Fitness Insights by Jamie Atlas

Myth: To get rock-hard should you work your abs every day?

Marie Claire says:  No

Abs need rest and recovery: It’s only during rest that your muscles build. “Three to five days a week of consistent, dedicated abdominal training should get you strong, sleek abs,” says Kathy Kaehler, trainer and author of Kathy Kaehler’s Celebrity Workouts.

My tiny brain says:  Yes… and No

You don’t need to work your abs every day because they already get a great workout everyday as part of any relatively active lifestyle.

Abs are worked in most activities you do in an active daily lifestyle – they are being used with everything you do.  Your training does not need to be dedicated to purely abdominal work, it just needs to integrate it.  By standing while you push, pull, squat and lunge, you work your abs.

Try a ’standing woodchop’ and you will feel your abs working (along with everything else).  The muscles of your abs are designed differently than other muscles of your body – they are built for endurance so recover differently than say, your biceps.  If you really want to work abs you can do so every workout but remember to mix up the exercises, planes of movement, position and intensity every time.

Of course, dont forget that although you might put in lots of effort in the gym, it doesnt matter if you have rock hard abs if there is lots of rubble covering them

This is part 1 of a 6 part series addressing an article written by Marie Claire that was simply so inaccurate and misleading I had no choice but to take a stand against it.

To see the original article:

http://www.marieclaire.com/health-fitness/news/articles/sexy-strong-abs

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Yours in Health,