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Everything you know about abs is wrong

Men's Fitness, May, 2005 by Lou Schuler

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO, NOBODY HAD EVER heard of six-pack abs, but plenty of guys had them--even though they didn't have access to 24-hour health clubs or "scientifically" designed exercise machines. Instead they built their abs in the gym of everyday life, usually doing outdoor work such as chopping wood, tilling fields, and stacking hay--movements that built stronger, more powerful, and better-looking midsection muscles than those of some of the most fit men today, We're not suggesting you give up your cubicle, your office, or your indoor job, but we do say forget nearly everything you've been told about how to build your abs: Most of it was a lie.

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Lie 1 Targeting your six-pack is the best way to work your abs

The truth: Your abs are designed to work with other muscles as much as they're designed to work with each other. For instance, the rectus abdominis--the official name for the six-pack muscle--shares connective tissue with the lower chest. In other words, your lower pecs are honorary abdominal muscles. So by exclusively doing exercises such as crunches that target only your rectus abdominis--a trend that started in the 1980's--you're actually underworking your abs. And that means you won't achieve optimal development. Keep in mind that most "ab" exercises don't truly isolate your rectus abdominis anyway. In fact, the six-pack provides just 20% of the pulling power in a situp, says Stuart McGill, Ph.D., author of Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance.

Solution: Standing Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown

Do it instead of: Situps; dumbbell or barbell pullovers (it works the same muscles, but adds work for your abs)

Benefits: Builds almost all upper-body muscles--including your abs--while forcing your lower body to work to keep your body braced

Directions:

* Attach a straight bar to the high cable pulley. Stand about 2-3 feet in front of it and grab the bar with straight arms and a grip just outside shoulder-width. Plant your feet in an athletic stance, with unlocked knees, and tighten your torso [1].

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

* Without bending your elbows, pull the bar straight down to your thighs [2]. Pause, return the bar, repeat.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

* Do 2-4 sets of 5-8 reps.

Lie 2 Sucking in your waist makes your core stronger

The truth: In his book Beyond Bodybuilding, training guru Pavel Tsatsouline tells the story of a Russian powerlifter who had just squatted 947 pounds without using a belt. When asked how he did it, the powerlifter "laughed, tapped his belly, and said, 'We build our own belt.'"

It's true that your abs can help protect your back--in fact, your spine is helpless without that protection. But the process that builds your natural belt has nothing to do with sucking the waist in, which is a misguided recommendation. The better maneuver is more akin to pushing waste out. Tsatsouline calls it the "anal lock" and says it comes from the martial-arts world. "Contract your sphincter and pretend that you are straining to have a bowel movement while maintaining the lock," he says.

It sounds gruesome, but it's the key to creating the type of abdominal strength that stabilizes and protects your spine when you're doing heavy squats and deadlifts.

Solution: The Curlup

Do it instead of: Crunches

Benefits: Teaches you to create a spine-protective abdominal belt for exercises like squats and deadlifts while working all your abdominal muscles

Directions:

* Lie on your back on the floor, with your feet flat on the floor and knees bent. Slip your hands under the arch in your lower back, palms down [1].

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

* Now contract your abs by pushing down--don't suck them in or push them out. Without holding your breath, curl up as far as you can; it'll probably be just an inch or two [2]. Breathe once or twice. Relax and repeat.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

* Do 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps. Make it tougher by holding contractions longer while breathing steadily.

Lie 3 Your abs should only be worked slowly

The truth: It might surprise you to know what your rectus abdominis really is: six beads of muscle floating in a sea of tough connective tissue above your navel, along with a narrow strap of muscle below, connecting it to the front of your pelvis. They're designed that way, says McGill, to prevent your powerful obliques--the two layers of muscle at the sides of your waist that enable you to rotate your torso and hips--from ripping your midsection apart when you're twisting or swinging something as hard as you can.

"The obliques act as springs," says McGill. "It's about speed, speed, speed."

Sure, you can feel the muscles working better when you work them slowly, as in the pullover, or by holding a continuous contraction, which you do in the curlup. And it's good to develop a sense of control over your muscle contractions. But in sports (swinging a bat or golf club, spiking a volleyball) or real-life activities (chopping wood, throwing garbage onto the back of the truck), you can't take the time to feel the contraction. And you don't want to feel the effects of an overzealous effort that puts more stress on your midsection than it's prepared to handle. That's why it makes sense to practice some fast movements in the gym.

Everything you know about abs is wrong

Men's Fitness, May, 2005 by Lou Schuler

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