Endless abs exercises: a true waste of time

[Felipe]

In my gym, the lesson always start with 3 min of running.

After that, some time is spent on passive stretching.

The next step is abdomen exercises: something like 10x30 different variation of "high, mid, low, internal, external (!), left or right" segment of them. Some variation of pushups (not hspu or planche one, of course) will follow.

The routine is performed everytime.

In the meanwhile, I do like 15 min of dynamic stretching (quite useful if you do it everyday) and work my abs only on p-bars and such, in the end of my skill training.

Yesterday I showed the results to all winning a L-sit race (more than a minute hold), even the guys with multi-year training in gymnastics failed (because they feel cramps in the quads, something I dont experience anymore ever, thanks to specific training).

The lesson?

Dont waste your time on this type of conditioning.

The static exercise and 1 or 2 basic exercise that focus on abs are more than your body can take, IF performed well.

For example, something like L-lifts will enhance your midsection strength to level that 1000abs people will only dreams of.

Feel free to post your opinions on this, thanks

[Richard Duelley]

I agree there a few guys at my gym that do the endless sets of crunches and such and I always invite them to come do hanging leg lifts/body levers with me and they always refuse. I just started doing HLL with weight and it rocks me hard! :shock: For the weighted HLL 3 sets of 5 is all it takes for me to smash my core lol No need to sit there for 15 minutes and do crunches. :roll:

[Joshua Naterman]

Yea, unless your goal is to do the most ab exercises ever in the world, there's a lot of pretty big disadvantages to training the "1000 abs" way.

[braindx]

The only "abs" work I get is as part of my strength training, and whatever skill work I used to do.

My abs were some of the strongest in the gym I'm at...

You don't need endurance in the abs for gymnastics -- you need strength and correct position.

[Nick Van Bockxmeer]

yes I have noticed this too.

interestingly though, I find that the endurance part really tough yet the others will struggle at doing harder tasks like HLL, body lever and front lever variations. strength vs endurance pretty much.

I like to do just some lying tucks and pikes on floor to warm up though and some side to side twists and back archs. 10 reps of each though usually and as part of warm up.

[Joshua Naterman]

You can seriously do one endurance oriented workout each week or maybe a little less frequently and make really good progress in your ab endurance fairly quickly, to the point where you can compete with those other guys and still blow them out strength-wise if you care to, but there's no advantage to that from a purely gymnastic standpoint.

[Blairbob]

Nick, as well I like to do the same thing. We do lying windshield wipers, hollow and arch rock besides seated leg lifts in pike and straddle in our WU.

I personally like for them to do hollow holds at the end of workouts as a finisher but I wonder whether it's really necessary at all. It's not high on my priority. I figure body levers and front levers are far tougher than hollow holds. Still, they should be able to hold hollow holds at the end of a workout and have no problem with them, imo.

[Gregor]

Hollow holds are not just good for strength but for teaching kids proper body positions.10-15s holds are better then normal sit-ups. Also if done corectly you are doing good intra-abdominal work wich you don't with HLL,....

Training must include hollow holds, HLL variations, levers, and so on.