Strong Abs Help and I’m here to help you get them!
When you hear the term, strong abs, you may conjure images of sit-ups, crunches and twisty things with a weight, all in an effort to strengthen those abs and get them popping.
You’d be right along with the majority of folks who feel those are the accepted and therefore, only methods of building abdominal strength.
And, while I’m not saying that way is wrong, I am saying there is a better way…and even the healthier way to build strong abs.
Without writing a dissertation: sit-ups, crunches and twisty’s can all hurt your spine, very badly and the risk outweighs the reward when there are so many other safer ways.
Sit-ups and crunches can hurt your cervical (upper) spine by pulling on the neck, which then outs strain on the lower back.
Twisty’s can help you dislocate your spine from your hips, and crush you lumbar (lower) spine, if you’re not careful.
For a quick overview, most people think the abs are called the ‘core.’ Not sure where this came up, another of those widely accepted terms I guess. I believe a better way to look at it is to call it the midsection.
Most think abs are just those 6 little muscles on the front of the stomach.
Again, not wrong…but not right…there are more.
Essentially, just under your collar bone to just above the knees is your midsection. Your midsection contains all the abs and I’m not going to list them all, it’s boring. Go check out an anatomy chart real quick if you want to read all those terms like: transverse abdominis and obliques (told you, boring…)
The best ways to train these muscles are to put them in position where they resist forces in all planes of motion, without excess movement happening throughout the spine. Movement occurs through the hips and shoulders, not the upper, middle and lower back.
Learning to ‘plank’ your body in all postures is key. So, think of getting super stiff throughout your body, from the neck down as if all your muscles contracted to make you an impenetrable muscle suit.
And so, here are some of my favorite, non-traditional exercises (because they work), to get your abs firing strong, looking strong and performing strong.
There are many more I like and in fact, I tend to make every exercise I perform or my students perform…an ab exercise. Because you can’t exercise without your abs, they get used for everything you do. Yep…they do 🙂
Have a Strong Spring!!!