Rule #1 of abs: Don’t ride your pants so low that you have to hold a dumbbell for modesty purposes. Okay, that’s actually the #1 rule of life. (Anyone remember when Carrot Top wasn’t scary? Yeah, me neither.)
The “Wicked Wiper” is supposedly the ab move to end all ab moves. According to Women’s Health magazine, they couldn’t find a single fitness model who could do it (for the photoshoot they had a guy hold up the model’s butt and then they photoshopped him out!). It has since become my personal quest to find a person who could demonstrate Wsquared under their own power. Just as I was beginning to think only Sasquatch, the Loch Ness monster and the second gunman were honing their abs with this doozy, it happened. I saw someone do it at my gym. And he made it look easy. I jumped up off my weight bench and screamed and clapped, pointing until all the Gym Buddies joined me in rapt wonder. “Is that the…?” “It IS!” “And there’s nobody holding up his butt!” (Of course it was a “he”). The poor man almost had a heart attack and quickly left the area. I have that effect on people sometimes.
We debated chasing him down and apologizing but decided that might make things worse. Instead we left a trail of protein bar chunks and returned quietly to our weight lifting (and by “quietly” I mean quietly for us which is… not very quiet) waiting for him to come back. Eventually he did and we mobbed him again begging him to show us how to do it. We all tried it. We all failed. But! The moral of the story: it is possible! I haven’t given up on the Wicked Wiper yet. I don’t think it’s a matter of strength – I recently held a plank for 10:30 minutes (you like how I throw that in there? totally bragging!) – but rather I lack the coordination.
I share this with you not to give your abs an inferiority complex but rather to point out how complex our abs – and our relationship with our abs – are. Many of the most frequent questions I get asked have to do with the stomach region. So, because I am not an expert of anything (except the art of public humiliation) I am going to answer all your ab questions… by giving you links to people smarter than myself. You’re welcome.
Q: How many times per week should I work my abs – every day or every other day?
A: The answers are mixed. Conventional wisdom for a long time said to work your abs a little every day. Most experts now say to work them every other day to give them time to recover and repair. But a growing faction advocate avoiding ab work – especially conventional ab exercises – all together, seeing it as pointless. For myself, I do them however often the Experiment I’m doing calls for them which has been everything from never to 5 times a day (see Tupler Technique, below).
Q: What about sit-ups/crunches? Good or bad?
A: These gym-class staples have fallen sharply out of favor over the past decade or so. Not only do experts say that conventional sit-ups/crunches set you up for serious injuries but if you do them to exclusion of other movements, you can actually make your stomach look less flat by building up just the rectus abdomoni making your stomach get the dreaded “pooch.” According to this Newsweek article (that’s where I go for all my cutting-edge fitness research, don’t you?) “Doing a sit-up doesn’t train your ab muscles to do the job for which they were designed – keeping your spine straight and secure and providing power for your movements.” Michael Boyle of Strengthcoach.com adds, “In fact, when scientists want to damage the spine of a cadaver for research purposes they put it in a device that’s virtually identical to the crunch machine. Everyone has a finite capacity to perform any given movement. Want to use yours up doing crunches? Wouldn’t be my choice.” [Emphasis mine because… egads]
Q: Should I train my obliques (the muscles down your sides)?
A: Jillian Michaels doesn’t. Isn’t that enough for you people?? JMich (wow, that is not catchy at all!) and many others point out that building up your obliques can make your waist wider. Saith she in her book Making The Cut, “the trick [to a v-taper shape] is to build the muscles in your upper back and shoulders and shrink your internal and external obliques (the ab muscles on the sides of your upper and lower waist).” First, how does one “shrink” a particular area? Second, having an unbalanced core doesn’t sound like a great plan either. Your obliques are responsible for supporting your core when you twist and bend and they help keep everything else in line. Even Jillian has oblique exercises in her Shred DVDs. So I suppose the answer to this question depends on whether you are looking for form or function.
Q: How do I get really defined/visible/flat abs?
A: A combination of great genes and good eating. It is an oft-repeated axiom in the workout world that “abs are made in the kitchen” meaning that you can have the strongest abs in the world but you’ll never see them unless you lose the fat covering them up. To get really ripped, you have to be very dedicated to your diet. For myself, I’ve found that my abs don’t show pretty much ever. Those of you that have read my book got to see pics but even at my lowest (and unhealthiest) body fat percentage, I still didn’t have visible abs. Other women have a six pack without even trying. Ah genetics, you strike again! The upshot is that how good your abs look pretty much has nothing to do with how you work them. (True story: A couple of days ago in the gym, I pointed to two little bulges at the top of my ab area, just visible through my t-shirt. “Look!” I yelled to Allison. “I have upper ab definition!!” Raising an eyebrow she replied, “I dunno, are you sure it isn’t the band of your sports bra squishing stuff out?” I’ll be darned if she wasn’t right. Moral of the story: I totally have upper ab definition… as long as I wear a too-tight sports bra!)
Q: What kind of ab work should I do?
A: The big hoopla these days is around doing “functional moves” – exercises that recreate movements you use in daily life – to work the whole core as a unit. People also like to talk about your transverse abdominals – the ones targeted when your Pilates teacher tells you to “pull your bellybutton into your spine” every five seconds – as they are supposed to be the muscles that hold everything in and I know a lot of women that swear by Pilates to get that flat lean look. But, according to Andrew Heffernen in Experience Life magazine, the top 5 best core exercises ever are the Birdog, the log roll plank, anti-rotation arc, stability ball roll-out and the farmer’s walk. (Click through to see pictures and instructions.) Other current industry favorites include push-ups and planks. (Oh yes, push-ups are a killer ab workout! Want to really burnout your abs? Do a plank as long as you can hold it and then bust out push-ups to failure. I promise your stomach will fail before your arms do! And, um, thanks to Turbo Jennie for helping me discover that painful trick.)
Q: Can I just slice off the extra skin off my abs with a pizza cutter?
A: Um, ew! Did you really just ask me that?! (Yes someone really asked me that. And, NO.)
Q: This is super embarrassing but I get, like, an open sore on my butt every time I do situps. It hurts SO BAD. What am I doing wrong?
A: First, your butt boo-boo is called a posterior ulcer and it’s not than uncommon. It’s basically a friction burn that comes from rubbing all the skin off your pokey-outie tailbone by doing the sit up motion. One of the Gym Buddies has a chronic problem with this! Her solution is to make a little donut out of her sweat towel and stick it under her rear when we do abs. Or you can do what I tell my son whenever he says, “Mom, walking like this really makes my foot hurt!” I reply, “Then stop walking like that.” I think if sit ups make your butt bleed then you have the best reason ever to skip them!
Q: Will I ever get my pre-pregnancy stomach back?
A: Nothing is ever the same after having kids – not your wallet, not your house and especially not your stomach. That said, some women snap back like a rubber band and have nary a stretch mark for a souvenir. I feel bad for them; my stomach is like the best-stamped passport in baby land. Seriously though, you can get your stomach in good shape after having kids – the Tupler Technique is a great tool for healing any diastisis (the separation between your ab muscles during pregnancy) you may still have. And I totally recommend belly wrapping. As for the little things like lose skin or stretch marks or that weird hood over your bellybutton that you can’t get rid of? Wear them with pride. You grew an entire human being – fingernails and everything! – and your body is amazing.
Q: Why should I bother with doing abs when I never see a difference?
A: I feel your pain, sister as I really don’t see changes in my abs either regardless of what I do. But our abs are about so much more than just looking good in a swimsuit. First, a strong core can help prevent back injuries and help heal existing back pain. Second, your core supports you in all of your other fitness endeavors – everything from running to weight lifting benefits from having a tight core.
Q: What is your favorite ab move?
A: It changes pretty frequently! It would be the Wicked Wiper, if I could it… but these days I really like pike ups on the TRX! To do: Get in a plank position with your feet in the “stirrups” of a TRX (you can also put your feet on an exercise ball if you don’t have a TRX). Then contract your abs and pull your feet toward while shooting your rear up in the air (stay, classy now!). You should be in a piked position with straight legs and your hips almost over your shoulders. Lower back down to a plank. Repeat. Hurts SO BAD. I mean good. Do it. Now.
Q: Coregasms: Are they real?
A: Yes. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.
Q: Seriously??
A:
Q: (From a man): I think chicks with six-packs look like dudes and most guys I know agree – why do girls want this look if it isn’t sexy?
A: Well I think dudes without six packs look like chicks. Kidding! For serious: Whether or not really cut abs are hot on a woman is a very personal question and I imagine we’ll find some very vehement men (and women) on both sides of the issue. But to answer your question, girls do a lot of things that guys don’t think are sexy because it’s not always about “looking sexy”. There’s something very powerful about feeling and looking really strong. The second factor is that a flat non-muscular stomach is only achieved by starving (or the aforementioned awesome genes) but a flat muscular stomach is something you can get and still eat (albeit, eat really cleanly) – when they both look the same under clothes wouldn’t you take the one that lets you eat? I’ll admit that when I first started working out, I aspired to the flat-yet-undefined stomach look that pre-pubescents pull off so well but as I’ve gotten older and more into fitness my perception of what is beautiful has changed quite a bit. These days I’d be thrilled if my stomach had some definition to it. And it’s not always about you, guys:)
Your turn! What is your favorite ab move? Do you have an “abs philosophy”? Got an abs question I didn’t answer? (Or want to correct one of my answers??) And… what is up with the low-riding pants trend for men?? I mean, this has got. to. stop.:
Why even wear a belt at this point??
Ew his pants are way too low! I love hovers 🙂
love barbell roll outs and hanging leg raises : they make me feel there they are : they do exist beneath all the flab:
Are those even pants? And I agree why bother with a belt at that point!
My favorite ab moves of late are medicine ball wood chops. I use a 10 pound ball for the first set and then move to a 15 pound one for the second. I start with up to down; right to left, then do up to down; left to right, then down to up; right to left, and down to up; left to right. I then do a set in the middle; which is more like a kettle bell swing.
I like the way I feel and look during and after these moves…which is kind of a miracle for ab exercises.
Ahem…I can do the Wicked Wipers. Actually, I believe that the arms are probably the limitation for most people, not the abs. As you go side to side and your weight shifts, it’s almost like doing a one-arm hang.
Oh; and I do NOT have six-pack abs, but I know they’re under all that squishy stuff somewhere.
I remember you saying you can! I still think you need to make an instructional video for me. It’s killing me that I cannot do these!!
If you want to see how crucial your abs are to every other fitness endeavor, try coming back to the gym after a hysterectomy or other abdominal surgery where you aren’t allowed to use them for anything for weeks and weeks and see what you CAN’T do any more. With my atrophied abs I went from being able to do 8 or 9 unassisted chins in a row to barely being able to do a few with a *25lb* assist. (Talk about a blow to the ego.) I couldn’t do any kind of deadlift movement without my back feeling crippled because my core was so unbalanced that my lower back took over all the work. I could go on, but moral: strong abs make the rest of your body work better and weak abs make weak and sore everything else.
Like Jillian (never thought I’d use that in a sentence), I never used to work my obliques because of the wide waist thang but very very recently I’ve decided I like the look of thick meaty defined obliques on other people. So I’ve decided to grow myself some. I’ve started doing weighted side bends and kettlebell figure 8s. Time will tell if this works.
Owoowowowoww. I can only imagine! So glad you are recovering now! And do keep me posted on the growing of the obliques!
I don’t think I can pick just one ab exercise but now I want to try the Wicked Wipers. I feel sure I have a 6-pack somewhere but I like to keep it hidden!!! Actually, I’m not overly concerned about a 6-pack but I do try to keep my stomach as flat as possible (getting less and less flat the older I get).
To describe Justin Bieber as a “man” is going a bit too far, dontchya think? He-he. My fave ab move is a side plank crunch. You get up in a plank on your side (arm extended) and crunch your knee up and pull your free arm down to your knee. I don’t know how effective it is, but I certainly feel bad-ass when I do it!
Okay, good point! And I love your starfish plank move!!
I still remember seeing the Wicked Wipers in the magazine years ago and my eyes bugged out. I was so relieved to hear that someone was holding her up, because my competitive nature was going to kill me. I still try them….but….no.
I still think that abs boil down to “made in the kitchen”. If you work them or don’t, you’ll see ab muscles if you have low body fat, period. They’ll just look like Carrot Tops (EWWWW, by the way) if you work them, and like….something less disgusting if you don’t.
Also? “Why even wear a belt at this point??” Best line of the entire post.
I have that same competitive nature! Truth: it still kills me I can’t do them
Great post. I’ve been doing ab exercises like crunches ever since I was a teen so was surprised to learn recently that they’re not recommended so much any more. I think it was the Turbulence Training program I was researching and Craig Ballantyne doesn’t advise doing them at all. I’m going to try the wicked wipers and see how I get on with those!
Well my persistent core work quandary involves the question you gave the briefest answer to. How do you practice things like hanging leg raises and other trigger-y movements when, within 10-15 seconds, you’ve got to stop (or not, but y’know…it’s not the easiest to maintain good form beyond that)? And how *do* you explain to your (male, in my case) trainer why I will never be able to do parallette work like he does? This is information I need, Charlotte! Where are you when I need you to solve all my turrible turrible problems? 🙂
Hahahah! Honest truth: I don’t do hanging leg raises or use the Roman chair at the gym. At all. Back when I was working out with my male personal trainer we had a really awkward conversation about that topic. He was like “Do two sets of leg lifts on the Roman chair and…” I was like “No.” He answered, “Why?” And I said, “Just no. I’ll do anything else.’ He asked, “Do you hate the Roman chair??” And I was like, “Nope, kind of the opposite problem.” It took him a solid minute before he was like….. “Ooohh! Yeah, okay, let’s do wood chops.” Had the same issue too, btw, when I went to the CrossFit gym and they were like “climb the rope” and I’m like “Ummm… I learned in middle school that that is probably not a good idea.” ROFL. At least we’re not alone?
Just the other day Hubby & I were saying how much we like Pit Bull’s style: A nice tailored suit, and no droopy pants to be seen. He’s such a good looking fella (said in my best Jewish Mother Voice).
I have a few favorite ab moves, one of which is a moving side plank. You get into a regular plank and move into a side plank, one side to the other, repeatedly, making sure the supporting hand stays under your shoulder. It takes a lot of balance and works the entire core, including the back. It also works the arms, shoulders, and chest.
One of the reasons I love Pilates is that the focus is on maintaining good alignment. Too many people reinforce bad posture & other habits while exercising, which leads to injury, but also unwanted results. (I remember once seeing a woman running: It was clear she was a longtime runner, but her shoulders were hunched up to her ears and her face looked like she’d just eaten a lemon. These were habitual movements that, I’m sure, gave her trouble a few years later.)
Mind-body exercises, like Pilates and yoga, are so important, IMHO, partly because they make us aware of our habits and teach us good form. As long as you don’t trip over the Reformer. (ahem)
OKay I don’t know what it is about Pitbull but I love him too! He definitely looks sharp! (Even if his misogynistic lyrics make me want to scream)
The one and only ab move I have done this year, religiously 2x per week, is 3×20-ish incline sit ups with a side to side twist at the top holding a 10 lb plate. I have a decent amount of flubber on top, but my core has felt super strong.
I had a budding 6 pack as a young gymnast, but never ever again since. With my shape, I would be happy to have no bubble in my lower belly, let alone visible abs! 🙂
For some reason, I find that little muscular triangle just above the pubic bone (you see it very well on Carrots thanks to his droopy drawers) very unattractive on women.
Agreed!
I like the “rollout barbell” where you are on your knees and roll forward on a barbell till your out flat, and then roll back to the upright position. It is a great workout for the abs, and also the upper body at the same time. Try it. I guarantee it is pretty tough!
Oh I’ve tried it! I love that one! It’s killer!!
The W2 doesn’t hold a candle compared to the planche for difficulty. I can’t even begin to get into that pose, although I can do a few poorly executed W2s before losing my balance. And just to make me feel more pitiful, there is apparently a 5 year old boy who can do not just planches, but planche pushups (http://www.flickr.com/photos/46187444@N06/4262915210 if you want to see). Yeesh.
Okay good call! Those are insane!
Great things in here Charlotte! I think what I have learned along the way is that we are all different & different things work for different people in terms of how many days or not days, exercises & such. Of course there are some tried & true.. BUT it is about changing it up AND you will never see them without eating very clean – the truth on that..
I swear by oblique work BUT non weighted for me or I get bulky & waist get bogs. Others I know don’t have this prob but it is about body type too. 🙂
I must admit, I didn’t know who Carrot Top was until I Googled him. I also have to say without sounding prideful (ok, I guess a little prideful) that I do the hanging wipers or as you call them ‘Wicked Wipers’ often.
My favourite abs moves are the ones that really incorporate the whole core region including lower back and hips. Dragon flags are a fave as are hanging flutter kicks and superman push-ups.
Yes, and I believe it from your profile pic!! I’ve tried the flutter kicks and superman push-ups but I’ve never heard of a Dragon Flag! Going to look it up now!
Wait…abs are made in the kitchen?! Cool, is that what the “shred” button on my blender is for?
Nothing beats ab work that involves hanging from a bar. The core control and strength required to master simply picking up your legs as you hang is crazy effective. I think the key is anything that gives your core and especially your pelvis the freedom to move as much as you like. When you’re sitting or lying down on something your pelvis is against something that doesn’t much much and I think that might be causing a lot of the issues.
Hang and move, that’s got my vote!
I love hanging ab work but there are two problems with it. 1) It’s dependent on your upper body strength more than your core – i.e. my shoulders give out long before my abs do! and 2) That other thing I can’t talk about on here;)
P.S. Loved your blender joke!!
First – Amen on ending the low-pants thing on guys… seriously eww. Second, this article is the jam! I totally agree with your answer to why you should bother to work on your abs when you never see results. It’s so important to make sure everything is being held together and held up properly. Ab/core and back strength is such an important base for stability and correct postural form. Thanks for putting all this info out there!
And I thought Carrot Top was scary as a comedian!!!
Terrific. My thanks for writing that. I will definitely return to your site to find out more and recommend my acquaintenances about your website.
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