There really is nothing like a strong, tight core. People see it and immediately know that you’ve dedicated yourself to fitness. More so than big, hulking traps or bulging triceps. Having six pack abs is a pretty big boost to people’s of opinions of you. But there’s so much conflicting information out there about how to get strong, visible abs. But today we’re going to go over maybe one of the more interesting theories I’ve heard. We’re going to answer the question: should you work abs every day?
Direct work for your abs every day for a six pack?
Well, sure. Going to the gym and having a dedicated day to core training is always going to be a plus. But that doesn’t mean to lay down on the floor and do three thousand sit ups or crunches. Core training is much more dynamic and intensive than people think. You should work your entire trunk on days you train your core.
And none of that is to say that you have to do direct core work at all, really. It will certainly help and make them pop more for sure. But compound exercises and heavy lifting also work your midsection pretty intensively. Getting under a heavy barbell for squats, either conventional or front, puts a ton of stress on your abs to keep you upright, for example. This goes the same for deadlifts and bench press as well. The abs keep your midsection stabilized, so if you weren’t working them you’d be folding like a chair under the weight. All of this to say that if you did work abs every day, you’d put yourself at a pretty big risk of overtraining them and injuring your abdominal wall. This can lead to things like hernias becoming more likely. And that’s not even touching on the possibility of muscular imbalance that could lead to more injury risk, or just make you look…kind of silly.
And unlike a lot of common misconceptions, you don’t have to do thousand upon thousands of reps for ab development. Just like any other muscle group, you need to stimulate them to force them to grow. The property of progressive overload is just as valid here as anywhere. Train your abs with some weight when you do your workouts. This will let them develop properly and build some mass as well.
The biggest reason you can’t see your abs
You cannot spot reduce any area of your body. Toning is a myth. I hate to break it to everyone, but that’s the simple truth. You’re either gaining everywhere, or losing everywhere. And that second thing is one of the biggest keys to seeing your ab muscles. Why do you think there’s 140 pound teenagers walking around with six packs? That’s right, low bodyfat. They may not be the biggest and most impressive abs every, but you’ll be able to see them if you lose a ton of weight.
And of course, I’m not at all trying to lead you to some crash diet just to have a mediocre set of muscles on your stomach. Like everything else you will have to program a proper diet and exercise around having visible abs. You can walk around all year long with a six pack and deep cuts and striations, but unless you hop on performance enhancing gear you’ll probably look all around less full and thick than normal when it comes to muscle mass. Just like everything else in fitness, focus on your long term goals and adjust properly. Don’t just lay down on the gym floor every day and rock out a thousand crunches and then despair and give up when you don’t get the results you want. Direct work to your abs every day is a fool’s errand, and a waste of your time.
