Many people are on the hunt for a well defined, strong, flat mid-section. Hours of crunches and sit ups per week, but is it necessary (or recommended) to be hitting your core this often?
Firstly, it’s worth noting that if you’re hitting your abs regularly thinking that it’s going to burn stomach fat, then that’s your first mistake. You can’t spot reduce fat by doing exercises for that particular area. But back to the main topic, should you be working on your core everyday???
NO, you shouldn’t do abs every day! Just like any other muscle group in your body, your abs will also require rest in order to repair and grow stronger. The abs can’t take as much punishment as other larger muscle groups so will generally need some days off in order to maximise results. You have to also take into consideration that your abs are used in a lot of other big compound movements such as squats, deadlifts and rows as you actively brace while doing them.
“So how often should I train abs?“
If you’re working out 3-4 times per week and not doing each day consecutively, then you’ll be generally ok to put a few core exercises into each workout if you wished. The key here is A) allowing a rest day in-between ab focused workouts and B) not training them to excess in each workout i.e. doing 30 minutes of abs in every workout, or if your core is sore from a previous workout, don’t try hitting it again until you’ve recovered. You can get great core results from a little and often approach as long as it’s smart!
Treat abs just like your other muscle groups. No muscles are made in the gym, only during rest and recovery. It’s also worth noting the well known phrase;
Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym
Tips For Training Abs
- Don’t forget rotational movements too such as cable woodchops or russian twists. These exercises will help develop stronger obliques and abs which can improve your ability to stabilize the spine and hips during other exercises such as swings, jumps, running and big compound lifts.
- Include exercises in your routine that also target upper, lower and inner abs.
Upper Abs: Crunches, toe reaches, inchworms
Lower Abs: Leg Raises, mountain climbers, reverse crunches
Inner Abs: Bird dogs, dead bugs, plank
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