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AB Training for a “Six Pack”
By Phil Chen
Have you ever wondered why after doing all those sit ups, leg raises and oblique exercises, you still don’t have a “six pack”? I’m sure most of you have!
That’s why I’m going to teach you how to maximize your ab training to produce the results your hard work deserves!
First of all, there are different types of muscle fibers in your body (fast and slow twitch), each requiring a different stimulus to maximize the training effect.
Fast twitch fibers are easily fatigued, have more potential to grow, and are used in explosive activities such as sprinting and heavy weight lifting.
Slow twitch fibers fatigue less, have less potential to grow, and are used in postural functions as well endurance activities. To fully develop your abdominal region you must train them using a variety of rep/load schemes.
What most people don’t realize is that the abdominal muscle is a little more then 50% fast twitch, meaning you need to train them accordingly with some type of resistance.
Doing 1000 sit-ups a day will only train the slow twitch endurance fibers that are essential in maintaining posture, but not effective in enlarging your muscles to give you the “tone” abs you desire.
First find a way to do your ab exercises with a resistance that allows no more than 10-15 repetitions before failure.
You could use dumbells, medicine balls, cables and/or arm positions to change the center of gravity; therefore, increasing the muscle force needed to complete the repetitions.
Tighten your sphincter muscles as you exhale, this will help tighten the lower abs to give you a more complete contraction. If your neck is prone to fatigue during ab training put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and close your mouth. This will keep the muscles in your neck tight to support your head while doing your ab exercises. Lastly, I highly recommend using the Swiss ball for most of your ab training.
The Swiss ball creates an unstable environment from which you must adapt physically and mentally. This unstable environment while doing your ab exercises forces a supporting cast of muscles to activate to keep you from falling off the ball. The shape of the ball not only supports your spine but also allows you to go 15 degrees lower than the floor, which is a more optimal angle to work your abs through.
Basically, doing your ab work on a Swiss ball with a resistance that allows for only 8-15 reps would create the optimal training stimulus for creating that “six pack”.
Phil Chen CSCS APEX Health & Fitness Corp. President 655 Montgomery St. #1400 San Francisco, CA, 94111 415 781 2739 info@apextraining.com