Working those abs

Volume One, Issue 30, April 13 - 19, 2007

Health & fitness

Working those abs

By Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T.

In last week’s column, I discussed some of the most common exercise mistakes that I see people making again and again. This week, I’m going to talk about the most common mistakes that people make in their quest for a flat stomach or ‘six pack’ abs (really it’s an ‘8-pack’). Why focus on the abdominals? Because we are obsessed by them. More people ask me, “How do I get great abs,” than any other question about fitness. And of course, our media is obsessed by them, too.

So, how do we develop a great midsection? The answer is simple and complex at the same time and, believe it or not, does not come in a device sold on late-night TV commercials. It does not come from doing hundreds of sit-ups every day. The truth about how to have great-looking abs is actually quite simple (which is not to say easy). Here it is: You must first build strong abdominal muscles and then reveal them by stripping away the fat that lies over them.

To succeed in the quest for great abdominals, it helps to understand why people fail to get the results that they seek, along with the mistakes they make. First, people treat the abdominals differently than they treat other muscles. For example, they exercise them every day, even when they know that other muscles need ‘down time’ for recovery. The abs are no different: If we do not allow them to recover, they will not grow stronger and more defined. Also, people tend to do too many repetitions, using exercises that are too easy and therefore do not produce results. You wouldn’t pick up 1-pound dumbbells, do hundreds of bicep curls and expect your biceps to get stronger, so why would you exercise your abdominal muscles in that way?

Instead, challenge your abdominals in the same way you challenge our other muscles. That is, exercise them with the maximum amount of resistance they can handle for the prescribed number of repetitions (between 10 and 20) for a reasonable number of sets (3–5). Then we need to let them rest for a day or two. The next time we do our abdominal routine, we need to apply the principal of ‘progressive resistance’ by increasing the challenge.

Another mistake people make with abs is doing ineffective exercises. I observe people doing all sorts of crazy (and often impressive-looking) movements in the gym that unfortunately just don’t isolate the abdominals. You’ve seen what I’m talking about: people yanking on their heads and twisting their bodies all over the place.

A better approach is to choose several of the top-rated exercises—those that have been shown to give the best results—and stick with them long enough to produce results. Some examples of the best ab exercises are: Physioball crunches, reverse crunches, the bicycle maneuver and the captain’s chair. If you don’t know how to perform these exercises correctly, Google them (or email me and I’ll send you links to video clips). If you do exercises that have been proven effective and increase their level of difficulty (by adding resistance progressively), you will see massive improvements in your abdominals compared with doing the hit-or-miss exercises that I see most people performing.

A final mistake that people make in trying to achieve a great-looking midsection is to think that doing ab exercises alone will give you that ‘six-pack’ look. But while many of us have that kind of abdominal structure, usually it is buried under a layer of fat, which certain ab exercises (or lots of different ab exercises) will not ‘burn’ away. (Targeting any area with exercise will not reduce the fat there.)

To make the abdominals that you’ve worked so hard to build visible, you need to reduce your overall body fat to fairly low levels. This can only be accomplished by employing the ‘synergy’ that I’ve discussed in previous columns: getting sound nutrition, building muscle and doing moderate cardiovascular exercise. If you need a review of those topics, you can find them online at www.chelseanow.com, Volume One, Issues 20, 21 and 22.

By employing a sound strategy that includes choosing the best abdominal exercises, working them progressively and consistently, and reducing overall levels of body fat, you can develop that ‘washboard’ look in the abdominals. If you get started now, hopefully that midsection will be beach-ready by summer.

In my next two columns, I will answer readers’ questions about specific exercise strategies and techniques. So, send me questions about choosing the best exercises or the best ways to perform them, and I’ll be sure to answer them in the coming weeks.

Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T., is the owner of emPower Fitness Studios (emPowerFitnessNYC.com). He received his masters degree in physical therapy from Columbia University and has 15 years’ experience in the rehabilitation and fitness fields, most recently as the personal training manager and top-level trainer for Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York City. SEND YOUR QUESTIONS about nutrition, fitness and sports injuries/rehabilitation to Greg at emPowerFitness@aol.com.