Esprit de core: Try fitness pro Beth Horn's ab-training techniques for serious results without endless reps

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, Feb-March, 2002 by Steve Stiefel

SO, you want a trim, toned midsection, one that gets noticed? That surely means devoting at least a half-hour a day to working your abs. cranking out hundreds of reps For endless sets, plus a diet of deprivation, tasteless Foods and dry protein, right? Wrong, says IFBB Fitness pro Beth Horn. Instead, she points out that one oft-overlooked but particularly important aspect of awesome abdominals requires you to Focus on the negative -- a surprising recommendation From a competitor known For her sunny disposition.

Of course, what Beth means is that you have to Focus on the negative phase of each rep when you perform ab exercises. "A lot of people really work hard on bringing their bodies up during ab training," she notes. "But then they just relax the muscles, allowing gravity and their bodyweight to take them back to the Floor, which compromises whatever gains they think they might be making."

hard core

Beth's history and experience as a competitive gymnast has also taught her that ab development isn't just about ab training. "I work my abs so hard and use them so much in preparing my fitness routines," she states. But that doesn't mean you have to become a fitness pro or gymnast to have a firm midsection.

In addition to focusing on the negative, or eccentric, contraction when training abs, Beth stresses the importance of using your core muscles in the rest of your workout. "When I weight train, I always think about holding my abs tight," she explains. "This increases the intensity of the work I'm doing, and it has the side benefit of strengthening and developing my core muscles." This comes easily to gymnasts, who need to tighten their midsections to maintain control during balance and strength moves, she adds.

Many bodybuilders and fitness competitors already do this when they weight train, and you can, too. The next time you perform overhead dumbbell presses, for example, press the dumbbells overhead using a warm-up weight, holding your abs tight through the entire set. At the top of the movement, keep your abs contracted as you squeeze your deltoids. This may feel uncomfortable at first, but using core strength during all other weight-training movements will eventually become second nature, and can even assist you in developing your other bodyparts. Further, choosing free weights over machines enables you to work your midsection stabilizers more effectively.

"I sometimes even use this technique when I do cardio," Beth remarks. For instance, when she rides a stationary bike, she'll do a few mini-sets of ab crunches, thinking about pulling her knees toward her abs as she pedals, and crunching down. "Sometimes when I'm on a treadmill, I just walk at a leisurely pace," she admits. "But sometimes I'm much more focused, and I'll think about the movement of my obliques and abs, and work them that way, too."

negative focus

Beth's recipe for direct abdominal training is pretty simple: She trains them twice a week, taking a little more than 20 minutes for the entire session. During these sets, she works as hard as she possibly can, really emphasizing the negative phase of the movements.

But to develop ab separation, Beth stays focused on the core muscles of her body during her gymnastics routine workouts, cardio and weight training. "I don't train my abs that much, but I work them all the time," she concludes.

Steve Stiefel, a member of the FLEX editorial staff has a master's degree in professional writing from the University of Southern California.

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Beth begins her ab workout with this movement, which she says serves as a good warm-up for both the abs and obliques. preparing them for the harder exercises that follow. Lying faceup on the floor, cross one foot over the opposite knee and place both hands behind your head. Curl up using the strength of your abs to lift your shoulder blade off the floor, then twist your torso to bring your elbow across your body toward the opposite knee. "Take your elbow as far across as possible if you have the flexibility' Beth says, which will give you a deeper crunch.

Lower yourself slowly, keeping your abs tight. Beth notes: "A lot of people just relax their abs and sort of fall back to the floor To make this exercise effective, you have to force your abs to work even harder on the negative phase." Think about holding your abs tight as you stretch them while returning to the start position.

DECLINE-BENCH CRUNCH

"This is my favorite ab exercise because it's a real muscle-builder," Beth explains. That's why she makes it the cornerstone of her ab training. She recommends placing your hands behind your head to support it, which also increases the resistance against which your abs will move.

Sit on the bench with your legs under the support pads. "Keep your feet relaxed instead of flexed, and avoid pressing hard forward against the pads because that increases the emphasis on your hip flexors instead of your abs," Beth states. Lower yourself slowly and under control, holding your abs tight throughout, emphasizing the negative portion of the exercise more than the positive.