A functional body requires a strong core. Your core comprises your abdominal muscles, protects your spine, makes all lower and upper body motions easier, and improves your participation in sports and physical activity. We may not be able to control the appearance of our abs, but we can control how strong they are. Six-pack abs are attractive, but powerful abs can make you feel fabulous. In addition, a well-supported spine facilitates daily activities and prevents you from back pain and injury. Moving beyond crunches and the six-pack can reveal the true capabilities of your abs. Learn more about developing functional abs.
The Abs Conspiracy
Ab myths have been around for decades, if not millennia, all because of the single desire to have flat, toned abs. If this is one of your goals, and you’ve been unable to achieve it no matter how many crunches you do, considering a few facts can help you obtain a clear picture of what you can and cannot do to tone your abs.
Abs Exercises Increase Strength
Ab exercises can increase strength and muscle mass but do not burn fat. Any abdominal exercises that promise to “tone” are false. Muscles can be created (grow) or shrunk (decrease) but cannot be toned. Strong abs with larger muscles can make them more noticeable while offering increased strength. Lowering your body fat percentage can help to make your abdominal muscles more visible. However, this type of physical transformation can be tough to maintain. While strong abs are beneficial to your health, visible abs may be challenging to achieve with healthy living practices if they interfere with your diet or mental health.
Genetics Are Important
Women have a more difficult time getting flat abs than males simply because they are prone to store excess fat, and the favored spot for fat to reside in women seems to be in the belly area, especially after menopause. While social influences can influence how you feel about your physique, wanting flat abs may not be the best objective for your physiology. For one thing, many people are not created to have a fully flat abdomen. Many organs are housed within your abdominal cavity, including your intestines, stomach, and, for many, a uterus. These organs can push on your abdominal wall, giving your abdomen a natural curve that does not appear flat. This is perfectly normal, and many photographs in the media depicting flat bellies have been digitally edited and are, therefore, unreal.
Strong Abs Accomplish More
Six-pack abs look fantastic at the beach or the gym, but strong abs can provide many more benefits, including spine support and lower back pain and injury prevention. Focusing on strong abs through a range of exercises will not only provide your body with additional support for daily tasks, but it can also liberate you from the unattainable aim of having flat abs. What a pleasure to be free of something that has only caused me anxiety and stress.
What Your Abdominals Do
- Core muscles anchor your spine and aid in appropriate posture.
- Core muscles anchor your spine and aid in appropriate posture.
- If your torso is frail or imbalanced, you may suffer persistent lower back pain.
- The Transverse Abdominis (TVA) is typically overlooked in favor of the more visible rectus abdominis (the six-pack), although it is crucial for everyday functioning. It wraps around your spine, providing optimum spine stability.
Making the Most of Your Abs Workouts
We’ve learned that doing hundreds of crunches daily is not the best way to develop your abs. A good ab workout entails more. Multiple exercises that work your entire core are an example of an excellent ab workout. Select 5 exercises that train all core muscles: the TVA, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, and lower back. You should also include flexion (such as ball crunches), rotation (such as cycling), and bracing or isometric activities (like the plank).
Include floor and standing ab exercises to emphasize strength and functionality, and perform 1-3 sets of 8-16 reps of each exercise 3-5 days per week. Make sure to do each exercise slowly and with control. Going too rapidly requires using momentum, which reduces the effectiveness of the workouts. If you require greater intensity, you can add resistance (for example, holding a weight during crunches).
Combine your ab regimen with cardio, strength training, and stretching for optimal results. Eating less calories than you burn with your program is critical for decreasing body fat and revealing your ab muscles if this is your objective. However, whether or not you reduce fat has no bearing on how useful or powerful your abs are.
Kim’s Final Thoughts…
You may feel pressured to have flat, noticeable abs due to altered media representations and cultural pressures. Striking for extreme body types, on the other hand, may be harmful to your health or impossible to achieve. Instead, focusing on core strength and body neutrality may be more beneficial to your physical and emotional well-being.
