Abdominal Training Myths

The abdominals consists of the rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, transverse abdominus, psoas major, psoas minor, quadratus lumborum, diaphragm, pyramidialis. The most visible of these are the rectus abdominus and the obliques. What most people know and are concerned with are creating what is known as the "six pack". The six pack is the term used to refer to the development of the rectus abdominus. Here are the questions I have gotten from viewers in the recent months.

1. Can everyone obtain six pack abs?
2. Should I train abdominals everyday? Can you overtrain the abdominals?
3. Should I do 100 reps of abs?
4. What is the best method for training abdominals?
5. I have fat accumulated around the lower part of the abs, my upper part seems fine and defined, but I can't seem to lose the "pooch" I have developed under the belly button, can you explain to me why?

Here are the answers.

1. Can everyone obtain six pack abs? Genetics, diet and intelligence dictates how defined you can get your abdominals. Some people are just born with superior genetic coding that allows them to stay lean and defined in the abdominal region. These are the lucky folks. Then there are those that have to work a little bit more to get definition. This is when diet comes in to play. Believe it or not the key to having ripped abs is from eating nutrient dense foods, not over exercising the area. When you eat dense nutrients the intestines have to work to process the food. The breakdown of nutrients requires energy to metabolize them through the intestines and into the blood. Eating dense nutrients can increase the active metabolism for many hours. There is roughly 17 to 20 feet of intestines. If you constantly make the intestines work they will require energy to breakdown the food boosting metabolism. Eating 5-6 small meals of dense nutrients a day will help keep this smooth muscle tissue working. It is like doing ab work all day long. The key to having small abdominals is from eating food not exercising them too much. Exercising the abdominals only develops the superior muscles of the abdominals, if the deeper inferior tissue is not worked then the abs will appear thick, bloated, and distended. If the stomach, omentum, and intestines are all stretched out and distended then all that pressure will push against the superior muscles making it virtually impossible for the abdominals to be ripped and small. The first step to ripped abs is diet.

2. Should I train abdominals everyday? Can you overtrain the abdominals? No! you should not train abdominals everyday. The abdominals are primarily made up of slow twitch (oxidative) muscle tissue. Theoretically you can train slow twitch fibers everyday, but I don't recommend training abs every day because of hormonal depletion factors. The abdominals have a network of nerves that tie into the pelvic region. This is known as the solar plexus. These nerves are like a second sensory nervous system, they sense the fight and flight response. When they are activated they help in activate the sympathetic nervous system. The SNS is an acute energy system that allows the body to defend against a threat or danger. During the activation of the SNS sugar is the primary fuel. When sugar levels drop the endrocrine system releases stress hormones to help protect the cells from over working and breaking down. Cortisol is secreted and is used to inhibit cell permeability. What this means is that the body doesn't know that you are in a gym setting working on getting ripped. The nerves are activated in the same sequential manner as if you were running from a bear there is no difference to the hormonal system. The only difference is that you can control how long you last in the response. Doing too much abdominal training will promote a loss of muscle tissue in the body. One way to know if you are losing muscle is to notice the biceps. Your biceps will shrink in size if you are doing too much abdominal training. Also, you will notice that the definition of the muscle will diminish and you will feel weak. Americans are all about the "more is better" approach when doing everything. This approach is inaccurate. Abdominals are a sensitive area to work if you want to get them defined. They must be trained like any other muscle group. I would never perform 100-1000 reps of bicep curls. So, I don't perform a lot of reps for the abdominals. 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps is really all I need.

Body type: If you are a thin person to begin with, I would not even consider doing abdominal work if you are trying to put on muscle size. This will deplete your growth hormone and you will not put on muscle. I would avoid ab work altogether.

If you are a bigger person that has the ability of accumulating fat around the waist and abs, then I would do abs every other day by themselves.

If you are training for a bodybuilding contest. I would train abdominals separate from working any other muscle group. Remember we are working with the SNS and if there is certain amount of time until cortisol begin to rise, and if you activate the solar plexus in conjunction with other muscles, you could sacrifice your size.

You can overtrain the abdominals if you train them too much.

One of the worst exercises for developing the abdominals is the LEG RAISE. You have seen this in the gym, a person hangs from a pull up bar or a dip stand and lift their legs up tucking the knees toward the chest. This is all hip flexor work and does nothing for developing the abs. It is a worthless exercise.

Holding a heavy weight and going side to side like the penquin in a Batman episode will promote a thick abdomin and loss of symmetry. I don't recommend using heavy weight for this exercise. Use this exercise with caution. Once you build the obliques and they become thick it is hard to taper them back down to keep a small abdominal look.

The best exercise is the Frog sit, planche, and my abdominal system. My ab system is an accurate and incredible way to work the abdominals without putting strain to your neck or lower back. For more information contact me via email.

3. Should I do 100 reps of abs? No too much stimulation will promote muscle loss.

4. What is the best method for training abdominals?
One of the worst exercises for developing the abdominals is the LEG RAISE. You have seen this in the gym, a person hangs from a pull up bar or a dip stand and lift their legs up tucking the knees toward the chest. This is all hip flexor work and does nothing for developing the abs. It is a worthless exercise.

Holding a heavy weight and going side to side like the penquin in a Batman episode will promote a thick abdomin and loss of symmetry. I don't recommend using heavy weight for this exercise. Use this exercise with caution. Once you build the obliques and they become thick it is hard to taper them back down to keep a small abdominal look.

The best exercise is the Frog sit, planche, and my abdominal system. My ab system is an accurate and incredible way to work the abdominals without putting strain to your neck or lower back. For more information contact me via email.

5. I have fat accumulated around the lower part of the abs, my upper part seems fine and defined, but I can't seem to lose the "pooch" I have developed under the belly button, can you explain to me why? For women this area is a big concern. There is a lot of menstrual energy that is produced in this area each month. During the cycle the nerves are stimulated and hormones are released to produce and harbor the egg. This process can light up the area and keep the lower abdominal region some what lean. However, due to the aging effect and hormone depletion the female reproductive system shuts down. It is a slow process but eventually the menapause ultimately strikes every female. Once this area is shut down the nerves are not stimulated and the area becomes cold. Fat stores around cold tissue. The fat collects around this area as a way of keeping the area protected. Having a little fat in this area is completely normal. Women weren't designed to have extremely ripped abs like males.

Another reason for collecting fat around the abs and lower ab area is because of cortisol release. People that are stressed out activate the SNS and this activates the secretion of cortisol. The omentum, the storage poach for fat underneath the rectus abdominus, stores cortisol. The more stressed a person becomes the more cortisol is released and the more fat is stored in this area. Visceral fat is the most common and the most dangerous. Women who are uptight, anxious, closed off emotionally, tend to carry fat around the solar plexus. It is a way for the body to protect itself from vulnerability. Women who have sexual issues and are unable to relax during sex tend to constrict the blood vessels related to the uterus, and vaginal region. They are unable to allow the muscles to contract and heat up. This over time can diminish the fat burning effect for that area.


Overall, you don't have to go crazy when it comes to abdominal training. Sensible, effective exercises is all you need. I have been working on a new abdominal training system that I believe to be correct in the anatomical position of how abdominals should be worked. I will have more information on this system in the future. I will say that I have been using this system for the past 4 months and I have noticed an incredible difference in the way my abs look. They were fine before but now they are even more defined. Coupled with diet this system works.

Tags: ab training, abdominals, lean body mass, muscle, strength, cardiovascular exercise, body building, power lifting, tiger woods, sandra bullock, health care,