Generally speaking the “Abs are made in the kitchen.” Whoever first said that wasn’t lying. Getting ripped abs is going to be about 85% due to a really solid diet and 15% due to your ab exercises and cardio training. You can have the best thought-out program in the world, but if you have a layer of fat covering your abs, no one is going to see the abdominal muscles you’ve developed. The deep core muscles, specifically the transverse abdominis, help stabilize the spine during functional movements. Following below are: Rectus Abdominis, External Obliques, Internal Obliques, Transverse Abdominis, Quadratus Lumborum, Multifidus, Erector Spinae Muscle Group.
Most abs exercises you can do in a gym can be done at home. Crunches are probably the single best exercise and you can do them on the floor.The key is learning how to flex midsection muscles and I'm not just talking about the muscles in front. You've got muscles all around your torso. They're in the front, sides and the at the back.Contrary to popular opinion, you cannot produce localized spot reduction by performing a few sets of sit-ups every day. Only nutritional dieting and high activity training with minimum rest periods will cause weight loss. Heart and lung function are very important to emulsify fat (what follows are also excellent abdominal exercises, however more demanding). Concentric Functions:
Lumbar flexion of the spine
Eccentric Functions:
Decelerates extension & rotation of the spine
Isometric Function:
Stabilizes the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex Concentric Functions:
Flexion, rotation and lateral reflection of the (lumbar spine) torso
Eccentric Functions:
Decelerates extension & rotation of the (lumbar) spine
Isometric Function:
Dynamically stabilizes the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex Concentric Functions:
Flexion, rotation and lateral reflection of the (lumbar spine) torso
Eccentric Functions:
Decelerates extension & rotation of the (lumbar) spine
Isometric Function:
Dynamically stabilizes the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex & intersegmental spinal stabilization Concentric Functions:
Pulls abdominal wall inward (forced expiration) & increases intra-abdominal pressure
Eccentric Functions:
Dynamically stabilizes the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex during functional movements
Isometric Function:
Dynamically stabilizes the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex Concentric Functions:
Lateral flexion of the spine & extension of the lumbar spine (w/ bilateral contraction)
Eccentric Functions:
Dynamically stabilizes lumbo-pelvic hip complex
Isometric Function:
Dynamically stabilizes lumbo-pelvic hip complex Concentric Functions:
Acceleration of spinal extension and contralateral rotation
Eccentric Functions:
Deceleration of spinal flexion and ipsilateral rotation
Isometric Function:
Stabilization of the lumbar spine Concentric Functions:
Iliocastalis
Lateral flexion of the (thoracic, lumbar & cervical) spine
Rotation of the (thoracic, lumbar & cervical) spine
Longissimus
Extension of the (thoracic, lumbar & cervical) spine
Lateral flexion of the (cervical) spine
Rotation of the (cervical) spine
Spinalis
Extension of the (thoracic, lumbar & cervical) spine
Eccentric Functions:
Decelerates flexion, rotation and lateral flexion of the spine
Isometric Function:
Dynamically stabilizes the spine during functional movements
So, the first truth you need to know about abdominal training is that diet is the single most important factor. There is no way around this unless of course you are one of the few genetically lucky few who can eat all they want and stay lean.
To see a visible 6-pack you have to remove the fat that is covering your abs. Doing ab exercises will NOT remove this fat, only eating less and doing more cardio gets rid of the fat. Grab the roll of skin/fat at your waist and pinch, how thick is it? If its more than 1/2″, that fat is the reason you don’t have a visible 6-pack!
Now if you you skinfold measurement over your lower abs is less than 1/4″ and you still have no 6-pack, in this case you may need to make your ab muscles bigger through abs exercises using heavier weight and lower reps as with any muscle group that you want to make grow.
Regarding Training Frequency, Volume, and Exercise selections all depends on your goals and will change depending if your goal is:
1) Strength,
2) Cosmetics
3) Core
4) Assistance in other lifts.
Also remember that if you’re training your abdominal muscles every day you may be doing one of two things:
Not giving your muscles enough time to recover between sessions, thus, further breaking them down each consecutive session, reducing any results you’ll see.
You’re not working them hard enough in the first place to create those tiny muscle tears that are necessary in order for them to grow back stronger.
Keep in mind that the abdominal muscles are highly adaptive to exercise so you absolutely must keep changing the exercises on a regular basis, especially if you are not using weight.
BMI=WEIGHT(KG) / HEIGHT(m)
Crunches
Rectus Abdominis
External Obliques
Internal Obliques
Transverse Abdominis
Quadratus Lumborum
Multifidus
Erector Spinae