Abdominal exercises
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The abdominal muscles contribute to the core and work as the powerhouse to support movement and protect the spine. A lack of abdominal strength contributes to back pain and overall weakness.
A common misconception is that you can do hundreds of crunches a day and get a flat stomach. This is not the case for a couple of reasons.
First, this exercise only trains the abs in one plane of motion. To properly train the abs you must move the upper and lower body as well as rotating the torso to focus on all the major contributors.
Second, many people tend to perform the crunch using the neck often causing it to feel sore and strained. When using the neck you are not focusing on the stomach and are doing more damage than good. Relax the neck and shoulders, hold the chin up and focus the eyes on a spot above you.
The abdominals are made up of multiple muscles including the rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus, internal obliques and external obliques. These muscles help to move the torso in different directions working together with the muscles of the low back. Both the abs and low back need to be trained to protect from back pain and prevent any problems down the line.
Muscles of the Abdominals:
Rectus Abdominus:
This is the outer most stomach muscle and the most recognizable. When this muscle is well developed you can see the seperate compartments that make up the muscle which is referred to as the "six pack". This muscle helps flex the torso in a crunching motion.
Transverse Abdominus:
The transverse is an important muscle in the support of your lower spine. This deep set muscle wraps from the low back around to the front of the stomach. It holds the most important role in low back support among the abs. The transverse engages in virtually every abdominal exercise.
Internal Obliques:
The internal obliques are another deeper set muscle but are on the sides of the body. These muscles help with rotation, crunching and hip or pelvic movement. They play an active role in exercises such as cable torso rotation, crunch with weighted twists and side planks.
External Obliques:
These muscles are also located on the sides of the body and actually rest over the internal obliques. The external obliques play a similar role as the internal obliques, the just rotate the torso differently. Target these muscles in exercises such as cable torso rotation, side planks, and twisting crunches.
Although these muscles have different roles and can be focused on by performing certain exercises, it is difficult to isolate one specific muscle to train it.
Stomach Exercises:
Ball Crunch with Medicine Ball
Foam Roll Single Leg Extension
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