‘Influencers’ or ‘gymbross’ appear on social media doing classic sit-ups until exhaustion, but science has not demonstrated better nerve activation by including them in a routine

When talking about abdominal muscle training, the image of a person with a six -pack always comes to mind , whether in the pool, on the beach, in a movie, or even in famous sculptures, such as Michelangelo’s David . One of the most famous scenes is from 300 , where King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler) and his Spartan army amazed with their muscle development, especially of the abdominal muscles. The actor himself indicated the arduous training he had to do to achieve that level of muscle development . Other celebrities have made headlines for the training they do of this muscle group, such as Lenny Kravitz training at 60 years old to show off a muscular stomach or Elsa Pataky who in her routines before going to sleep does more than 200 sit-ups to have a flat and defined stomach. But, what exercises are the most suitable for working the abdominal muscles?

Nowadays, one of the terms that has appeared strongly in the world of training is that of the core or center of balance or control of the body. This concept has been described as the interconnection between the lumbar, abdominal, pelvic and hip regions, forming a kinetic chain that allows functional movements, as well as allowing movement control and stability of the trunk in sports activities and in everyday life.

However, it is important to highlight the role of the different muscles involved and that make up the lumbar, abdominal and hip stability ( core ) when performing movements that involve the entire body. These are the rectus abdominis (the one that marks the famous six-pack or chocolate bar and is responsible for trunk flexion), the external and internal obliques that allow trunk flexion and rotation, the diaphragm that is responsible for breathing and is involved in intra-abdominal pressure, along with the pelvic floor muscles that have a crucial relevance in supporting the internal organs and in controlling the sphincters, lumbar muscles and spinal erectors that allow trunk extension, and lastly, the most important, is the transverse abdominis muscle that is located in the deepest plane and is our natural girdle to maintain abdominal stability and control .

The exercises with which we can train the core are mainly:

• Traditional core exercises that are light in weight and are usually performed on the floor, focusing mostly on the rectus abdominis muscle, such as the crunch , the sit-up or the back extension . They can be performed without weight or with weight, such as a medicine ball.
• Core stability exercises that seek to activate the deep abdominal muscles, trying to stabilize and maintain a neutral position, such as planks or side bridges.
• Free weight exercises that involve an external load and are dynamic movements that require the core as a stabilizer of the movement, such as deadlifts, squats, or lunges.
• Free weight exercises not linked to specific core work such as the seated shoulder press or bench press .

Scientific evidence has shown that, depending on the objective of the exercises, those that produced the greatest activation in the rectus abdominis were the free weight exercises, while stability exercises such as planks improved the activation of the internal muscles such as the transverse and oblique muscles. In addition, planks allow for greater nervous activation of the deep paravertebral muscles, which allows for more global work on abdominal stability. Likewise, planks activate the lower body muscles such as the gluteus maximus and medius or the quadriceps, as well as the upper body muscles, during their performance.

Planks result in a lower risk of injury, as they are more static exercises with a smaller range of motion, as well as less lumbar involvement (compression between intervertebral discs) due to repeated flexions that occur in classic sit-ups. On the other hand, performing sit-ups ( curnch or sit-up ) can involve and increase the stimulation of hip flexors such as the iliopsoas, increasing tension in the lumbar region .

Planks can replicate nerve stimuli of the abdominal muscles similar to everyday situations, as well as allowing for greater stability of static balance (standing on the subway or bus) and dynamic balance (carrying shopping bags), whereas traditional abdominal exercises, which involve trunk flexions, do not have a similar functional transfer to everyday life. Also, the importance of planks, stimulation of the transverse and pelvic floor muscles, acts as a means of preventing urinary incontinence and other possible abdominal injuries, such as lumbar, inguinal or femoral hernias.

In many cases we see influencers or gymbross doing classic sit-ups until exhaustion or using other elements that complement the performance of plank exercises, such as fitballs , dumbbells or unstable surfaces. It must be taken into account that scientific studies have not demonstrated greater or better nerve activation by including them in our routines, in addition to increasing the risk of injury or poor execution of the exercise. However, a recent meta-analysis highlighted the role of exercises with one’s own body weight, incorporating more functional, dynamic and specific exercises than traditional ones to complement the work of postural control and kinetic chains in other contexts.

We must then focus on work that involves multi-joint exercises, with and without stability, which are more suitable alternatives for core stability and not as limited as classic abdominal exercises. To do this, routines should be incorporated where the following are worked 2-3 times a week:

• Exercises to activate the erector spinae and transverse muscles such as deadlifts, bent-over barbell rows, barbell squats, or standing military press (3 sets of 8-10 reps, 60-90 seconds rest between sets).
• Dynamic core stability and balance exercises , using body weight and equipment, straight arm plank, forearm plank, side plank, inverted plank or transverse plank (20-30 minutes, resting 30-45 seconds between sets, 3 sets of 20-30 seconds). Within these exercises, you can gradually incorporate active plank exercises such as the plank with leg curl or mountain climbers.

Let’s prioritize the quality of movement over quantity. We can define our abs with 300 repetitions, but supervised training with a goal focused on activating our core will allow us to have a healthier and more functional life.

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