THE EVOLUTION OF ABS TRAINING

The true path to six-pack abs (and IRL total-body stability) doesn’t involve just sit-ups and crunches. Why? Because your midsection can power much more

The secret to training your abs is out – and it entails more than just your go-to planks and sit-ups. It also requires more than just targeting your rectus abdominis, the ballyhooed band of muscle between your chest and your hips. If you want true core strength (and, yes, that sixpack), a growing group of experts will tell you that you need to carry heavy weights and walk. This forces your core to constantly micro-correct and rebalance as you move, explains Aaron Horschig, a US-based physical therapist. You also need to twist and turn, challenging your oblique muscles and back extensors.

‘While there’s nothing wrong with training the abs for show, training for stability – which encompasses all of the muscles that surround the spine and hips – is essential training for everyone,’ says Horschig. His book, Rebuilding Milo, includes a variety of exercises, many of which challenge your entire core – think lower-back extensors, glutes and obliques – that team up with your abs to stabilise and bolster your back.

Unlike the parts of your body that handle just one or two tasks (such as your biceps, which are most heavily utilised to bend your elbows), all those core muscles have a whole host of responsibilities. They work together to flex your spine (as happens during a classic sit-up) and they help to rotate your shoulders so that you can turn to look at a friend. They also prevent excessive rounding of your lower back (which is known as anti-flexion), a key tactic in the battle to prevent pain in your back.

The ideal abs regimen trains all these functions, protecting you against injuries and readying your core (and spine) for anything life can throw at you. Horschig says people finally get that. ‘More and more people are starting to understand the true role of core,’ he says.

The end result of all this work? A lower back that’s armourplated against persistent pain and has the ability to move athletically and fluidly. And along the way, you’ll build those six-pack abs, too. Because a little vanity never hurt, right?