Ab Exercises the Proper Way

Look in any gym and you will see people doing these exercises in a huge variety of ways and in a huge number of reps . This can lead to injury but strangely enough , not in the abs but in the spine !

What do the abs do ?Many people are under the impression that they only flex the body ( i.e. bend you forward ) but their main function is as an anti rotator i.e. they work as a brake to stop you over-twisting and damaging the spine .

Follow these tips to prevent injury :

* Do not use the same exercise every day like any muscle they need at least 1 days rest to recover .

* Always do them at the end of your training session if you do them at the beginning then you will tire them out ( which is what you need to do ) but then when you do really heavy work such as squats , deadlifts , good mornings , etc. the abs will be too weak to properly support the spine .

* Do not lock your feet under anything as the abstire your body will start to recruit the hip flexors to helpout and , in most people , these are already short and tightand the last thing they need is exercise .

* Many people do a huge number of reps this is completely wrong . Skeletal muscles come in 2 different types ;

Postural these keep you upright as they are the main anti-gravity muscles and are always switched on . They are designed for endurance and are quite strong but tend to always be tight .

Phasic these only switch on when we need them . They are very strong but only for short bursts as in throwing and jumping . They tend to get too weak and long .

Abs are phasic muscles and they are trained in a different way than postural muscles . If you do loads of reps you are training them for endurance and you risk over-using them .

* When doing the exercise keep your tongue against the roof of your mouth just behind the teeth this switches on the deep neck flexors which are part of the body flexor chain .

* To avoid a muscle imbalance you need to also workthe muscles that straighten you up the glutes and thehamstrings you should do as much on these as you doon the abs .

* Always maintain a curve in the back to protect thespinal discs ;

* Learn the abdominal brace this is a way of switching on the muscles before an exercise . Have a friend pretend to punch you in the stomach , you will notice that your abs tighten . With practice you can also do the side abs as well .

In general , traditional exercises such as curls , crunches and leg lifts are considered old-fashioned as they put enormous pressure on the lower back . There are many other ways that you can use such as ;

Slide the feet forward and back

There are also a number of exercises you can do using cable machines do an internet search for 'functional ab exercises' to get an idea or , better yet , find an instructor who specializes in this area .

The modern gym industry is many years behind what we now know to be the correct way to strengthen these muscles safely . Follow the above tips and you will remain free of injury .

Val O'HalloranMassage therapist