Understanding Abdominal Training

Understanding abdominal training, requires you to understand how to stimulate muscle growth. Your abdominals are not unicorn muscles, they require the exact same stimulus as every other muscle in your body, with one specific difference, everyone wants to see them clearly but just like every other muscle, your body fat needs to be low enough for them to pop!

1. Goals

When programming abdominal work it's important to first decide what your goal of training them is.

To see your Abdominal Definition?

Abs, we all have them, you might not be able to see them right now but I guarantee if you did not have abdominal muscles you would be in a lot of trouble, like how would you even move? To see your abdominal muscles clearly defined (like all muscles) requires you to be at a low enough body fat for them to be visible, that's it! If that's your goal, you need to be in a calorie deficit and lose body fat and when you are lean enough, you will see them. There is a huge genetic component to this. Some people don't have to lose much body fat for their abs to appear, others may need to get to a relatively unhealthy/unsustainable body fat percentage to see them. So, if this is your goal, I would place your effort in your nutrition and see if it's worth getting to a low enough body fat percentage to see them. 

To improve your Sport Performance?

There are lots of benefits to improving the strength, stamina and endurance of your abdominal muscles to improve your sport specific performance. Swimmers need to have a taut core for aerodynamics and rotation as they move through the water. Runners need to hold good posture, sometimes for hours at a time. Golfers need to be able to generate power as they rotate the torso in a powerful swing. I programme abdominal training for sport that mimics as closely as possible the movements in the specific sport which usually involves being able to hold a taut body position when the limbs are moving.  

Improve strength for Posture/Pain/injury management?

The abdominal muscles play a crucial role in maintaining balance and stability. Strong abdominal muscles during vigorous movement may help to reduce your risk of injuries. Strong abdominal muscles reduce the load on the lower back and can help to reduce your risk of pain in the lower back and alleviate pain. Your abdominals support your spine and improve your posture, which can help reduce pain in the neck, shoulders and back. 

More Definition To Your Abdominals?

If you can already see your abdominals but they aren't as big or defined as you want then this requires you to continue to work on this area of your body. The same principles apply here as with all muscles, increase the load by either the weight you use, progress the exercise or increase the sets and reps. 

General Overall Abdominal Strength?

Perhaps you are a beginner or have had a long time away from workouts. In this case it's time to  start adding in some abdominal work 2-3 times per week. Start with bodyweight and build up to adding in some weight or difficulty to the exercises. Each week you are looking to see a little  progress. When/if you want to see your abdominal definition it's time to lose body fat to see how much you have built.

2. How Often Should I Train My Abdominals?

You do not need to train your abdominals every day or every time you workout! It's important to train your abdominals with intention and hard and you know muscle doesn't grow in the gym it grows when you recover.

The only way to know the exact prescription is to be your own guinea pig and see how you recover from proper abdominal training. 2-3 times per week with the right training is a good place to start. See how you progress and recover over a 6 week period and gradually add in more days, if you need it. I would say training abdominals properly 6 days a week is the absolute max.

You also need to be mindful of how a lot of abdominal training affects your heavy lifting, in particular compound lifts. You don't want your abs to be limiting your ability to train properly!

3. How To Train Abdominals?

For a complete beginner, during rehab of an injury/surgery or other limitation bodyweight exercises are a great place to start. If lying isn't an option then it's possible to start working on strength from a standing position or other supported options.

For general, overall training I like 3 times per week training with 1-3 exercises. I use a mix of difficult bodyweight and weighted exercises.

Also a mixture of sets and rep ranges. I start the week with the heavy, low rep ranges, then move to the moderate rep range and finish the week with the highest rep ranges.

What does that look like?

Beginner

Monday - Lying Alternate Single Leg Lowers 3x5-10 each side 60-90 Sec Rest

Wednesday - Reverse Sit Ups 4x10-15 60-90 Sec Rest

Friday - Elbow Plank 3xMax Time 60-90 Sec Rest

Intermediate

Monday - Ab Crunch Machine 3x5-10 60-90 Sec Rest

Wednesday - Weighted Sit Up 6x10-20 60-90 Sec Rest

Friday - Roman Chair Knee Raises 3x20-30 60-90 Sec Rest

A Note On Spot Reduction

You will not lose body fat on your abdomen by doing hundreds of crunches every day. If you are genetically pre disposed to lose body fat from your abdomen first, then you will see a change there first. However, this varies hugely between individuals. I've seen some women lose most of their body fat around their abdomen first and others it's the last place they lose it. You are not doing anything wrong if the first place you lose body fat is not your abdomen. 

If you want to reduce the size of your abdomen then you need to be in a calorie deficit and lose more body fat and see how your abdomen looks at the end of your specific fat loss phase. Take measurements and photos so you can compare every two to four weeks. 

I hope that helps you to understand a bit more about training your abdominals. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a message x