According to Dr. Jason Karp, Ph.D., founder of REVO2LT Running Team in San Diego, almost every exercise you do--from running to push-ups--trains your abdominal muscles. Your abs stabilize your body as you move and maintain your posture when you stand or sit. So you do not need to isolate your abs, as with sit-ups and crunches, to strengthen them.
Anatomy
Your abdominal muscles are made up to two units that work together to produce movement and protect your torso from injury. The inner unit lies the closest to your bones and joints and stabilizes your body, while your outer unit moves your torso. The inner unit is made up of slow-twitch muscle fibers that can work all day to keep your body upright and in good posture. They do not fatigue compared to the outer unit, which includes your rectus abdominis and obliques.
Function
Thomas Myers, author of "Anatomy Trains," describes your body as a one huge network of connective tissues that work together to move and provide balance. Your abdominal muscles are part of the several myofascial lines that link your muscles together with connective tissues and nerves. Two of these lines are the front and back functional lines, which connect from one shoulder, across your torso and to your opposite hip. These lines help you move in many ways, such as walking, swimming, or throwing a football. In this movement pattern, your inner unit keeps your spine, organs and pelvis in place while the outer unit rotates. You can train this natural movement pattern every day to improve movement quality.
Misconceptions
Many people believe that exercising their abdominals will result in a flatter tummy. But the fat-burning process occurs throughout your body and does not burn fat from one specific area. In fact, exercising with resistance on any body part will increase muscle, and possibly the size of your trunk, thighs or other parts. If you wish to reduce body fat, you must exercise your entire body, rather than isolating one body part at a time, and maintain a balanced diet. Fat loss occurs when you burn more calories than you consume.
Expert Insight
According to personal trainer Gray Cook, founder of Functional Movement Systems, train stability and mobility before strength and endurance because the first two components provide a movement foundation for the latter two. Stability is your ability to maintain balance and control movement, while mobility is your ability to move freely without restriction. Without the stability and mobility, you cannot produce quality strength and endurance. When you train your abdominals, work on exercises that improve or maintain your posture while you move. These stabilization exercises should not fatigue your abdominals.
Sample Exercise
According to Cook, you can do the stationary kneeling chop and lift every day to strengthen your abs and improve your posture. Use a cable column machine with an adjustable handle. The chop is a movement pattern across your body from a high position to low, while the lift is the opposite.
For the kneeling chop, set the handle to the highest setting, and kneel on both knees with your right shoulder facing to the handle. Grab the handle with both hands and pull it to your heart and down to your left hip. Hold the final position for one second and slowly return to start position. For the kneeling lift, set the handle to the lowest setting, and kneel in the same position as for the chop. Pull from your right hip, up across your heart and up toward the upper left side of your head.
References
- "Anatomy Trains"; Thomas Myers; 2008
- "PTontheNet"; Weight Training Positions; Jason Karp, Ph.D.; October 2008
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
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