There are three components to working your abs to get that sculpted

look—nutrition, aerobic exercise and abdominal training.  Truth is, you won’t

have a washboard stomach with a 6-inch layer of fat over it, no matter how many

crunches you do.  In order to get a good six-pack, you have to remove the fat

that covers your abdominal muscles, and that takes a nutritionally balanced

weight-loss diet and aerobic exercise.

You can, however, strengthen your abs even before you lose the fat; the

abdominals are core muscles and strong abs stabilize your spine, give you good

posture and balance and help you move smoothly and gracefully.

Anatomy

There are three layers of abdominal muscles, and they run in three different

directions.  The outermost layer contains the outer oblique muscles, which run

diagonally along the sides of your abdomen, connecting the posterior ribs, spine

and pelvis.  The next layer contains the internal obliques, which run just under

the external ones, and the rectus abdominus.  The rectus is a broad, flat muscle

that runs vertically down the front of your abdomen from the ribs to your

pelvis.  It is crossed by several horizontal tendons, which is what gives you

that six-pack look.  The bottom layer contains the transverse abdominus, which

runs horizontally across your abdomen from side to side.

It’s helpful to know what the function of each of the muscles is:

•       The rectus flexes your spine.

•       The transverse abdominus is primarily used for abdominal breathing.

•       The external obliques rotate your body toward the opposite side

(contracting the left external obliques causes you to rotate toward the right.)

•       The internal obliques rotate your body toward the same side.

Protect Your Spine

When you’re doing ab training, remember that these muscles attach to your spine.

 It’s important to make sure you are doing exercises correctly; consult with a

trainer if you’re not sure how to perform them.

Full sit ups are not recommended anymore by anyone because they 1)aren’t

necessary for exercising your abs and 2)can injure your spine.  We do crunches

instead.

Whenever you are doing ab training, place your hands behind your neck and press

your back toward the floor.  Keep your knees bent.  This protects the natural

curves of your spine.

IMPORTANT:  If you have osteoporosis or a previous back injury, check with your

doctor before attempting any ab training exercises.

Crunches

All ab training exercises are a variation on the basic crunch.  You can raise

your hips or your shoulders, but the object is to contract the abdominal

muscles.  Here are a few crunch pointers:

•       Save crunches for the end of your workout.  Remember, the abdominal

muscles are involved in respiration, and you don’t want to fatigue them early in

the workout.

•       Pull your stomach in—press your belly button into your back—to contract

the transverse muscle.  Remember not to hold your breath while you’re doing

this.

•       Keep your abdominals tightened throughout a series of reps.  Make your

movements slow and controlled, and pause briefly at the top of each rep.

•       Don’t raise your hips or shoulders more than 4-6 inches off the

floor—that’s all you need for full contraction of the muscles.

•       Do lateral crunches to work the obliques—pointing your left shoulder at

your right knee.

Crunches are the key to strong abs—regular crunches, oblique crunches, hip

raises, crunches with added weight.  Keep crunching and soon you’ll have great

abs.