Workout Wednesday #2

Hello readers,

I hope you find my blog at least somewhat fun, encouraging, and slightly informative so far. I am still trying things out, so don’t be afraid to share your opinons and voice what you would like me to write about. In the meantime it has come time for another installment of Workout Wednesday’s!

Last week I wrote on simple ways to use a dumbell to perk up your focus and effectiveness while at work at a desk, cubicle, or office. This week it’s time to talk about how you can make sure to do to improve your abs. I was laying across a HEMI engine dealing with more than just headaches, but the belly aches of sharp metal bruising your core. I thought to myself how much worse it could be for someone less in shape than I am. Sure I have had my difficulties with weight gain/loss, but when it comes to building muscle we aren’t focusing on that. Weightloss starts at the table, but can have implications from many extrinstic and intrinsic factors. Some examples of extrinsic factors could be anything from mold to family members. Some intrinsic factors could be anything from stress management to choosing poor eating styles or caloric choices that your body particularly does not benefit from.

From my time in the U.S. Army the training I had then says do situps, crunches, rocky situps (a.k.a. oblique situps), and knee to chest crunches. That is inclomplete and over simplified.

When we talk about Abdominal muscles most people focus on rectus abdominus which gives you the famous “six/eight pack” depending on your body. BTW the difference is like having dimples or not you can’t control whether you will present with either six or eight abdominal bulges along the abdominus rectus. Respect these muscles as positional muscles and not so much to be meant for certain large movements. What most people could really be helped by and would prevent more ulcers is to focus on engaging the transverse abdominus as you do the rectus abdominus.

These muscles don’t necessarily engage together. For example in planks you are engaging the transverse abdominus with your back muscles without engaging rectus abdominus. If you’re too busy to make it to the gym then remember that you can engage in isometric excercise by engaging your muscles without movement. This can be conscious by mentally engaging your muscles or by using your environment of leaning back in a chair without a support, rotating to your sides to engage your oblique muscles in the same position. If you have access to a wall for the serratus muscles you can put your hand against a corner or a position of significant resistance and try to pull your hand to your opposite knee on both sides. Remember to incorporate this little muscle in your fitness routine or it can cause you pain (a side stitch). I supplied the top image for you to view what muscles you have along the front of your body. So what’s the plan for each muscle in a regular workout plan?

At home upper rectus abdominis is focally engaged in crunches, so that most likely will be included in any workout for abs. Lower will be either front leg raises, laying knees to chest, or laying bycicles. Oblique specific exercises include the oblique situp, cross body twists, and laying hand to knee cross overs. Serratus excercises include anything causing your arms to come in and down at an X over your torso. It’s very important that you focus the effort consciously in the torso as you can do reps of these with other larger muscle groups.

I prefer to balance my workouts to mix up which muscle group I hit at a time so I can get the most performance of reps, but don’t be afraid to switch these up as you find best for you. Also doing a full rep coming half back and finishing out that rep can give you a lot of results for your effort even though they might be hard, but at least it gives you a choice of something different. This is for a beginner level, so add reps/sets as needed.

8 Situps

8 Hand to knee crossovers each side

8 high knee raises each side

8 Broom handle toe touches (the broom handle across your neck and arms keeps your arms straight and helps you engage the core, but isn’t 100% necessary)

15 Crunches

8 Mountain climbers (can be modified)

30 second plank

6 Oblique situps each side

The first picture was supplied by AthleanX I highly reccomend checking out the channel if you don’t have problems with seeing a man describe muscular action marking his own body.