Intelligent Abdominal Training

In the quest for a firm mid-section, the typical routine I come across involves plenty of crunches, twisting motions and perhaps a couple plank holds thrown in if time allows.

But while these may work (although not very well) for the muscles of the twenty five year old fitness model demonstrating in shape, the fact is this sort of shotgun approach is perhaps the biggest error I come across in core training.

While most of us benefit from universal exercises such as squats, push ups and bodyweight strength training, core training is one part of a fitness program that require individualization based upon needs and lifestyle.

Explore your core:

For me, the true “AH-HA” moment in appreciating this difference came when studying a diagram of the fibers of the abdominal wall.

Paying particular attention to the direction of the muscle fibers above (those red lines which run across the stomach), we have the rectus abdominus which runs straight up and down the stomach, the oblique’s which run at a diagonal and the transverse abdominus which actually runs side to side.

The other factor we must take in to consideration when designing exercises is where on the trunk these muscles are actually located.

While this may seem fairly straight forward, this simple drawing provides a wealth of information on how to best prescribe core exercises. For example, the rectus is best targeted by exercises which involve forward flexion such as sit ups and leg lifts. Going further, crunches involve flexing the torso to the pelvis and target the upper portion of this muscle while leg lifts target the lower abdominals.

On the side, exercises which involve diagonal patterns of movements—such as high to low chopping with a band-- best target these muscles while side to side or circular motions best recruit the transverse abdominus.

From the perspective of anatomy, one training solution may be to prescribe exercises which simply train each direction:

- Leg lifts- Lower abs
- Crunches- Upper abs
- High to low woodchops- Obliques
- Standing stability ball twists- Transverse abdominus

But while this program may look OK on paper, the reality is it involves four highly stressful movements which cause the lumbar spine to bend, twist and flex. Because this area also takes a battering in daily life, performing such as a program repeatedly would be like bending a credit card several thousand. timesIt may withstand the force initially, but eventually it becomes worn and will inevitably snap in half.

On the other side of the training spectrum, we have planks, side planks and exercises which train the abs to resist the type of movement described above. Much like a weight belt, these “stability” exercises train the abs to stabilize the spine against excess motion. Because these exercises involve little to no movement of the extremities, they are an ideal way to train the abs with reduced stress on the spine.

While many coaches have moved exclusively in the direction of prescribing stability exercises only, I still feel that movement based or “strength” exercises are necessary to fully develop the stomach.

With that said, my solution to an effective core training program is to include a movement based exercise which targets a specific part of the stomach along with several stability exercises to induce fatigue necessary for development.

But the question then becomes, which exercises to choose? This is where things become interesting.

Individualizing your program:

Now that we have established how programs are created, the next step is to take a look in the mirror. While good posture is characterized by symmetry, almost all poor posture involves a deviation of the pelvis. Because the job of the abdominals is to counter excessive tilting of the pelvis, most postural issues involve weakness in some part of the stomach.


Taking an example from above, this individual with Kyphosis posture appears to be stuck in an ab crunch (a precarious position indeed!)

While strengthening the abdominals will improve posture and tone in each situation above, a few thousand crunches in Kyphotic posture (which involves flexing the already crunched in area of the stomach) could really jack up your spine.

In most cases, choosing the right exercises to optimize pelvic position leads to improved tone in all areas of the stomach. With this in mind, included below are three common examples of poor posture and corrective abdominal exercises.

In order to build a base of both stability and strength, we will include one movement based exercise, followed by two exercises which involve stabilizing the trunk. Performed in a fatigued state, these exercises will force each area of the abdominals to work harder to stabilize the trunk.

Some tips for each exercise include:
- Keeping the stomach muscles tight and tensed for all exercises.
- For core stability exercises, attempt to keep the back as flat as possible without excessive arching or dipping.
- For those with lordotic posture (arching of the back), pressing the back in to the floor during movement based exercises will engage the abdominals. While some experts do not advocate a posterior pelvic tilt, I feel it is necessary in the case of excess anterior tilt. Those with sway or flatback posture, do not utilize this technique!

1. Swayback Posture:




This type of posture is characterized by a forward displacement of the hips. If you were to draw a vertical line upwards from the front of the ankle bones, the hips will be in front of this line. The Upper Back is displaced backwards to counter balance the forward position of the hips.

Commonly someone with this type of posture will have poorly defined gluteal (backside) muscles. This type of posture is common in both men and women.

Muscles to stretch: Hamstrings
Muscles to strengthen: Hip Flexors, External Obliques, Upper Back muscles and Front Neck muscles
Exercises to avoid: Crunching of the upper trunk, twisting motions, side bends
Exercises to prioritize: Leg raising/lowering (abs/hip flexors)

Sample circuit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfEhsX7vXIg
Active straight leg raise- 3 x 8
Plank w/knee tuck- 3 x 8
Side plank- 3 x 20 sec
- Perform exercises back to back with minimal rest. Perform three circuits in total with 60-90 seconds rest between each

2. Lordoitic posture



Lordotic Posture or Lordosis is the medical term for an increased forward curve of the lower back. This posture is most common in men that lift weights and women that wear heels. It is characterized by weak abdominals, glutes and hamstrings along with overactive/tight hip flexors and lower back muscles.




Muscles to stretch: Hip flexors, quads
Muscles to strengthen: Rectus abdominus, glutes
Exercises to avoid: Crunching of the upper trunk (always), leg lowering exercises (hip flexors)
Exercises to prioritize: Rollouts and straight leg sit ups (exercises which train full rectus abdominus)

Sample circuit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccsTLS20ajo
Straight leg sit up- 3 x 8
Stability ball rollout- 3 x 8
Side plank- 3 x 20 sec
Perform exercises back to back with minimal rest. Perform three circuits in total with 60-90 seconds rest between each

3. Kyphotic/lordotic posture:


Perhaps the grand-daddy of all bad posture, both the upper and lower back are flexed and arched excessively. Often seen in women, in my experience this posture often involves a transition between heel walking followed by several hours of peering over a computer.

Because the external/internal obliques (side abs) act to tilt the pelvis backwards (thus correcting the excessive back arching), we will prioritize these muscles in our circuit below.

Muscles to stretch: Hip flexors, back of neck
Muscles to strengthen: Front Neck muscles, the Upper Back muscles, External Obliques and Hamstrings
Exercises to avoid: Crunching (always), leg lowering exercises (hip flexors),
Exercises to prioritize: Diagonal movements (external obliques)

Sample circuit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWgKOYaEYTs
- High to low chopping- 3 x 8
- Diagonal/forward plank walks- 3 x 8
- Side plank hold- 3 x 8

Putting it all together:

As exhibited above, developing a flat and well defined stomach is far more than merely working the abs. But by following an all encompassing approach which involves stretching and strengthening the right muscles, it is absolutely possible to systematically tone hard to hit areas of the stomach.

Join me next week as I explore the backside of the core (butt) and how single leg training is the key to lifting your butt to the moon (or at least to where it used to be)