What is it about the abdominal muscles that has countless people worshiping at their metaphorical feet? Is it their ultra-shredded look? Is it the sheer power that they hold in relation to the entire anatomy? When absolutely ripped, they command the attention that every bodybuilder wants, but they also play a powerful role in everything we do. Let’s get below the surface of this much-idolized muscle group and see what we uncover.

The Inner Workings of the Abdominal Machine
The abdominal muscles support the trunk of your body, allow movement, and hold organs in place by regulating abdominal pressure. That’s certainly a lot of work for one muscle group, so just like any other huge job, tasks are delegated. The abdominal muscles are made up of four different muscle groups, all with their own assignments. Those four groups are the transversus abdominis, the rectus abdominis, the external oblique, and the internal oblique.

Let’s start with the deepest abdominal layer and the most highly overlooked muscle group of them all, the transversus abdominis. This group has the prestigious job of stabilizing your trunk and is very important in the development of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP). What does that mean? Well, IAP works to decrease the amount of pressure put on the lumbar vertebrae of your spinal column. If that sounds like serious business, that’s because it is. The more IAP is developed, the less force there is through the spinal column region when you’re lifting all those plates on the squat bar or pounding away on the treadmill to get in some cardio.

 

The best way to work the transversus is with isometric (stability) exercises. Don’t be fooled by the simplistic appearance of isometric exercises because they really pack a powerful punch. Planks, in which you hold a push-up-like position on your elbows, are a very good exercise for this muscle group. There are a lot of variations on this exercise, but try it with your hands on a stability ball. That will really get the transversus firing!

The rectus abdominis muscle is attached to the transversus muscle and is the muscle group famous for its ability to be molded into that sliced and diced six-pack everyone idolizes. But besides drawing admiring stares and envious glares, the rectus abdominis controls the tilt of the pelvis and curvature of the lower spine. In other words, it allows you to bend forward and from side to side.

A lot of the more well-known exercises work this area of the abs because of its aesthetic popularity, but one of the more effective ones is the V-sit. This is where you start in a prone position on your back with your arms stretched out above your head. You then bend your body at the hips, bringing your hands to meet your feet in the air, and then end back in the prone position. It’s a tough one, but it sure gives you hardcore results.

 

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Try these abdominal exercises to help yourself get those granite-carved abs you've always wanted! Remember to consult your doctor before starting any diet and exercise plan.

Nothing gains respect like a set of rock-hard abs. Nothing completes a stellar physique like a set of rock-hard abs. Achieving success at any level of bodybuilding requires you to have deeply etched abs. How do you get them? We'll show you how with five great exercises for carving out your own set of granite-hard abdominals. Just remember that the best ab development in the world will mean nothing if your abdominal muscles are covered with fat. So along with doing these ab exercises, make sure you follow a high-protein diet, eat a moderate level of carbohydrates, reduce your dietary fat intake, burn enough calories with training, and use Hydroxycut Hardcore® to support your overall weight-loss goals. And to help yourself get enough protein for building muscle and aiding recovery from intense workouts, use Nitro-Tech®. With the help of the Nitro-Tech family of products, you'll have no trouble meeting your protein requirements. Side Bends   Muscles Worked: Side, upper, and lower abdominals Position: Position yourself on a mat or soft surface so that you're lying on your side. Rest your upper arm on your side and place your hand from your lower arm behind your head. Start: With your head, neck, and body parallel to the floor, lift your upper body up slowly and as far as you can. Finish: Hold at the top of the movement for a short time before slowly returning to the start position. Tip: Do a set on one side, then switch sides and perform another set on the other side. Continue to alternate in this fashion until you're done. This will allow you to save time and also give each side a chance to recover for the next set.

Kneeling Cable Crunches   Muscles Worked: Upper, middle, lower, and side abdominals Position: To perform kneeling cable crunches, use a rope or a bar with a pull-down machine. Kneel down facing the machine so that the cable comes down at a slight angle away from the rack as you crunch down. Start: Grab the rope or bar and pull it down so that your hands are positioned just above your forehead. Crunch down as far as you can go, keeping the rope or bar in the same position. Keep your arms locked in the same position and focus on your abs doing the work. Finish: Bring your body back up slowly to the start position by focusing your abdominals to do the work and control the motion. Tip: Because you can add heavier weight, this is a particularly good exercise for causing the abdominal muscles to fatigue faster with fewer reps. Perform the kneeling cable crunches carefully and slowly, exhaling as you go down.

Hanging Leg Raises   Muscles Worked: Upper, middle, and lower abdominals Position: Using a horizontal bar, position your grip on the bar a little wider than shoulder width. Hang from the bar so your legs dangle straight down. Start: With your feet side-by-side, bring your legs up slowly as far as you can toward your chest by bending your hips and knees. Finish: Hold the position at the top before returning slowly to the start position. Tip: Use gloves or chalk on your hands to prevent slipping and hand fatigue. For variation, twist your hips to either side to hit your obliques or side abdominal muscles.

Crunches   Muscles Worked: Upper and middle abdominals Position: Lie down on the floor or a mat. Bend your knees to about 90 degrees while keeping your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands gently behind your head. Start: Keeping your back and head straight, lift your shoulders off the floor about 4 to 6 inches. Finish: Hold the finish position for a short period before lowering yourself slowly back to the start. Tip: For a more difficult workout, try holding a weight plate across your chest as you perform the crunches.

Assisted Abdominal Leg Pushes (Advanced)   Muscles Worked: Upper, middle, lower, and side abdominals Position: Have a training partner stand with their legs slightly bent and spread a little farther apart than shoulder width. Lay down on your back, positioning your head on the mat between your partner's legs. Start: Grab hold of your partner's ankles for support and bring your legs up with a slight bend in your knees. Your partner should then grab the front of your ankles and proceed to push your legs down towards the floor. Finish: It is your goal to resist your partner's leg pushes as best as you can and bring your legs back up to the starting position quickly, but under control. Avoid having your feet touch the ground after each push. Tip: This one is a lot of fun! However, it is a more difficult exercise and should be performed by advanced participants only. To make the routine more interesting, have your partner randomly push your legs to the left and right as well as to the center.

The abdominals are an important set of muscles for trunk stabilization. Always warm up and stretch before each workout session. It's important to note that ab training is often performed at the end of a workout or on its own in a separate workout. Choose to perform 1 to 3 sets of each exercise, depending on your level of experience.

Source: www.MuscleTech.com

Many would argue that abs are the most wanted muscle on any physique. But what's realistic when it comes to abdominal endeavors? I decided to write about the 7 myths I hear most often. Hopefully, this clears up any misleading information.

7. I must train abs for hours for them to be defined. Absolutely not! Long workouts provide no additional benefit to your abs. It will only cause you to get weaker as a result of overtraining. It should take less than 20 minutes per abdominal training session. Less is better!


6. Fat burners will help me burn fat around my abs. You're better off buying two candy bars instead. Although they can be effective, fat burners do not target specific areas of the body. Fat is burned throughout the entire body. Plus, the "best" fat burner is the food you eat! It's all in the diet!


5. I'll have to go on a strict diet to get good abs. Nope! Through the use of simple diet modifications, anyone can turn their abs into a chiseled work of art. Use my basic, but highly effective abdominal dieting techniques: Cut sodium, cut calories, lower fat, lower sugar, exercise, and drink water. There are still ways to enjoy what you eat using these modifications. You don't necessarily have to "diet." You just have to know when you can eat certain foods. Be creative. It works!

4. If I use weights with abdominal exercises my abs will show up better. Don't waste your time! Weights provide no additional benefit to your abs. Abdominals will never bulge like the leg or pectoral muscles will. Abs "barely" increase in size when you train them. To get your abs to show up better, you have to sculpt them. The sculpting of the abs is done through strip-away-fat dieting, not heavier weights!

3. I can eat fattening meals because if I workout, I can burn if off. You might as well add three more candy bars to the two I mentioned earlier. Most people don't workout long enough to burn even half of the calories they ate. The unburned excess will more than likely become fat. You can combat this problem by working out on an empty stomach. This allows your body to burn its own fat as fuel, since carbohydrates aren't readily available.

2. Sit-ups are bad for your back. Not necessarily. How bad can they be? We do them everyday to get out of bed. Who said you had to touch your elbows to your knees for them to be effective? Why not come half way up, then back down? This still allows constant tension on the abs. I say, "If you perform them correctly, they're perfectly safe." Bottom line: The only reason I don't recommend them is because they're a waste of form when you can do crunches and get the same results.

1. If I do hundreds of sit-ups everyday, I'll have ripped abs. You can do 200 sit-ups a minute and still wouldn't have abs. It's because exercise doesn't define the abs. It only makes them more prominent once the fat has been removed from around them. The kitchen is how you get ripped abs!

Source: www.bodybuildinguniverse.com/forum