“Doing Abs?” What a waste of time…

Even after working in various gyms over the years, I still am amazed by the sheer volume and amount of crunches, sit ups, side bends, etc that are performed in gyms.  You literally can’t spit in any direction without hitting someone “doing abs”.  Why not, right?  Who doesn’t want a hard, flat stomach?

Here’s why not: Because “doing abs” in the sense that the term is generally used is yet another colossal waste of time.

Much of this conversation needs to be a detailed discussion on bio-mechanics and the general functioning of the mid section – a discussion that greatly exceeds the scope of this article.  Therefore I’ll focus on the obvious (or at least obvious to me…) reasons “doing abs” doesn’t work.

1. People train for hypertrophy without realizing it.

People train the abdomen, specifically the rectus abdominus and external obliques in the same manner they train biceps, shoulders, etc.  That’s to say, they are trained to grow and get bigger.  Now, I’ve worked in a gym for a long time and heard some wacky things come out of people’s mouths, but I’ve never heard anyone say “Damn, I need a large, wide and thick waistline!”

The question I often ask of people is this: If I were to grab a very heavy dumb bell and do 8 million biceps curls with that dumb bell, what would happen to my biceps?  The answer, of course, is that my biceps would get big. 

Which leads to the obvious follow up:  If I do 8 million crunches, sit ups, side bends, etc, what will happen to my waist? (insert picture of light bulb lighting) Right – your waist and stomach will get bigger.

2. The visibility of abs is a body fat issue.

From an aesthetic standpoint, the issue with definition and visible muscle is the amount of body fat on top of the muscle.  This rings true for all muscles, but the abdomen is a greater issue because of the body’s propensity for storing fat there.

Anytime I’m asked “What do I do for my abs?”  I say, “Eat less.”

Invariably people assume I’m joking or being a smart ass, but I couldn’t be more serious or sincere.  Strengthening the rectus abdominus and/or external obliques isn’t going to mean didley squat if there is body fat collecting on top of them.   Eating less and burning more calories (which isolating a muscle never does, but that’s a different article…) is how abdominal definition is accomplished.

I read a great trainer write once that passing on a six pack is a better way to get a six pack than doing crunches.  Amen, brotha’!

As usual, contact Jon with any questions or comments, and also as usual, reader assumes all risk of applying information contained herein.