How to train abdominals

Before we start...

Abdominal training and six packs are probably the most discussed fitness topics on the internet. It’s really shocking how many people don’t understand the principles of training abdominal muscles. I’m not talking about fitness newbies, I’m talking about self proclaimed fitness experts who are spreading total nonsense and misleading people.

At first I want to talk about three very popular abdominal training myths

1. You have to train your abdominals and other core muscles to get a six pack. Getting a six pack has nothing to do with abdominal or core training. If you can’t see your abdominal muscles, that’s because you have too much body fat. You can train your abdominals every single day for many years and still not see them. The best way to get rid of you belly fat is to change your eating habits. You need to have a well balanced diet. For more info read the Want six pack abs section.

To make the fat losing process faster you should combine a healthy diet with a fitness plan. You should understand that you can’t lose fat from only one place of your body. Human body uses fat to produce energy and fat is taken evenly from all body parts. Full body workout programs will do the job best.

2. You have to do sit-ups, crunches and other motion type exercises to train abdominals. Many people don’t really understand how abdominal muscles work. I’ve noticed that when people hear about abdominal muscle training they usually think about crunches, sit-ups and similar exercises. In reality ensuring the forward leaning motion of upper body isn’t the main task for abdominal muscles.

Abs are developed as stabilizers. Their task is to stabilize your body and maintain balance while you perform different movements. Abs are engaged in almost every single movement you make. Abdominals contract when you stand up from a chair. They help you to maintain balance while you pick something from the top shelf. And of course they are involved in generating powerful movements like running, kicking, jumping and throwing something. So instead of crunches and sit ups you can do various static exercises and activities that train abs indirectly.

3. Abdominal muscles have no practical use. I agree that having a six-pack doesn’t have a practical use. Six-pack only shows the level of ones body fat, nothing else. If you think that abdominals have no practical use and you don’t need to train them, I encourage you to take a look at the Core strength training section. I think you will change your mind.

Abdominal training methods

Like every muscle in human body abdominal muscles can be trained in different ways to reach different goals. However, the best results can be achieved by combining all these methods. Here is a list of abdominal training methods that I believe should be incorporated in every serious abdominal training routine:

1. Static abdominal exercises. These exercises require you to hold a specific pose for a set amount of time. You can start with basic plank variations like knee plank or side knee plank and continue with more advanced moves like star plank, raised leg plank, etc.

• Plank. Hold your body perfectly straight. Keep your arms shoulder-width apart, abs tight and don't let your belly drop down. Balance on your elbows and toes. If you can keep the plank with a good form for 30 seconds, it’s quite good. However, there is no need to hold any of the plank variations for more than two or three minutes.

Watch the video below to see other static abdominal exercises.

2. Crunch exercises for abdominals. Earlier in this article I said that doing crunches and similar exercises aren’t the best way to train abdominal muscles. These exercises shouldn’t be your no.1 priority but they also shouldn’t be completely left out of your workout routine. There are different crunch variations. I don’t do a lot of regular crunches myself but I really love some crunch variations that train oblique muscles.

• Crunch. Lie on the ground with your legs bent. Contract your abdominal muscles and slowly raise your upper back. It's essential to flex your abdominal muscles as hard as you can. Pause, let yourself back down and repeat. Always keep your lower back on the ground, there is no need to raise your upper body all the way up. You won’t get a better workout and it’s more likely that you will hurt your spine even more so if you are a fitness newbie.

Watch the video below to learn other abdominal exercises and crunch variations.

3. Indirect abdominal training. This is probably the most powerful tool for practical abdominal training because during these exercises abdominals are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. You may have noticed that mixed martial artists have ripped abs although they have very little or no traditional abs exercises in their training routines. Not only they all have six packs, they also possess exceptional core strength.

Combat core strengthening program offers a wide variety of innovative and effective indirect abdominal training exercises. Both athletes and fitness enthusiasts can use the training methods and exercises given in this training program.

There are a lot more physical activities that train abdominals than those which don’t. Push-ups as well as pull-ups are great for core muscle strengthening because both exercises require you to strain abdominal muscles in order to keep your body straight. Crawling as well as running and lifting free weights are great for abdominal training too. There are many other activities that train abdominal muscles indirectly.

• Crawling. It’s a great way to train core muscles, chest and shoulders. There is a vast selection of different crawling exercises. From easy exercises you can perform while watching TV to advanced moves like reverse uphill crawl. There are also crawling exercises which involve balance training like the exercise I'm performing in the picture below. For people in their senior years light crawling exercises for 5 minutes daily is a great way to maintain physical fitness and prevent spine injury and deformation.