Question about frequency of ab work?

S

suebee

Cathlete
One instructor in a workout says that "you can work your abs every day because they recover very quickly". One instructor said "your ab muscles are just like any other muscle and need the same time to recover". Which is right? I asked a friend of mine and she said if you don't work them every day you won't see results. I don't care about having "washboard ab's" just some definition.

Susan
 
This is a debated question among fitness professionals. We work our abs every day just holding ourselves together doing everyday activities. If you do new, difficult exercises that cause soreness you should wait until the soreness diminishes to a tolerable level before your next ab session.

If you do short basic ab sessions designed for maintenance for you (note: personal maintenance for you might be more or less strenuous for someone else) then you can do them every day. You need to use some trial and error and common sense.

Different kinds of muscle fibers act differently too, so reading up on the science behind exercise adages always adds to your ability to make these kinds of choices for yourself.

They used to say you can only work two muscle groups every day, abs and calves, but now it's not viewed in so cut and dried a fashion.

Have a great Sunday!

-Connie
 
I work mine on alternate days, basically. And mine are rather flat and cut if I do say so myself. If you do Cathe abs, like I do, I think every other day is plenty!
 
I've heard debates about this before too. Don't you think that our abs are like any other muscle group? I don't understand why ab muscles would be different. Shouldn't we give them a recovery period like other muscle group?

Deanna
 
I agree that abs should be worked like any other muscle. I've been doing this for 15+ years now, & what I've learned I've learned by doing it, not by reading about it.

When I first started I was told "if you want a 6 pack you have to shrink your abs, therefore you should overtrain them." So I did, like every day or every other day, hundreds of crunches, & nothing happened.

Then, sometime around 1996 or '97, I took a class on abs that basically debunked all the ab myths. They said "train your abs w/weights b/c to get a 6 pack you have to build the muscle, not shrink it" and that you shouldn't do abs more than twice a week, and you shouldn't do hundreds & hundreds of reps.

So I started doing cable crunches (4 sets of 15) and regular crunches w/a plate on top of my head (4 sets of 15) twice a week. The results have been truly amazing. And I have definitely gained that 6 pack.
 
Hi!

Question about your answer. But if you are trying to "build" your abs, won't that thicken your waistline? Maybe I'm living in the past, but the idea of a tiny wasitline is my idea of pretty and the up and down effect, with little waistline indentation is not what I'm looking for in abs. Oh, for the days of corsets -- gee, did I say that?

I'm not really after a six-pack, what I really want is some definition and a tiny waist.
 
Karen,
Yes, you would "thicken" your abs a little, laterally. I mean looking in a mirror straight on, the sides (obliques) would be slightly more visible than if they were atrophied. I think it's an acquired taste, that I have acquired since getting stronger.

Wide-hipped people like me will never lose that hourglass look, but the effect you are talking about does occur. However, do not worry about extreme changes. Keep perspective. Strength-created differences in your shape will stay within the original envelope you started with.
 
Thanks so much for your reply.

One more thing, if I might. Then perhaps for me the idea might be to not work the abs as hard, but to do them every day? Would that keep them healthy without thickening the waistline?

Thanks so much.
 
Cathe can correct me if I am wrong but I saw once where she said you have to go heavier with weights on the ab work. Also 3 times a week is enough if done absolutely correctly. This is another area of working out where I see tons of people doing wayyyyy too much work because what they are doing is not hitting the muscle properly. Like anything else if you do the work correctly and intelligently, you don't need to spend endless sets on these muscles. Just switch up the exercises and really, no more than 45 seconds to a minute per set will do the job.
Also diet is number one when trying to get good abs.
T. :)
 
Just to expand on Connie's answer, your waist will thicken slightly if you work your obliques w/weights. I already have a thick waist (waist measures about 27", hips about 33") so I have to be careful about this as well. I do light weights/high reps for my obliques once a week instead of twice (4 sets of 25 side bends @ 25 lbs every Sunday).
 
Youe waist measurement would probably not increase, it's just that the obliques would become shaplier and coupled with hips losing *fat* you could look less curvy.

But we are working out to make changes, not to stay the same! I would do some real concentrated shoulder work. That will make the waist appear more in proportion while still availing you of the strength benefits of stronger abs. In other words, don't wimp out. Do reasonable ab work, and watch what you eat if appearance is very important.

If you are *too* concerned about appearance of a small waist, to work your abs to their capacity, you could limit your ability to jump higher longer and work limbs to their potential. Strong abs help prevent injury.

-Connie
 
Thank you so much for all your info and help on this. This is a point I've been wondering about for some time, as I do like the curvy look -- and because I'm older, it's harder to keep that way -- at least it appears that way to me.

But I won't skimp on the ab work -- and the idea of getting the shoulders a little shaplier will help, too, I think.

Again, thank you.

:)
 
While we're on the subject - in addition to shoulder development as a means of creating a leaner look to the waistline, don't forget to do good concentrated mid- and upper back work, especially the lats. Lots of nice supine overhead pullovers, rows with barbells and dumbbells in varying stances, and my beloved standing bentover back presses with dumbbells, putting an upward turn to the palm at the end.

A-Jock
 
Oh yeah, good point Annette--also lower back to trim the waist. Good mornings and/or hyperextensions at low weight/high rep helps a lot.
 
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