More Ab work

[DerickVonD]

I wanted to add in my ab work and I was also thinking of adding tricep pulldowns to my workout routine on my chest and tricep days. I mainly care about getting my abs strong and not necessarily getting them defined. I do care about definition, however strength is more important and I figure I can always work on making my abs visible and defined later. Here is my current routine.

Set 1 - Back and Bis
chinups
Barbell Row (2 sets)
Deadlift (3 sets)
BB curl (1 set)
Hammer curls (1 set)
DB Wrist Curl (1 set)
Reverse DB Wrist Curl (1 set)

Set 2 - Chest and Tris

Bench (2 sets)
Inclined DB press (2 sets)
Inclined DB flyes (1 set)
Db Lying Triceps Extension (2 set)
cable extension (1 sets)


Set 3 - Legs S

Squats or Front Squats (3 sets)
Stiff leg deadlift (3 set) or leg curl (2set)
leg extensions (2 set)
calf raises (2 sets)
Leg Raises (2 sets)


Set 4 - Shoulders

Military Press (3 sets)
lying side lateral raises (1 set)
seated rear delt flys (1 set)
Upright row (2 sets)
BB Shrugs (3 sets)
DB Shrugs (2 sets)

Day 1: back/bi's
Day 2: chest/tri's
Day 3: off
Day 4: legs
Day 5: shoulders
Day 6: off
Day 7: off

3 sets reps 6-8
2 sets reps 8-12
1 set reps 8-12

 

[friggin24pack]

imo i think ab machines targeted at upper abs is a good way to go for strength because you can stack alot of weight on them. there is also a great ab/chest workout you can ad into your chest training day. Im a big fan of curl bar/db pullovers across a bench. it gives a great stretch across your whole abdomen while working your chest.


if your interested heres my current ab routine once a week:

machine crunch: 90lb 100reps 30 second rest between sets
parallel bar leg lifts: 100 reps
heavy machine crunch: 170lbs dont know how many sets
decline bench crunch: 200 crunches 30second rest

 

[SemiBulimic]

you're already getting a good ab workout through squats, deadlifts and military press but a few things for ab strength that i rate are cable crunches, crunches with a heavy dumbbell or plate on your chest/head respectively. Train your abs like you would train other muscles for strength, low reps (less than 16 anyway) and lots of weight, and don't train them everyday as they need time to recover just like everything else.

 

[DerickVonD]

you're already getting a good ab workout through squats, deadlifts and military press but a few things for ab strength that i rate are cable crunches, crunches with a heavy dumbbell or plate on your chest/head respectively. Train your abs like you would train other muscles for strength, low reps (less than 16 anyway) and lots of weight, and don't train them everyday as they need time to recover just like everything else.

Well I'm in the gym 4 days a week and I figured I could add the ab work in on my leg days after my leg workouts.

 

[SamuraiSid]

you're already getting a good ab workout through squats, deadlifts and military press but a few things for ab strength that i rate are cable crunches, crunches with a heavy dumbbell or plate on your chest/head respectively. Train your abs like you would train other muscles for strength, low reps (less than 16 anyway) and lots of weight, and don't train them everyday as they need time to recover just like everything else.

Ive heard a lot of eastern european mma coaches dislike abs only training. Like Semi says, with proper technique (keeping your abs tight throughout the lift) you hit your abs with many different lifts.

For strengthening abs I take Deadlifts and Squats over machine ab curls any day. Back in my Muay Thai days, my I asked my coach how to strengthen abs so I could take harder hits. He said the plank. The abdominals are made up of three layers. The outer layer is the aesthetic one that gives you the nice pop. I dont recall which of the other two layers is primarily for strength, but keeping your abs tensed for long periods of time is the best way to strengthen them.

Id take Plank, Deadlifts, Squats over ab machins any day for increasing strength.

 

[SemiBulimic]

Ive heard a lot of eastern european mma coaches dislike abs only training. Like Semi says, with proper technique (keeping your abs tight throughout the lift) you hit your abs with many different lifts.

For strengthening abs I take Deadlifts and Squats over machine ab curls any day. Back in my Muay Thai days, my I asked my coach how to strengthen abs so I could take harder hits. He said the plank. The abdominals are made up of three layers. The outer layer is the aesthetic one that gives you the nice pop. I dont recall which of the other two layers is primarily for strength, but keeping your abs tensed for long periods of time is the best way to strengthen them.

Id take Plank, Deadlifts, Squats over ab machins any day for increasing strength.

Agreed. Forgot to mention the plank - great for posture and general core strengthening. Also the ab wheel is unreal for an ab-based strength exercise. First time i did it i didn't want to cough for 3 days. great value for money.

 

[DerickVonD]

I just did chinups yesterday after not doing them for along time and I was only able to do two. My abs were sore as hell.

 

[tjwoody]

pers. i sometimes forgot how much work the core gets by being involved in stabilizing so what happens i will do a heavy core workout and next day for example ill be doing an exercise and abs will be giving out a bit. lol

 

[Rodja]

The problem is that most view abs as just some sort of flexion exercise (e.g. crunches). The core has a huge ROM and needs to be trained in both the oblique and transverse planes. Trunk rotations, woodchoppers, halos, and erector work is extremely important along with pre-hab to prevent any tightness in the hips/glutes/piriformis.