The Abdominal Rules.
1 – Don’t do sit-ups –
There is no single
best move for building a solid six pack! Least of all of them is the simple sit
up, as placing your feet under a bench and raising your chest works your chest
to knees working your hip flexors and NOT the abdominals.
2 – Work your whole –
Body compound
exercises such as squats and deadlifts require your abdominals to provide
stability throughout the movement so performing them as part of your training
will stimulate both the deep-lying and outer core muscles to build a strong and
stable midsection.
3 – Hit your abs from all angles –
Standard crunches
will only hit the top part of your abs but adding reverse crunches will work
the bottom. Whilst twisting crunches will hit oblique’s all help to develop a
complete 6 pack.
4 – Keep Cardio Short –
Cardio exercises
should revolve around interval training and hill sessions rather than long
steady-paced runs to maximise calorie burn. This helps shift the layer of fat.
5 – Bring the changes –
Variation is the key
to keeping your abs working and developing if you just repeat the same old
exercise and routine and don’t introduce any new exercises your muscles will
stop responding. Alternate your routines throughout the week to keep building
those abs.
6 – Eat more Protein –
To build muscle you
need to eat between 1.5g to 2g of lean protein per kilo of bodyweight every
day. Even then you may not be able to see your six pack if your body fat
percentage is higher than 10% so you need to burn more calories than you
consume. This will shift that excess flab.
7 – Train standing up –
Doing all your abdominal
exercises both, high and low on a mat means one side of your body is switched
off when you’re working the other. Standing exercises that involve a twist or rotation,
such as woodchop on the cable machine work the core in a single movement/unit.
This will help provide better protection against both strains and injury.
8 – Treat the Abdominals like any
other muscle –
To build your abs
work them like you would with all your other major muscle groups. Start with
sets of 10 – 15 repetitions, leaving a day’s rest between sessions and increase
intensity by adding extra sets. Bashing out 200 reps of an abs exercise every
day won’t lead to a six-pack but a hernia.
9 – Get down Lower –
Defining the top 4
abdominal muscles is a lot easier than the bottom two – unless you include
specific exercises to work them hard. Start with reverse crunches with your
legs either on a SWISS ball or straight up in the air.
10 – Do Static Holds –
Muscles are made from
both fast twitch and slow twitch fibre. Holding a position or a weighted
position in a static position targets both groups at once. Improving the
muscles overall strength and stability in one exercise. Moves like the plank
are most effective providing you hold this position for at least more than 5
seconds.
11 – Add resistance to crunches to
build muscle –
Start with a
dumb-bell or medicine ball across your chest and close to the body to add resistance
to crunches to force your abdominals to work harder. Gradually increase the difficulty
by extending your arms above your head holding the weight.
12 – Have Perfect Posture –
Maintaining a good
posture throughout the day even when you’re sitting at your desk will activate
those all-important deep-lying stabilising muscles that are vital for a strong
core – SO SIT UP STRAIGHT!
13 – Build it Up –
Don’t get too
comfortable using the same routine or if your finding your flying through the
exercises. Try increasing the resistance Gradually adding heavier weights into
your training will help to develop and increase the muscles Strength.
14 – Don’t ignore the deep-lying
muscles –
Performing exercises
such as the plank works the inner core muscles which provide the stability that
allows the outer muscles to become bigger and stronger.
15 – Stretch your Core –
Improving your core
flexibility ads recovery. Long, supple muscles allow for better blood flow,
which helps nutrients to reach your muscles.
16 – Slow your REPS Down! –
Muscles will only
grow if they are held under tension and slowing down the speed of each rep will
keep them engaged for longer. For crunches count to three on the way up old for
two. Before lowing again in three.
17 – Use a Gym Ball –
Training on an
unstable surface such as a gym ball recruit far more muscle fibres to hold you
steady than on a flat environment. All these fibres receive microscopic tears,
which are repaired and so grow back bigger and stronger.
