Hardly any question comes up as often in the gym as this one: «Can you show me a few more exercises for the abs?» Behind it there is almost always a different goal from the one being asked about – namely a flatter stomach. This is exactly where wish and physiology part ways: ab training shapes muscles, but it does not remove fat at the spot where it burns. This article sorts out both sides: how the abdominal muscles are built anatomically and what they do, why a visible six-pack is primarily a question of body fat percentage, what a sensible selection of exercises looks like and which mistakes regularly cost you the effect.
The abdominal muscles: four muscles with four jobs
In the course, the abdominal muscles are not treated as «the six-pack» but as part of the trunk musculature – that is, the core, which alongside the abdominal muscles also includes the back extensors. Four muscles form the abdominal wall.
The straight abdominal muscle (M. rectus abdominis)
It is a long, vertically running, paired skeletal muscle of the front abdominal wall. It originates at the cartilage of the 5th, 6th and 7th ribs as well as at the breastbone and attaches at the pubic bone. Its functions: the abdominal press, flexion forwards at the spine, and tilting the pelvis upright. This is the muscle you see as a six-pack – the «packs» are created by transverse tendon bands whose number and symmetry are genetically determined and cannot be trained.
The oblique abdominal muscles (M. obliquus externus and internus)
Both count as part of the lateral abdominal musculature. The external oblique abdominal muscle originates at the outer surfaces of the 5th to 12th ribs and rotates the spine to the opposite side; the internal one originates at the tendon plate of the lumbar spine and rotates to the same side. Both tilt the trunk to the side, contribute to forward flexion and are involved in the abdominal press and in exhalation. Anyone who only does crunches leaves out this rotation and side bending entirely.
The transverse abdominal muscle (M. transversus abdominis)
It lies deepest and moves nothing visibly – it holds. In the part of the course on pregnancy and sport it is explicitly described as the muscle that takes the strain off the pelvic floor in its holding work and cushions pressure loads. Anyone who lifts heavy loads, coughs or jumps relies on it without noticing. Because it shapes nothing, it is the one most often forgotten in training – and because it stabilises, it is the one whose absence is felt most clearly.
Why ab training does not make your stomach slim
The most persistent error in the fitness world is the idea that muscle work at one spot burns the fat above that spot. That is not how metabolism works. Fat loss runs in two steps: first the fatty acids are released from the fat tissue as part of lipolysis, then they are oxidised for energy production. Both happen systemically and via the bloodstream – which fat depots shrink first is not decided by the muscle group being trained. You will find the detailed argument for this in the article Can you lose fat locally?.
The prerequisite for any reduction of fat mass is a negative energy balance – nothing else. That is why a properly calculated calorie deficit is the actual lever, and regular, intense strength training the second one: it raises resting energy expenditure and protects muscle mass while weight goes down. Why it is the stomach of all places that gives way last for many people is explained in the article Losing belly fat.
How low does body fat percentage have to be?
As general values for body fat percentage, the course gives 25 to 30 per cent for women and 15 to 20 per cent for men. Athletes who want to optimise their performance aim for lower values: women 18 to 20 per cent, men 8 to 10 per cent. Clearly visible abdominal muscles generally only appear at the lower end of these athletic ranges – and that is independent of how many ab exercises someone does.
Two qualifications belong with this. Where the body loses fat first is partly determined genetically – for many people the stomach is the last region. And very low values are a performance goal, not a health goal. Anyone who reduces sharply over a longer period should have this medically supervised, especially with pre-existing conditions or an absent menstrual cycle.
Choosing exercises: bend, rotate, hold
The choice of exercises follows almost by itself from the functions of the four muscles. A complete ab programme covers three categories:
- Bending (flexion): crunches on the floor or on a machine, leg raises. Targets the straight abdominal muscle.
- Rotating and side bending (rotation, lateral flexion): rotational movements on a machine or cable pull, side bends. Targets the oblique abdominal muscles.
- Holding (stabilisation): forearm and side plank, abdominal press against resistance, exercises with arm and leg movement while the trunk stays still. Targets the transverse abdominal muscle and the interplay of the whole core.
Where these exercises sit within a session is also regulated. The academy orders strength training by joints – hip joint, knee joint, lumbar spine, shoulder joint, elbow joint, cervical spine, ankle joint, wrist. Trunk work therefore comes in third place: after the large muscle groups, but before shoulders and arms – and not as an appendage at the end of the session when nothing works any more. How to fit this into a whole weekly plan is shown in the article Creating a training plan in six steps.
One addition that often gets lost: squats, deadlifts and heavy pulling already demand a lot from the trunk musculature. Anyone who has such compound exercises in the plan needs fewer separate ab exercises than they think.
Progression: ab exercises only become a stimulus with an increase
Ab training is strikingly often done without progression – thirty crunches, the same thirty for years. But the same rules apply to the abdominal muscles as to any other muscle. You train slowly and in a controlled way through the full range of movement to momentary muscular failure; the academy reckons on nine to twelve seconds per repetition and aims for a time under tension of between at least 30 and at most 180 seconds.
The increase follows a clear order: first raise the time under tension, then the resistance – without the range of movement getting smaller or the execution getting worse. For ab training that concretely means: first hold longer and more slowly or manage more clean repetitions, then choose an additional weight, a longer lever or a more demanding position. With holds you change the lever instead of the duration – for example through arm or leg movements while the trunk is held still.
The four most common mistakes
- Crunches only. That trains one of three functions. Rotation, side bending and stabilisation are missing – and with them the greater part of the abdominal wall.
- Pulling on the neck. Hands behind the head tempt you to pull the head forwards. The head belongs in line with the spine; the hands rest loosely at the temples or in front of the chest. Here, consciously targeting the muscles you are working replaces momentum.
- Ab training instead of nutrition. Twenty minutes of ab exercises use little energy. Visibility is decided by the energy balance.
- The trunk as a leftover item. Anyone who sees the core only as appearance gives away its actual benefit: it stabilises the spine in everything else you do – lifting, carrying, running. For the back that is often more relevant than looks, as the article Back pain: stretching or strength training? shows.
Course tip from update Akademie: The request for «a few more ab exercises» is a teaching example from the course – it shows that behind the exercise being named there is usually a different goal. Anyone who wants to learn how to draw out that goal in conversation and derive a training programme from it will find the right foundation in the Personal Trainer programme at update Akademie: anatomy and function of the musculature, training theory and load management, plus conversation technique and client counselling.
Frequently asked questions about abdominal training
How often should I train my abs?
Two to three sessions per week with sufficient recovery in between are enough. The abdominal muscles are not a special case that would need daily training – they too adapt in the recovery phase, not during the load.
Does ab training give you a wider waist?
Very extensive training of the oblique abdominal muscles can make the waist look somewhat more solid. At a usual training volume the effect is negligible; it is no reason to strike rotational movements from the plan.
Does an ab belt or an electrical stimulation device help?
Not for visibility. These aids do not change the energy balance and do not produce a stimulus comparable to properly managed training.
I have a rectus diastasis – may I train my abdominal muscles?
After a pregnancy the straight abdominal muscle has often separated along the midline. Here you build stabilising work first, before bending exercises are added. The article on returning to training after pregnancy describes the approach; a medical or physiotherapeutic assessment belongs at the beginning.
What does the pelvic floor have to do with ab training?
The pelvic floor and the abdominal muscles are connected and work together. A strong transverse abdominal muscle takes the strain off the pelvic floor in its holding work and cushions pressure loads – which is why pelvic floor training and trunk stabilisation complement each other well.
Conclusion
A visible six-pack arises from two independent building blocks: from muscle mass, which you build through a complete selection of exercises and genuine progression, and from a low body fat percentage, which comes about through the energy balance – not through the number of crunches. Anyone who works on only the first block trains muscles nobody sees; anyone who works on only the second becomes slim but not stable. And the most important muscle of the core, the transverse abdominal muscle, is precisely the one you never get to see.
