you lose body fat.There are more theories about abdominal strength training than there are
about the Kennedy assassination. Here’s our take on getting your midsection
into shape. (Read Chapter 12 to discover the names and functions of your
four abdominal muscles; see “The strength workout” section in this chapter
for step-by-step instructions for the exercises mentioned here.)Don’t do abdominal exercises every day.Your abs, like all your other
muscle groups, need a day of rest between workouts. And be sure that,
just like strengthening any other muscle group, your last few reps are
difficult to complete.Do up to 3 sets of 10 to 25 reps.If you’re able to whip off 100 ab exer-
cises without breaking a sweat, chances are you’re doing the exercises
too quickly or are engaging muscles other than the abs to complete the
exercise. See the following section for two exercises (Basic Crunch and
Ball Crunch) that isolate the abdominal muscles.
Stay away from abdominal machinery.Instead, stick with exercises
performed on the floor, such as the crunch and moves performed with a
physioball (both demonstrated in the following section). We’re not fond
of most abdominal weight machines because they tend to bring the
lower-back or hip muscles into the act. Nor do we like those abdominal
infomercial gadgets that you can strap over your knees or stick under
your butt; they force you to pay money for something you don’t need.The only type of ab device we’re not entirely opposed to are ab-roller
contraptions. You’ve probably seen them on TV: You lie in the center of
a semi-circular metal frame, rest your head on a foam pad, place your
arms atop the curve of the frame, and curl upward in a crunching
motion. An ab roller can function like training wheels on a bike, guiding
you through the correct path of motion until you’re strong enough and
skilled enough to perform it on your own. Also, it supports your head to
reduce neck pain. However, when you’re past the remedial stage of ab
training, foregoing the ab roller and performing crunches under your
own power is more effective. (Still, some trainers like to use the ab roller
on occasion for the sake of variety.)Chapter 14: Designing a Strength-Training Program 213