Is it OK to do abs everyday?

[therealchamp]

I've been doing abs 3 times a week then I hooked up with a new boxing trainer yesterday who killed by abs. Then we did it again today and since my abs weren't used to the back to back ab training I could only do half the amount today. I asked him if it was okay to do abs every day and he said that its the best. Is this true or am I going to blow my abs overtraining it with this guy?

 

[Steakeater**]

i really think it depends on type/intensity of ab/core work

most boxing trainers emphasize ropes, pushups and situps after boxing for conditioning daily, for conditiong

 

[XTrainer]

Blowing your abs is a very real concern.

 

[XTrainer]

Okay, serious response:

Like most things, it depends, but I have a hunch all you are doing is going to failure (or near it) with hundreds of reps of easy abdominal exercises daily. That is silly.

 

[JSN]

i don't know what it would be worth to really kill your abs every day. if you really rape your core, it's even just shadowboxing the next day is fruitless. at least if you hit it with the AbRoller

 

[N-do]

Is it OK?

Do you mean OK as in kinda good, but not great?
or do you mean OK as in sorta not good, but not terrible either?

 

[RyanMcCarthy]

I personally am not a fan of training abs hardcore every day.

Granted, the abdominals are one of the fastest recovering muscles (probably due to the fact you use them so often in your life as a stabalizer e.g. when standing up, twisting, etc), just like your calves. But you still want to give them ample time to recover.

With this said, my .02 on the matter. If you are just doing regular crunches and other non-resistance ab exercises, it's probably fine to do them every day. When you add resistance to the mix though, you likely want to do every other day.

 

[Machete Juarez]

no. you will certainly die if you do.

come on. seriously, do it if you can. just train properly.

 

[JBy0]

aint abs like all the other muscles? Like you wouldn't do bench press every day ?

 

[Capt.Canuck]

My understanding has always been that you should give your abs time to rest too.

I typically work them fairly hard every 2nd day, to the point that I'm just slightly sore the following day...which is a rest day.

I try not to work them so hard that they are sore more than one day, because that inhibits my ability to train.

 

[TDonovan]

Give them rest like any other muscle. I went nuts and my stomach hurt for over a month, which in turn hurt my back because they work in unison. The doctor said I strained my abdominal wall pretty good.

 

[Dark God]

I do around 300 situps a day, 5 days a week. I feel fine.

Like anything else gradually work your way into it.

 

[Revok]

Excessive high-rep ab work will invariably shorten your rectus abdominis, put you in posterior pelvic tilt and generally turn you into fucking Quasimodo. If you're dumb enough to believe ridiculous amounts of daily ab work is necessary, you deserve to be shunned and villified as the deformed freak that you surely are.

 

[XTrainer]

The real question is, why? Light, high rep abdominal exercise isn't productive, and all that spinal flexion is potentially harmful.

 

[XTrainer]

(That was a reply to DG, not Revok)

 

[therealchamp]

The real question is, why? Light, high rep abdominal exercise isn't productive, and all that spinal flexion is potentially harmful.

Low rep resistance ab training (machines, weighted sit ups) don't do shit for me. I've tried many different types of ab exercises in my life and resistance training never seemed to work for me.

 

[Liquid Rockface]

OK I have a stupid question. I can never get my abs to hurt the next day, no matter what I do. In fact, the thing that hurt my abs the most has been when I do sprints.

Other than that, situps etc just don't hurt them. My abs fail when doing crunches, and then I can't do any more, but they still don't hurt the next day.

What do I need to do?

 

[therealchamp]

I personally am not a fan of training abs hardcore every day.

Granted, the abdominals are one of the fastest recovering muscles (probably due to the fact you use them so often in your life as a stabalizer e.g. when standing up, twisting, etc), just like your calves. But you still want to give them ample time to recover.

With this said, my .02 on the matter. If you are just doing regular crunches and other non-resistance ab exercises, it's probably fine to do them every day. When you add resistance to the mix though, you likely want to do every other day.

I was talking about light boxing style ab routines. Here is what I do (my trainer makes me do):

-30 regular sit ups with trainer holding my feet down
-15 twisting sit ups on each side with one feet under my other knee (elbow to opposite knee) - much harder than twisting crunches btw
-25 leg raises while holding trainer's leg and him pushing it down then afterwards hold it at different positions for 20 seconds total
-repeat the last exercise if needed

I know this doesn't seem like much but I am just starting again to train my abs. I'm sure the reps will climb as I keep training. But if you do the above exercises properly it is still a great short ab routine.


As you can see the above routine isn't a ab workout where I do sets and sets of failure work and resistance training. It's a short ab routine to slightly fatigue the abs after each boxing training. Would this be safe to do everyday? (5 days a week).

 

[Revok]

OK I have a stupid question. I can never get my abs to hurt the next day, no matter what I do. In fact, the thing that hurt my abs the most has been when I do sprints.

Other than that, situps etc just don't hurt them. My abs fail when doing crunches, and then I can't do any more, but they still don't hurt the next day.

What do I need to do?

Imagine that. It's almost as though the body is one piece!

Lesson: DOMS is not an accurate indicator of muscle usage or strength gain.

Homework: front squat twice your bodyweight and see if your abs are still invulnerable. Or even strong.

 

[Capt.Canuck]

OK I have a stupid question. I can never get my abs to hurt the next day, no matter what I do. In fact, the thing that hurt my abs the most has been when I do sprints.

Other than that, situps etc just don't hurt them. My abs fail when doing crunches, and then I can't do any more, but they still don't hurt the next day.

What do I need to do?

Out of curiosity, what is your age, height, weight, and body fat percentage?