Your ab routine sucks

Look around any gym and you'll almost always see someone working their abs. It's always the same thing... flexion, flexion, flexion. Situps, decline sit ups, crunches, machine crunches, leg raises, hanging leg raises, and so on and so on. I'm not really a big fan of these types of exercises due to stress that's placed on the lower back and recruitment of the hip flexors. There are plenty of other exercises that will give you a stronger, more stable mid section.

Before we get into that, let's take a look at the trunk musculature. The primary muscles in the trunk are the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, and internal and external obliques.

- The rectus abdominis are the 'abs' that all the 6-pack hunters are looking to develop. Their primary function is trunk flexion.

- The transverse abdominis is a deep stabilizer muscle that acts like a corset to stabilize the spine and pelvis.

- The obliques bend and rotate the trunk. They also function to resist rotation and side flexion.

If you're only doing situps or leg raises in hopes of a strong 'core', your ab workout sucks. You need to add in some bracing exercises, trunk rotation and exercises that force you to resist rotation. Stop doing so many crunches and start doing some of these.

Planks - if you're new to these, here's where you start. Get on the floor in a prone position. Get up onto your elbows and knees while keeping your back flat and neutral. Don't sag at the hips, don't let your shoulders drop, keep your core tight, and hold for time. Once you can hold this position for a minute, move from your knees to your toes. After you can hold that position for 2 minutes, start doing them with 1 foot raised. The same exercises can be done as side planks and the same progressions apply.

Woodchoppers - In a cable cross machine, set the pully in a high position. Stand perpendicular to the pully with the handle on your left side. I find that using the rope handle helps with grip. Hold the rope like you would a baseball bat with your left hand over the right in in an under/over grip. Pull the handle down and across your body just like you would if you were swinging an axe to chop down a tree. Switch sides after 5-10 reps. Be sure to keep your hips and pelvis locked in place so that all of the rotation comes from your thorasic spine/mid back. Remember - lumbar rotation bad... thorasic rotation good. To progress, you can lower the pulley to the middle position and 'chop' straight across your body like swinging a bat or set the pully to the low position and 'chop' across and up.

One arm DB bench press - This one is done just like it sounds. Lay on a bench with a single dumbbell and press it. Start with a weight that's around 50% of what you normally press with... you'll be surprised at how difficult it will be to stay on the bench.

One arms standing cable row - Go back to the pulley machine. First, set the pulley to the middle position. Next, take a few steps back so that the stack comes up a few inches. Then sit back into a parallel squat position. Extend your arm and start rowing. Don't allow any trunk rotation throughout the movement and keep your hips/knees/shoulders locked into position.

One handed farmers walk - Grab a moderately heavy DB (or farmers walk handle if you're lucky enough to have some available) in one hand and walk. Easy. Ok, the exercise itself isn't easy... just the description.

Add these exercises into your routine and you'll see a bigger squat, DL, and fewer injuries (assuming the rest of your routine doesn't suck as bad as your ab routine does). And for those of you looking for the coveted 6-pack, the best exercise is pushing yourself away from the dinner table.

Huh??

Working out in a commercial gym lends itself to a lot of WTF moments. You know what I'm talking about... 4 inch squats, air humping bench presses, one handed overhead squats on a bosu ball, the curl boyz who flex after every set, etc, etc, etc. I see this stuff all the time and it doesn't even surprise me anymore. But recently I saw, well... heard, something that made me stop my workout and say, "Huh??"


I left my MP3 player at home on this particular day at the gym. I'll tell you, nothing fires me up for a good squat session more than some Journey. "Don't stop, believin. Hold on to that feel-ay-eya-en!" YEEAAAHHH!!! I was pumped! During the second set, just after the chorus, I catch one of the 'Fitness Consultants' showing a new member around the gym. It's your typical soccer mom. 35 years old with a few extra pounds to lose and a few dollars to burn.


The squat racks are in the back corner and one of the last places that are shown to prospective and new members. This is fine by me, because that usually ends up being the last place these people end up when they come in to workout. Just after I rack the bar, I hear the 'Fitness Consultant' talking about the freeweight section.


"And this is where all of the freeweights are. As you can see, we've got a couple squat racks, several types of benches, two Smith machines, and a pretty wide selection of dumbbells. This is where all the big boys come to lift. You'll want to stay out of this part of the gym. I don't want to see you get hurt. If you do end up exercising over here, stick to the Smith machine. It'll be far safer than using the freeweights."


"HUH??" I ended up cutting my rest period short. Seriously, my ears would have jumped out and punched me in the side of the neck if I had to hear another word that came out of this guys mouth. 'I don't want to see you get hurt? Stick to the Smith machine?' Oh. My. God. Could he have given this woman any worse advice? And she was happy to hand this guy a check.


Okay - I won't even go into the whole Smith machine thing what with the limited ROM you can use, it restricting you into a restricted plane of motion, wreaking havoc on the joints, etc. Nope, won't even go there. What got me was talking her out of using free weights for fear of injury. Either the guy didn't have a clue or he was just telling her what she wanted to hear to make a sell. Forget honesty. Forget the most important section of the gym. Forget injury prevention.


Any trainer or 'Consultant' should know and tout the benefits of freeweights versus machines. Here's a short list:


Movement in all planes of motion.
More muscle recruitment through recruitment of stabilizer muscles and prime movers.
Greater exercise variety.
Can mimic real world situations.
Increase in proprioception.
Increase in bone density

I was seriously dumbfounded. Goes to show you... Don't believe everything that you hear! Even if it is from a professional.