Ab Program Frequently Asked Questions

By: Scott H. Mendelson CFT, SSC, SPN

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Questions from real users of the program

Why are rotational movements that you mentioned in your article so important?

AThese movements recruit the obliques, which make the stomach appear flat and provide some defined muscular elevation for the upper abdominal region. The obliques are exremely important for athletic activities such as baseball. Explosive trunk rotation calls on the obliques to action and in many cases they are not there to answer the call in a fashion condusive to the best performance unless they are trained properly.

Can great looking abs be Weak?

Q: Why should I care about the strength of my abs if I am focused on looks only? I do not understand how the two relate.

A:3 effective testing procedures for determining ab strengths and weakness are provided in the digital video section. Your body will shut the abs down during exercises if there is a weakness that leaves the opening for injury. Having a section of the abs shut down during a particular movement will limit the training affect and thus results will be below average. As a society we do crunches all day long and create a strength balance problem by neglecting the other two planes of movement. You must do rotational ab movments for the obliques and leg lowering movments for the lower adominal wall to correct weaknesses. Consider that the body wants to protect your from injury before allowing you to look good on the beach.

How do you Customize the Program?

Q: What do you do when you customize the Level 1 program?

A: A customized Level 1 program is made based on the strength testing results and a few other information factors collected from the client. Information collected from the client helps me to determine what should be prioritized first. Most people have very limited strength when doing lower abdominal or rotational movements. As a result programs will focus on these areas by dedicating more time to improve weak links. Exercises with appropriate levels of difficulty are suggested to fit the unique needs of the client. I help the trainee refine and adjust the program as needs progress by changing exercise selection, sets, reps, frequency of workouts etc.

Weak Abs=Back Pain

Q: You mentioned in the article that improving ab strength may lower the risk of back injury, why?

A: A weak midsection leads to bad posture in many cases and as a result structures such as the lumbar spine are put into stressful positions. These stressful positions may make a person more likely to experience an injury or other lingering dysfunction. There are two kinds of ab strength, but it is abdominal endurance that is going to have the greatest affect on back health. Your muscles must be strong enough to support proper position and function to guard against injury. Serious weight trainees must have strong mid sections to support heavy multiple joint movments such as the squat and deadlift. It is common to see people performing these exercises incorrectly because their core strength is inadequate, as a result their weight training may lead to injury. Furthermore a weak link in any movement will shut down muscular recruitment; leading to a poor training effect for all musculature involved in the exericse.

Flexibility: A Key to Performance

Q:I have a lot of pain in my mid section when playing basketball, but I know my abs are very strong, what should I do?

A: A lack of flexibility is a possibility based on what you described. Basketball requires a lot of rapid movements which include twisting and explosive jumping. The trunk is involved in many of these movements and under takes a great deal of stress during these types of activities. Athletes involved with explosive sports are known for their aggressive ab strength routines, but not for flexibility work. While your abs may be strong; a lack of functional flexibility can cause your pain and limit your performance. Like any other muscl, the abdominal wall and lower back can become very tight and will lose range of motion. Take action before reaching this point. Simple stretching will make a big difference in the way you perform, prevent injury and potentially decrease pain.

Infomerical Devices: Helpful or Dangerous?

Q: I contstantly see new ab devices adverstised on TV, do they actually work? The people in the commercials look so good.

A: Perhaps some of the devices have value for certain segments of the population, but for the most part these devices are nothing more than fancy marketing schemes. The commercial spots resemble communist brain washing films, which seek to make you believe that the device advertised is the holy grail. The real issue is that these devices cause a trainee to repeat the same movement pattern over and over without any other movements. This is a sure fire way to create an injury for your self. Several of the ab devices require overly aggressive movements for most of the population; you cannot expect to go right from the coach to an advanced movement without your body screaming in protest.

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