Abdominals: truth and lies

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By Dr. Davide Marciano

The abdomen, the most loved by Italians.

Anyone would do anything to reduce the waistline and see this wonderful muscle band.

Unfortunately there is a lot of confusion in abdominal training and for this reason it is better to clarify some things.

First of all the abdomen, being a muscle, should be treated like all the others, so it is wrong to do three thousand exercises a day for every day, when once or twice a week would be more than enough. Even more important than the exercise itself is the power supply; How many times have you seen kids train this muscle beyond exhaustion without ever getting a noteworthy result? they probably overlooked the power supply.

Remember these words: "All the exercises in the world will not be enough to show off fat-wrapped abs."

Proper nutrition, combined with an intelligent training program that is not too bulky (maximum two or three times a week), will give maximum results.

Another aspect to be treated is the very large number of exercises, often due to back problems, which are performed. With anatomical table in hand, you will notice that there is no distinction between high and low abdomen but you will see the:

1. ABDOMINAL RECTUS: starting from the sternum and inserted into the anterior part of the pelvis at a point called the symphysis of the pubis.

   Its function is to flex the spine.

2. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL OBLIQUI MUSCLES: they start on the lower ribs and are inserted in the upper part of the pelvis.

They allow the spine to flex laterally.

Neither the rectum of the abdomen nor the internal and external oblique muscles cross the pelvis.

As you can see, in anatomy, there is no canonical distinction that we are used to hearing in the gym.

The confusion was born because some studies have shown that performing the Crunch (lifting exercise of the shoulders) there was a greater contraction of the upper part of the abdomen, while performing the reverse Crunch (raising of the pelvis) there was a greater contraction of the lower part .

Attention, however, in the study we speak of "greater" contraction. So whether you perform the Crunch, or if you perform the reverse Crunch all the rectus of the abdomen will contract even if with a greater emphasis in the upper or lower part.

We also try to clarify the sometimes wrong execution of the reverse crunch.

The latter consists of flexing the vertebral column by raising the pelvis in the direction of the chest with a consequent contraction of the abdomen.

Taken from the book "The Science of Natural Bodybuilding"

When only the legs are raised, most of the weight is discharged onto the stabilizing muscles of the pelvis.

In fact, the simple lifting of the legs stresses the hip flexors which are divided into:

ILIAC MUSCLES: which originate on the lower part of the pelvis and are inserted on the femur.

LARGE PSOAS MUSCLES: which originate in the lumbar vertebrae and also connect to the femur.

By lifting only the legs, the abdominals perform an isometric contraction that allows the pelvis to be held still and the hip flexors to work and this is the reason that causes burning in the abdomen.

This causes the lower back to accentuate the lumbar curve by creating compression on small joints, called faceted joints, causing inflammation to the corresponding lumbar nerve.

We can conclude by reiterating that the abdominals' task is not to lift the legs but to lift the pelvis.