Abs, abs, and more ABS! Myths, Theories, Misconceptions, etc...

Hi guys!

I’m Fitness Expert Mario Godiva Green here to talk about ABS!  There are many misconceptions, myths, theories, etc etc ect to getting flat and washboard abs, and a hot six pack (or 8 pack!)  The reality is that there are many ways to get from point A to point B and I personally chose to take (and will tell you how to) the fastest and most effective way!  In all actuality many guys I know with GORGEOUS abs and I don’t even do traditional “abs” exercises.  (Shocking I know, but we are also in our “maintenance” phase)  Why?  Because we know how to engage our CORE in all other exercises that we do.  When we workout we are consciously engaging our core during our ENTIRE workout.  Even though we may be working chest one day our abs will be sore the next day as well from us constantly keeping it engaged.  (That is if you know how to do it properly)  How do you properly engage your abs?  I’ll explain later!  :-)

That being said it’s obviously easier for us to maintain then it is for others who need to actually build their abs.  One of the main reasons people don’t see results from doing ab work is because they aren’t really cognizant of the difference between primary moving muscles (muscles that are primarily supposed to be doing and feeling the work) and synergistic moving muscles (the muscles that help do the work).  They do crunches and sit ups with bad form and other exercises they read in Men’s Health magazine and think they are getting a workout.  Sure you are getting a workout but usually for all the wrong muscles.  When people say “abs” they are referring to your superficial abs (or rectus abdominus) which sit on top of your transverse abdominus also known as your “deep abs”.  Your transverse abdominus, internal and external obliques, serratus anterior, linea alba (that middle indentation), tendinous intersection (what separates the top and bottom of your abs), and rectus abdominus (superficial abs) all make up your CORE.  (wow a lot of muscles I know!)  People don’t realize that they need to strengthen their entire CORE in order to get good “abs”.  What does that mean?  Take a look at the diagram below to get a better visual understanding of your CORE and what it looks like.

What this all means is that you need to do a VARIETY of exercises that target many different parts of your CORE.  Also when you are doing these exercises it is extremely important that you are doing the draw in maneuver or engaging your core (Aha from earlier! :-) ).  Pulling your stomach in and keeping it in, thinking of snapping your belly button to your spin.  Many people push their abs OUT when they do ab work.  Pull your stomach in and keep it in if you want your stomach to stay IN push your stomach out and keep it out if you want your stomach to stay OUT!  Makes sense right?  Do you want your stomach to stay IN or OUT??? I don’t know about you but I want mine IN!!!

It’s extremely important to do a variety of exercises targeting every single part of your CORE while engaging your core.  If you are doing the exercise properly and properly engaging your CORE you will start to feel the work and burn after maybe 10 reps of the exercise.  It’s also very important to hit all the different muscle fibers in your CORE.  This means doing single reps, pulsing, and holding statically for optimal muscle fiber failure and optimal muscle growth stimulation.  Also when you have your hands on your head it’s important to keep your fingers behind your ears and keep your arms and elbows OPEN.  Do not move your SHOULDERS when doing ab work.  Save the shoulders moving for your shoulder workout! ;-)   Don’t think you do it?   I challenge you to go on your back with your legs bent and your fingers behind your ears with arms and elbows open and do a simple basic crunch.  If your elbows are moving forward you are doing the wrong form and taking the work away from your abs where the work should be!  The number one mistake people make with ab work is they put the primary work in their lower back and or hip flexors which takes away from building strong abs.  Not only does it take away from building strong abs it also puts you in danger of hurting or getting a weak lower back.  Make sense?

Alright now I’m going to let you in on my 6 favorite CORE exercises for building a strong CORE and great abs!  Things to keep in mind while doing these exercises are pulling your stomach in and keeping it in.  Think of gluing your belly button to your spine.  When you pull your stomach in and keep it in, you engage your transverse abdominus and those are your deep abs.  It puts all the work of abs exercises in your CORE and away from your lower back and hip flexors where people (especially guys) tend to put it.  If you are doing an abs exercises let the primary work be the abs otherwise why even do the exercise?  Also think about your breathing.  You want to always exhale on the exertion or breathe on the work.  Holding your breath is not only not good for you, it also makes doing exercises HARDER!  So make it easier on yourself and open your mouth and breathe on the work.  Each time you crunch you are exhaling!

1.       Basic Crunch:  Yep.  Bare bones but when done right extremely effective!  Lay on your back with your legs bent.  Finger tips behind the ears with arms and elbows open.  Keep your stomach pulled in and kept in tight with your belly button snapped to your spine and do a basic crunch.  Isolate the torso and don’t move your elbows.  Do 16 single reps, then do 16 slow counts of pulsing, then do 16 slow counts of holding statically in the upward phase of the crunch.  If you want to make this harder you can bring your legs off the floor in table top position or even extend them straight off the floor toward the ceiling.  Make sure you are exhaling on the exertion (breathing on the work) with an open mouth.  Every time you crunch you should be breathing out.   Do 1, 2, or 3 sets. 

2.       Oblique Twist/Bicycle Crunch: A KILLER when done properly.  Lay on your back with your legs bent at a 90 degree angle in table top position (off the floor).  Finger tips behind the ears with arms and elbows open.  Keep your stomach pulled in and kept in tight with your belly button snapped to your spine start to twist either left or right bringing your opposite SHOULDER to the opposite knee (NOT your elbow) and switching back and forth (you can keep your legs stationary or move them in opposition to make it harder).  Make sure to keep your arms open and that you are bringing the opposite SHOULDER (not the elbow) to your opposite knee.  This isolates the obliques and puts all the work in the obliques when you are just twisting the torso as one unit.

3.       Ab Circle:  Lay on your back with your legs bent.  Finger tips behind the ears with arms and elbows open.  Keep your stomach pulled in and kept in tight with your belly button snapped to your spine and just moving your torso (and nothing else) make a big circle going to the right.  You should be feeling this in every single part of your core!  Make sure you are making a continuous circle (no other crazy shapes) going as full range of motion as you can go with your torso.  Once you circle for about 8 times then reverse the circle going left.  Do this for about 2 or 3 sets doing both sides.  

*Same picture as the basic crunch above but making a circular motion with your torso to the right and left in stead of going straight up.

4.       V Crunch:  Lay on your back with your legs bent at a 90 degree angle in table top position (off the floor).  Finger tips behind the ears with arms and elbows open.  Keep your stomach pulled in and kept in tight with your belly button snapped to your spine.  As you crunch keeping the arms and elbows open bring the upper and lower body together curling your torso up so that you are using your core and NOT your hip flexors.  Crunch and curl the shoulders and your pelvis off the floor toward each other.  Think of bringing your knees to your shoulders (not your elbows, keep your elbows open)  Do 16 reps, 16 pulsing, then 16 holding statically trying to glue your knees to your shoulders.  Do this for 2 or 3 sets.

*This picture shows the harder variation where the legs and the arms are extended.

5.       Reverse Crunch: Lay on your back and place both of your hands under your lower back (if you need back support) with your legs straight up in the air or bend them if you want to make it easier.  Pulling your stomach in and keeping it in tight curl your torso upward bringing your legs at an upward diagonal towards your head and the ceiling.  Point your toes and diagonally and bring them back down to your original starting position.  Try to stop your torso from reaching the ground as you descend and keep your feet from moving past your hips.  Do 16 reps, 16 pulsing, and try and hold statically in the upward phase of the exercise for 16 counts.  Do 1 or 2 sets of this.

6.       Plank/Side Plank: Last but certainly not least our lovely plank!  An essential exercise for not only getting flat abs but for building a strong CORE!  Start face down on your stomach and go up into plank position either on your knees or your hands keeping your body straight and pulling your stomach in and keeping it in.  Make sure your mouth is open and you are controlling your breathing and not letting your breathe control you!  Your body should be in a straight line and your pelvis should be tucked under you to fully engage your CORE and take any pressure off your lower back.  If you can't maintain a straight position with your body while in plank either go down to your knees or come down from plank for a couple seconds and try again.  When people start to fatigue they generally start to lose their form.  Maintain proper form when doing a plank at all times.  Try for 45 seconds without having to come down.  Once you master 45 seconds then move up 15 seconds weekly or bi weekly! Progressive overload!

Side Plank: Laying on either your left or right side go up into a side plank either on your elbow or your hand.  Once again pull your stomach in and keep it in tight and maintain this lateral position and stretch the opposite arm as high as you can laterally in the other direction.  If you want to make it more challenging simply raise your top leg as high as you can.  If you need to modify and make it easier drop to the knee of what ever side you are on.  Once you master 45 seconds then move up 15 seconds weekly or bi weekly! 

One more thing to think about is nutrition is 60% of your results!  So you can work your heart out on these abs exercises and have a solid 6 or 8 pack, but if its covered by a layer of fat or pudge what good is it???  Sodium causes water retention and is the number one reason (more so than sugar) that people get bloated and start to gain fat in stubborn places.  Usually people with a diet high in sodium retain the weight in their face and their waste.  The new RDA is 2,400 mg a day (that’s about a teaspoon a day).  How much sodium are you taking in daily?  Also are you drinking enough water daily?  You should be drinking at least HALF your body weight in ounces daily.  When you don’t drink enough water daily your body then retains it because it isn’t sure when it’s going to get water again.  Make sense?  Our bodies are very smart! J  I hope this helps!  Good luck in your quest for ABMAZING ABS!

Mario Godiva Green

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