Welcome back to another edition of the GETBIG series. Hope you all had an excellent week in the gym! I only heard back from two people this week, so I’m guessing the rest of you were extremely busy in the gym? Amazing.
The muscle I will focus on this week are the Abdominal Muscles or most commonly known as, “ABS”.
ANATOMY
The abs have a simple anatomical structure. There are 4 main muscles that make up the abs.
Rectus abdominus
Transverse abdominus
Internal obliques
External obliques
Together they form the core function of keeping our body upright. Without our abs and obliques we wouldn’t be able to twist or stand tall. So, when people say, “I have no abs”, technically that is not true. EVERYONE has abs, they just may not show or are well defined.
How does one get AB's?
The abs can be split between upper, middle and lower + obliques. However, its very tricky to get a complete set of well defined abs/obliques. The reason being = fat. Our stomach holds very important vital organs which must be kept at a warm temperature. Contrary to popular belief, having fat is a good thing (excess is not healthy, but we all need an appropriate level of fat on our bodies). It’s a biological insulator that keeps our vitals and body temperature warm. Unfortunately, most fat gets stored around our stomach and chest area where our bodies important vital organs are. Its hard to lose fat but so easy to gain.
Which is why 75% of getting well defined abs does not come from the gym. I REPEAT, OUR ABS/OBLIQUES ARE NOT MADE IN THE GYM. They are made in the KITCHEN.
You can do a million crunches a day but if your diet is not healthy, you WILL NOT see your abs, just flab. So how can you start to see your abs?
Compound lifts: Your core will be worked on compound lifts. Heavy deadlifts, squats, bench presses, rows, military presses etc. all require core activation to assist in compound lifts. You indirectly train your abs when you do these exercises.
Direct training: Combining direct training and compound lifting will make up 25% of the work in attaining a 6 pack or an 8 pack.
Here are my favourite exercises per region:
Upper Abs Quarter Crunch – Assume a regular crunch position. Place your fingers on your temples. Then without moving any other part of your body, lift your upper body till your shoulders are off the ground then immediately return to the starting position. This exercise has a very small range of motion but directly targets the upper abs. You are not lifting yourself totally off the ground, just your shoulders. Repeat for at least 20 reps.
Middle Abs Rope Pull Downs – Kneel down in front of a cable/rope pulley machine. Pick a moderate to heavy weight. Tighten your core, then proceed to bring the cable rope down till you are curled up. Then slowly let the rope go back to its normal starting position. Repeat for at least 15 reps.
Lower Abs Knee to Chest – Sit at the edge of the bench. Place both your hands and grip the sides of the bench right behind you. Straighten out your legs and lean backwards slightly. Proceed to bring your knees to your chest. Repeat for at least 15 reps.
Obliques Russian Twist – Why it is called the Russian twist I have no idea. Maybe it was invented in Russia or Russians twist a lot I don’t know, but this is my favorite obliques exercise. Any exercise that involves a twisting motion will activate your obliques. Using a medicine ball or a dumbbell, sit in a stationary position with your legs elevated at all times. Then simply move the medicine ball or dumbbell from side to side, whilst keeping upright and straight.
Diet: As mentioned before, your diet will be 75% of the work. You can do all the above but if you have a poor eating lifestyle, then you will not see your abs, just flab. Make sure you consume lots of protein, drink plenty of water and watch your calorie intake. Get rid of bad sugars, bad fats and oily foods. It’s a big sacrifice but if you want defined abs and obliques, this is the only way.
To Conclude
Having a well defined 6 pack or 8 pack with strong obliques shows an aesthetically pleasing figure. It is tricky to attain this as it will take time and discipline. I am no where close to getting the abs I want but they are on their way. Just be patient, put in work in the gym and kitchen and your abs will start to show through your t-shirt in no time!
Since the long weekend is coming up, there won’t be a blog post for next week as I’ll be busy with fam jams, so enjoy your long weekend and I’ll hit you guys up in 2 weeks!
Keep sending me your questions and comments and best of luck in the gym!
Peace,
Hussain
Follow us on Instagram @theELORE and @huuusss_p
Comments