This month I'd like to take some of the information I received and share both the presenter's viewpoint as well as my own.  Be mindful that in fitness, as in many disciplines, where science and art meet is often a fuzzy line.  This is especially true when it comes to addressing the issue of the abdominal wall.

The presenter I'd like to highlight is Dr. Len Kravitz.  Dr. Kravitz is an internationally recognized expert and researcher in the area of exercise science.  His "day job" is as researcher and professor at the University of New Mexico.  He is passionate, knowledgeable and convincing.  His website, www.drlenkavitz.com has an impressive list of articles on his own research efforts as well as links to other credible fitness resources.

1. How does abdominal training improve low-back health?

   How many times have you heard someone complain of back pain and suggest they need to spend more time and effort strengthening their core?  It's universally accepted that a strong core will reduce the risk and symptoms of low back pain.  But why?

   Dr. Kravitz went into a great amount of detail to explain how the thoraco lumbar fascia (TLF) and internal obliques (IO) connect to form a biological cumber bun around the mid section.  The use of artist renderings and cadaver photos of the abdominal wall muscles made it easy to understand the inner workings of the abdominal wall.

   The TLF is a triangular-shaped mesh of collogan in the low back.  It's not a muscle so it can not contract...  It's has no striation so it's not a tendon.  It is strong as steel, much like a piece of steel wool, that anchors the IO into the low back.  As a unit, the TLF and IO serve to create an internal pressure that is used to stabilize the lumber vertebrae of the low back.

   The bottom line...  The TLF in the low back can not be strengthened significantly through exercise, but it's partner in crime, the internal obliques can be functionally improved through exercise.

   I often inform my clients that the IO and TLF are mother nature's provided weight lifting belt.  For most people, the use of an external weight lifting belt is not only unnecessary, but it is also training faulty movement patterns by training the brain to push out against the external belt when in fact the abdominal wall should be drawing in to create the internal forces necessary to stabilize the lumbar spine.  There are convincing arguments for the use of an external belt as well as applications when an external belt is warranted. 

    

2. Is it OK to involve the hip flexors in abdominal training exercises?

   First let's define "hip flexors".  The hip flexors are any muscles that cross the hip joint and causes the hip to bend at the waist or the thigh to raise off the floor.  The primary muscle that causes the hip to bend at the waist is one of the quadriceps called the rectus femoris.  The primary musche that causes the thigh to raise is a deep, short muscle that attaches from the lumbar spine to the top of the femur (leg bone) called the psoas.

   Regardless of the muscle in question, it is universally accepted that the hip flexors are tonic muscles... they always want to do the work...  Every chance they get they will override the abdominal muscles and do the work.

   It is the overuse of the hip flexors that makes sit-ups with anchored feet so poo-pooed.  The late Vladimir Janda (pronounced yanda), a world renouned physiotherapist and research, has stated that overuse and subsequent shortening of the hip flexors is the number one reason for postural dysfunction.

   The bottom line...  When exercising the abdominal wall (and any other muscle groups for that matter) care should be taken to minimize the recruitment of the hip flexors.  At Desk Jockey Fitness, for example, we use the blood pressure cuff technique that was created by Deborah Ellison, a physical therapist and author in San Diego, to isolate the fibers of the lower abdominal wall from the hip flexors.

    

3. Should you pull in the abdominals when doing crunches?

   The real question here is "Should the transversus abdominus (TVA) be braced or hollowed to stabilize the low back when doing abdominal training?". 

   The TVA is the deepest abdominal wall muscle we have.  It separates the viscera in the abdominal region from the external world.  It's primary purpose is to stabilize the low back by creating an internal applied force around the lumbar spine.

   Bracing is the act of tightening the abdominals like you would naturally do if someone were to punch you in the stomach.  Hollowing is the act of drawing in the abdominals as if you were putting on a tight pair of pants.

   Dr. Kravitz advocates the use of both methods of activating the TVA.  At Desk Jockey Fitness we recommend our clients stick to the hollowing method of recruiting the TVA.  It requires a more conscious effort, is easier for the trainer to observe, and provides the client with more biofeedback information of the muscle recruitment.  It is also my opinion that bracing can be more of a recruitment of the rectus abdominus (RA) (the six-pack muscle) than the TVA.  Unfortunately, the RA only provides minimal stabilization of the low back.

    

4. Can you build big abdominal muscles?

   In the world of body building creating unusually large and well defined muscles is the goal.  How they work collectively with other muscles in the body is not of any relevance... only size and definition matter.  Creating large muscles is known as hypertrophy (hi-per-trafy).

   In the functional fitness world where Desk Jockey Fitness operates we're more concerned with the ability of the muscle to do something useful, like protect the spine, allow the person to perform necessary tasks such as lift a bag of fertilizer out of the trunk of a car, or open a heavy door in an uptown skyscraper.

   Honestly, the issue of attempting to create big abdominal muscles does not cross my mind very often.  But for those of you who might be concerned about creating a large waist line by exercising the internal (IO) and external (EO) obliques you can relax...  According to Dr. Kravitz, the only muscle that can experience through hypertrophy by weight training is the rectus abdominus (RA), the six-pack muscle.  The muscles on the side of the waist, the IE and EO, are too thin and do not increase in size with exercise.  They only get stronger and more stable.

   Dr. Kravitz did illustrate one exercise that will increase the size of the waist line.  It's an arm exercise where a 12-16 ounce container of an alcoholic beverage is lifted to face level and tilted posteriorly.  Otherwise, there is no other way to increase the girth of the waist line.

    

5. Can you work the upper abdominals and lower abdominals independently?

   This question is has two camps of thought in the fitness industry... both are polarized and unrelenting.  The basis of the arguments are sometimes based on lab experimentation through the use of electromyograms (EMG) where the activation of a muscle is measured electronically...  Some of the arguments are based on practical knowledge of physiology, kinesiology and empirical data (watching clients)... and other arguments are simply based on bias.

   Let's first define what we mean by the upper and lower abdominals.  It is right here that I begin to not agree with Dr. Kravitz...  Dr. Kravitz contents that the upper and lower abdominals refers only to the RA (six pack muscle).  I contend that the upper and lower abdominals refers to any of the muscles of the abdominal wall (IO, EO, RA and TVA) where the upper abdominals are the fibers from the belly button north, and the lower abdominals are the fibers from the belly button south.

   It is widely known that a muscle can recruit certain fibers more than another.  For example, the posterior fibers of the deltoid muscle can be recruited by performing horizontal flyes, the medial fibers of the deltoid can be recruited by lateral raises, and the anterior fibers of the deltoid can be recruited by front raises.  What makes the abdominals different?

   Ask any accomplished belly dancer if she can make her upper abdominals work without recruiting the lower abdominals (or most people for that matter) or a more challenging pattern, make the lower abdominals work without recruiting the upper abdominals.  The answer would be an unwavering YES.

   In fact, the RA has EIGHT (8) nerves that control its activation.  Most muscles have one or at most 2 nerves activating them.  Surely the RA is a much more interesting muscle than most, both aesthetically and physiologically.

   When you get right down to it, it doesn't matter in practical terms whether or not any of the muscles of the abdominal wall can act in isolation...  It is their integration that matters from a functional perspective.  The real question is:  Do YOUR abdominals work to their optimal capacity to satisfy the things YOU need to do in your work, sport and life?

    

6. Is there an ideal sequence of exercising the abdominal muscles?

   Periodization is the process of changing an exercise or sequence of exercises to change the muscle fibers recruited to perform the exercise, the sequence of the recruitment of the muscle fibers to perform the exercise, or change the neurological demand to perform the exercise.  When it comes to abdominal training periodization is every bit as applicable as it is the the muscles of the legs, hips, and any other muscle group.

   That being said, based on my experience as a trainer, most people have weak lower abdominal muscles and stronger upper abdominals, with the obliques being somewhere in between.  My personal rule of thumb, which is advocated by Paul Chek, is to train the weakest muscle fibers first and progress to the stronger muscle fibers afterwards.  That means training the lower abdominals, followed by the obliques, followed by the upper abdominal muscle fibers.  By doing so we can be certain that the weakest links in the chain will receive the most intense training.

   Dr. Kravitz contends that changing the order of the sequence of the training routine is more closely following the laws of periodization.  It's a tough argument to go up against and may be cause for pause and reason to allow exceptions in my own training paradigm.

    

7. Can the abdominal muscles be trained every day?

   This popular question comes up with practically every client.  As usual, the opinions diverge.  Dr. Kravitz contents that the abdominal muscles do not respond to a sensory overload in the same way that other skeletal muscles do and that they are in fact candidates for daily training.

   My position is that the abdominal muscles do become fatigued as a result of strength training and that they need just as much time as any other skeletal muscle to recover between sessions.  My exception to that is dependent on the premise that upper and lower abdominals can be recruited independently:  Abdominal training CAN BE PERFORMED DAILY if and only if the same fibers are not recruited back to back.  This would allow, for example, day one to train the lower fibers, day two the obliques, and day three the upper fibers.

Any one of those seven questions could be the basis for a master's level thesis.  If you're interested in learning more about these topics I would suggest referencing Dr. Kravitz's research as a starting point... and then reference his references.  Since the majority of my advanced training is derived from the CHEK Institute, much of the basis for my position can be found on their website.  If you're like most fitness enthusiasts, you'll find a good trainer who can distill the research into practical exercises programs that benefit you and your lifestyle.

In closing, I'd like to thank Dr. Kravitz for his research contributions, his informative and entertaining presentation style, and for making me rethink my arguments on the training of the abdominal wall.