Big Moves Equal Washboard Abs.
The eighties were filled with fitness professionals and group fitness classes doing crunches and sit-ups. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want a nice toned waist. Who wouldn’t want to look down and be able to see their feet. And a lot of factors get blamed for said shortcomings. Often times, it’s a particular food or beverage beverage.
But common questions tend to be around getting leaner around the mid section. The fitness industry has collected lots of information over the years, always with ongoing research. And the information we had in the 80’s was great and still is. So let’s talk about those abs and core.
Our abs
Consist of 4 parts. The rectus abdominis, internal/ external obliques and traversus abdominis collectively stabilize our pelvis, while our true core engages muscles from our shoulders all the to our glutes(yes including our abs).Our core’s primary function is energy transfer between upper and lower limbs. So a strong core is absolutely pivotal to safe efficient movement. And there are lots of great movements to strengthen our abs, hollow holds, pallof presses, reverse crunches etc.
Now having washboard abs is a bit of a different mission, as some of the strongest individuals in the world might not be able to prove that they have an ab in the court of law even with the best lawyers(but they’re there for sure). And some of the leanest looking folk in the tummy aren’t near as strong.
So what’s the solution:
Regardless of macros, our bodies store any unused amount of food we intake as energy(fat). And our core tends to be the area where a lot of store it(I mean it would be weird if we stored unused energy around our necks right? Then we’d be really bitching and moaning about our bodies. I’d say the man up above did us a solid).
What’s important to take away is exercise selection matters. And thats why “compound movements”, where multiple joints and big muscle groups are efficient and prioritized in all programs. They burn the most energy. And, as long as we aren’t stuffing our faces on a regular basis, we’ll be forcing our bodies to tap into all that tummy energy and:
- Bye bye stomach fat
For the most part, all movement is great in some aspect.
