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It remains a persistent misconception that abdominal exercises will give you a coveted six-pack. A six-pack is the visibly muscular abdomen called the rectus abdominis. It is good to know that there are many more muscles in your torso than just this rectus abdominis. In this blog, we will tell you more about why training only your abdominal muscles will not yield the effect you expect. In fact, it is actually much more prone to injury.

What goes wrong with most abdominal exercises

Most abdominal exercises are prone to injury. Think of crunches and the Russian Twist. With these exercises, you place high pressure on your spine because they involve only bending the back. Furthermore, with these exercises, you train your hip flexors rather than your abdominal muscles. These are muscles you would rather not train, as they are already very strong in most people and are often shortened and tense. The traditional crunch triggers hip, groin, and back problems. If you also perform these workouts with a twisting motion at the end, your back will give out in no time. So, stop doing hip flexions under load.

How to train safely without straining your back

It is often said during abdominal exercises that you should push your lower back into the ground. Rounding your back in this way is an unnatural posture and is therefore bad. A good example is the classic sit-up, where you secure your feet behind a rack or bench, for instance, and move from a lying to a sitting position. During this exercise, your back is strongly arched. The increasing pressure on your intervertebral discs creates pelvic instability. We often sit with a rounded back all day, making the ligaments of your back very sensitive. Training with a rounded back is therefore strongly discouraged. It is better to maintain a slight arch in your back during your abdominal exercises. This is possible with the right instruction and the use of aids such as a fitness ball or BodyBow. Both devices support the arch of your lower back. Functional training of your abdominal muscles is the safest approach. This means performing the exercises during movements that occur in daily life. Think of lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying. By moving in a semi-static manner in an extended position, you train safely and under the core stiffness principle. The shape of your spine remains loaded in a natural way during all movements.

Get a six-pack with core stiffness

The term core stiffness already indicates that the core is what you train. The abdomen is only a small part of your core. It is understandable that you might think that what you see is also what you need to train. Nothing could be further from the truth. By training all core muscles, you train a strong back and a good six-pack. A good explanation of core stiffness is to view your spine as a tent pole. This tent pole cannot remain standing upright without guy lines. Your core (muscles) symbolize these guy lines. These so-called guy lines must be strong and stiff, otherwise the tent pole will fall over. You can generate more power by training with a stiff core. Moreover, this allows you to train more injury-free and protects your spinal column. The trainers at First Class Fitness train according to the core stiffness principle. Safe and efficient.

Do you want to go for a six-pack without straining your back? Then come train at First Class Fitness in Delft. The intake is always free.

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