When to Work Your Abs

Comments

I am very surprised by this inforamtion. I have always been taught that one can work their abs on a daily basis. Theoretically it makes total sense.I have been "over-training" my poor abs!!

I have always heard that Ab muscles can be worked every day.
Why only every other day?

thank you I'm 51 and trying to get back into shape by doing 10min of ab work 2 to 3 times a day. It's been about a month and all I have to show for it is some cramping.

What do you think are the best exercises for your abs?

This is a good point but it leaves out important information.
What kind of exercises are best?
How many reps per set?

I love this website. The advice and suggestons that you give on everything are short and to the point. Awesome. Keep it up.

SO... Julie and Mark, I would not recommend exercising your abdominals everyday because you want to allow them 48-72 hours to repair. BUT (and that's a big butt) my question to you is "Do you have 'poor' legs"? By that I mean are your legs messed up, because I know you used them yesterday, the day before that, the day before that, and the day before that...actually, probably everyday for your whole life. They're not broken down are they? No. Your body adapts to it, otherwise you couldn't walk the day after you...walked. Get what I mean? It is not a good idea to exercise the same body part maximally day after day, but if you do real light work daily on a certain body part, it's not going to hurt you.

Patti, I would not workout abdominals daily, especially because they are like all other muscles and GROW when you stress them, not shrink. Hadn't thought of that had you? Just don't do so much abdominal work and instead throw in some legs and upper body exercise instead.
Merrilyn, I think the best abdominal exercises are (1) standing on one foot while exercising (doing both legs of course), and (2) holding your body in perfect push-up position. Why? First,when one stands on one foot during a shoulder press/biceps curl/torso rotation/whatever, their 'transversus abdominus' is what is holding them up, which is their inner-abdominals. This is the only muscle that goes all the way around the torso, and hence a very important one for low-back injury prevention. If one holds push-up position for a minute+, their abdomen will be screaming along with their upper body, arms, glutes and legs. It is a wonderful total body workout.