Why you need strong abs

Next time you go to the gym, pay attention to what others are working on, and you will most likely find that it is not the abs. Since the midsection is involved in some way in just about every move you make, developing the abs should be one of your primary concerns. A strong midsection gives you speed and power, and helps stabilize the body. The abs are involved in:

• Striking and Kicking. Strong abs allow you to transfer strength from your feet and legs to your arms and hands, giving you the ability to power up and accelerate your strikes.

• Twisting. Strong abs allow you to execute quick twists; for example, when throwing an opponent over your hip, or when wielding a weapon such as a stick, staff, sword, or nunchaku. The force transfers from your lower body through your midsection to your arms and into the weapon, resulting in the acceleration of the weapon. This is called the kinetic-link principle.

• Takedowns and Throws. Strong abs allow you to throw weighted objects with force, for example, an opponent or a weapon, such as a rock or a knife.

• Grappling. Strong abs allow you to fight more effectively from the ground, for example, when bridging and unbalancing an opponent who is straddling you.

We often tend to work the abs at the end of the training session; that is, if we have any time and energy left over. If you find that you are missing ab work most of the time, you may want to start with the abs rather than saving them until the end.

Abdominal strength when striking

Most martial arts use strikes in some form or way. A strong strike relies on bodyweight, momentum, pivot, and explosiveness. We know that leg strength and upper body strength play a crucial role regarding power, and most of us learn that pivoting should be used in the correct execution of a punch. Your trunk must therefore be strong to allow you to execute a forceful pivot.

Some conditioning coaches have you do crunches at a fast speed to teach you to contract your abs suddenly. Others throw a medicine ball at your abdomen to get you to tighten your abs at the right time and absorb the power of a blow. When training the abs for forceful pivots, I recommend throwing the medicine ball to your partner or against a brick wall, instead of taking the force on your abs. Tighten your abs every time you throw or pass the ball to your partner, and pay attention to the additional power you acquire.

Training Tip

When pivoting to throw a strike or weighted object, you achieve more explosiveness and power if you also contract your abs simultaneously.

How often you train the abs is a widely debated issue. Some say to train the midsection every day, and others say that once a week is the best. Still, others say to train to failure and then not train again until the soreness is gone. Others say that any exercise that involves the ab muscles (which are most movements to some degree) gives the abs enough training, and that it is unnecessary to do additional ab work. Still, others say abs are made in the kitchen, and you can get good abs only by dieting and not by training. “If your goal is to develop your abs either for bodybuilding or sport performance, then you should only train them 2-3 days per week using more advanced techniques, e.g. weighted incline crunches performing 6-8 sets.” (Robert DiMaggio, www.ironmagazine.com)

Whether you train the abs at the beginning or end of your workout is also a debated issue. If you train the abs at the end of the workout, you risk overlooking good core training because you are already tired from working your lower and upper body. However, if you train the abs at the beginning of the workout, you might fatigue them to the point that it interferes with other exercises, such as squats or pushups. When I go to the gym, I usually train the abs at the end of the workout; when I go to karate class, I usually train the abs at the beginning of the workout.

Training the abs

I have found the abs to be one of the more challenging muscle groups to train because if you don’t diet and cut the fat, it won’t show externally that you have strong abs. Although a six-pack that shows is not crucial to strength (since one that doesn’t show could be just as strong), it serves as a motivational factor, making you want to work the abs harder when you see progress. I also have a hard time finding a good ab exercise that is both time economical and gives me a good burn. Hanging straight-leg raises is such an exercise, but is not convenient to do if you don’t have a bar to hang from. Follow these training suggestions when working the abs:

• When training the midsection, think of it as training the entire trunk, including the back and sides of your body.

• Do ab work with controlled speed in both the positive and the negative phase. If you use explosive moves you create momentum and the exercise becomes less efficient, because the muscles don’t need to tense throughout the entire range of motion.

• When doing situps, crunches, or leg lifts, focus on drawing in your abs rather than pushing them out. This helps you press your lower back into the floor, keeping it from arching, and eventually allowing you to do these exercises without the support of your hands under your lower back. Place a 10-pound weight plate on your abs to remind you to draw them in.

• Don’t do situps or leg lifts with straight legs until you have built up a very good strength base. Some people say that you should never do straight leg situps. My opinion is that such advice is a bit extreme, but I recommend proceeding with caution. Straight leg situps do increase the risk of injury since they might cause you to arch your back if you lack significant strength. Either bend your legs or place your hands under your lower back.

• Don’t allow your abs to rest during a set of exercises. For example, if doing situps or crunches, don’t allow your shoulders to touch the floor between each rep. You want to keep constant tension on your abs throughout the set. If doing hanging leg or knee raises, don’t straighten your legs completely on the downward motion. This would relieve the stress on your abs and make the exercise easier.

• Do situps without a partner holding your feet. If your partner holds your feet, or if you hook your feet under a bar or sofa, you can cheat by using your legs to pull yourself up. You know when this happens because your legs, and not your abs, are getting tired.

A question that is often raised is whether the full situp is good for building abdominal strength, or if it is better to do a partial situp. The abs are used primarily during the first 30 degrees of the situp. Then the hip flexors take over, which are strong muscles with the function of bringing the legs toward the upper body, or the upper body toward the legs. So full situps don’t work the abs more than partial situps. However, there is no harm in doing them. Note that the rectus abdominis muscle also works through about 15 degrees of spinal extension, which means that in order to get full benefit from your ab workout, you should avoid lying on a hard floor that prevents you from extending your spine. This is one reason the stability ball is a good ab training device.

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