Ab Workouts: Truth vs. Fiction

What is the difference between regular muscle and abdominal muscle?

Just like every other muscle in your body, your abs are just that, muscles. They don’t rest on a bony surface like quads or biceps and their location is different. However, how you train your biceps, chest and back is how you should train your abs. The basic laws of physics and biology apply to your abs just as they apply to all your other muscles.

Your abs should be trained everyday: FALSE

Muscle should be given at least a day to recover after a short intense workout. You can do a few days in a row and the and the body will respond but the trick is to train them hard for a short period of time and then get a little recover time in.

Exercise your abs to eliminate abdominal fat: FALSE

There is no such thing as spot reduction. People assume that if you have fat deposits on your abs, exercising the muscles underlying the fat will make it go away. People who assume this are wrong. You can’t get rid of the fat over a muscle by repeatedly exercising that body part. A healthy, low calorie diet and prolonged exercise is the only way to burn fat from your tummy.

To make gains, a high intensity workout is required: TRUE

Similar to every muscle in your body are abs. Training your abs is similar to training the rest of your muscle groups. If you want to make strength gains with your abs, then overloading your muscles is what you have to do.

It’s not impossible to have a flat stomach: DEPENDS

Achieving a flat stomach is not physiologically possible for many people. The abdominal muscles are designed to be rounded and not flat in most of us. Factors that decide the size, appearance, and shape of your belly are gender, genetics, and age.

If you’re suffering from back pain, training abs will only make it worse: FALSE

If you train your abs, it will strengthen your back. Back muscles and ab muscles assist each other providing core strength. So if muscles in your abs are weak, the load of the work will fall on the back. Your abs need to be strengthened in order for your back to be stronger.

To get super abs, you can’t just do specific ab workouts. You need a full body workout that delivers functional exercises to all your muscle groups. Your training should be in accordance with scientifically based training techniques. We have designed XT50 to be just that.  Sign Up Today and get in the best shape of your life!