If You Want Great Abs.....

If you want the best looking, strongest abs, train your whole body instead of performing lots of abdominal work. One traditional “ab” exercise, such as twisting crunches, leg lowering, or low cable supine pull -ins can be included in your program, but research shows that abdominal training doesn’t offer much pay off.

A new study from Southern Illinois University found that performing a six week abdominal program in which participants performed seven ab exercises (2 sets, 10 reps) five days a week resulted in no reduction of body weight, body fat, abdominal fat, or waist circumference. Participants did improve abdominal endurance after training, performing 14 more curl-ups during the one-minute curl-up test (participants did an average of 33 curl-ups before training and 47 after the six week training period). The exercises used were Bent-Knee Sit-Up, Lateral Trunk Flexion, Leg Lifts, Oblique Crunch, Stability Ball Crunch, Stability Ball Twist, and Abdominal Crunch.

For the amount of time and effort invested in abdominal training, participants didn’t get much benefit. A better strategy for training abs for strength, endurance, and aesthetics is to do lots of squats, deadlifts, chin ups, and other multi-joint exercises, with one ab exercise a day. With such a program, you’ll get leaner, decrease your waist circumference, and have stronger abs and a more structurally balanced body.

Another option is to do high-intensity sprints to burn excess fat around the middle. Trade in your 15-minute ab routine for 10 minutes of all sprints for a leaner body composition. From: "Train your whole body for the best abs:forget the "ab" exercises" by Charles Poliquin

 Reference:  Vispute, S., Smith, J., LeChiminant, J., Hurley, K. The Effect of  Abdominal Exercise on Abdominal Fat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 28 July 2011. Published Ahead of Print. 

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http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/575/Tip-146-Train-Your-Whole-Body-for-the-Best-Abs-Forget-the-Abs-Exercises.aspx