A lot of bodybuilders obviously want to build as much muscle as possible, but many people also want to reduce their overall body fat so that they can develop an impressive-looking six-pack if they really train their abs hard.
Subsequently it is common for people to devote a specific day of the week to abs training in order to achieve this look, but to be honest, I don’t necessarily think that this is the best approach.
Here are some of the reasons why:
Your Abs Will Only Be Trained Once Per Week
The trouble with devoting a whole day to abs training is that you reduce the number of rest days you can have because if you train your shoulders, chest, back, legs and arms on separate days, you will only have one rest day per week.
Furthermore, it also means that your core abdominal muscles will only be trained once per week, which may not be enough to see any dramatic results, particularly if they are not being worked particularly hard when performing certain other exercises.
Abs Workouts Are Generally Fairly Short
Whilst you can easily devote 45-60 minutes to chest, back or shoulder training, for example, it is hard to spend this much time training your abs because you can easily complete your abs workout in about 20 minutes, even if you do numerous different exercises.
You will generally find that you don’t need a lot of rest between sets with abs workouts, so it is easy to complete a circuit of crunches, leg raises, planks and bicycles in no time at all. Therefore it makes more sense to incorporate these abs workouts into your arms, shoulders and cardio training sessions in order to train them multiple times per week.
Better Results Can Be Achieved With Consistent Training
Many people find that they can develop their abs a lot quicker by incorporating one or two abs exercises into each of their workouts. So rather than doing one abs session per week or doing a full abs workout on the same day as they train other areas of their body, they will simply do a few abs exercises every single training session.
As a result of this, it means that their abs muscles are consistently being trained and the core is consistently being strengthened, which helps to develop that much sought after six-pack.
Abs Training Isn’t Always Needed
One final reason why you don’t necessarily need to dedicate a whole day to abs training is because you can often develop a six-pack without specifically isolating your abs muscles.
I have come across several people in the gym who have developed an impressive six-pack as a by-product of having a low body fat percentage and doing a range of compound exercises that work the core, such as squats, deadlifts, pull-ups and chin-ups. Yes it still helps to do a few abdominal exercises as well, but this is not absolutely essential if you have a full and varied training program.
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