Is Your Ab Workout Making Your Waist Bigger?

This is something that bothers me every time I go to the gym, look at my news feed on facebook or happen by one of the "boot camps" while out and about walking Zoe.

I see a lot of people wasting their time with ineffective exercises, risking injury and building bigger, blockier waists. It is twice as conce
ing when I see people doing these things under the "guidance" of a "trainer".

When it comes to a small waist and a well defined stomach minus muffin top and love handles, "toning" or achieving ripped abs has been and will always come down to 3 things

1. Genetics (are you an apple or a pear endo, ecto or meso morph?),

2. Effective exercises and

3. Reduced body fat.

This article is going to deal with the exercise issue but you can learn about TEF, Your Fat Loss Secret Weapon in my article "Is Your Diet Making You Fatter" for more information on eating to burn fat instead of storing it.

The following are some of the exercises are campers and in home clients do to get sculpted bodies and flat, sexy midsections in less tha
3 hours a week. Not only do they train their muscles (Including all 4 groups of ab muscles) to make them more shapely and defined, they burn maximum calories with every rep AND speed up their metabolisms for hours afterward.

You can get pictures and exercise descriptions of each exercise here: http://www.mypersonalfitnesscoach.com/ARTisyourabworkoutmakingyourwastebigger.htm

The Waste of Time Exercise: Broomstick Twists

Touted as a way to "target obliques" and "trim" the waist, this exercise is not only a worthless waste of time but put your lower discs in a very dangerous position when done seated. I honestly cannot believe people still do these.

Yes, I know, the woman with the teeny, tiny waist and the banging body and the guy with the ripped abs do them so they must work, right? I was that person in my early 20s and did more than my fair share of these (before I got my degree(s). I won't bore you with all of the science and physiology of muscle movements but, just think about it. Twisting from side to side to "tone" a muscle? Really?
Do Instead:
Plank (with or without a friend, on a therapy ball or on a bosu depending on your fitness level)

Not only is this a fantastic exercise to target those hard to hit "transverse" abdominals (nature's girdle) but they also work shoulders, upper back and lower back so you burn more total calories while shrinking your waistline and avoid creating back straining muscle imbalances.

Stability Ball Rolls

Another "more bank for your buck" gut buster which blast calories working virtually every muscle in your body from your neck to your ankles while creating a beautifully sculpted waist in a fraction of the time of sitting on a chair twisting a stick.

The Dangerous Exercise: Crunches and Weighted Sit-ups - These are a favorite among the body building set in an effort to develop their "6 packs".
I can't even bring myself to post a picture of these because I literally cringe when I see them.

Aside from sit ups, crunches and spinal flexion moves in general being an ineffective way to work your abdominals because they only putting tension on the rectus group for part of the range of motion which wastes time, they also create muscle imbalances and distended abdominals. In addition, any movement where you bend forward at your waist can cause a herniated disc especially if you have overdeveloped your abdominals commensurate to your low back muscles. (again, I won't bore you with the physiology. If it is of interest to you, you can do a quick google search to see the research).

And, yes, "bending forward" includes anything from weighted crunch machines to tying your shoes.
Do instead:

Prone Rows - Like the exercises above, this exercise blasts calories as it works upper and lower back, chest, shoulders and triceps and the transverse abdominals which are mostly omitted by spinal flexion exercises. The transverse are the muscles that protect your back and suck your stomach in so I can't imagine why ANYONE would spend time on an exercise which mostly omits them. You can also get in some glute work as you squeeze your glutes to keep your hips stable as you pull the weight up.
Because this exercise uses heavier weights, it is more effective for engaging the rectus and bringing out the "6 pack" muscles.

Reverse Crunch

If you are looking for a very defined "6 pack" and aren't lean enough to get it from your full body workouts, reverse crunches are the exercise for you. The spinal flexion movement works in such a way so to avoid putting undue pressure on lumbar discs while still stressing the rectus group.

If you have a well defined "6 pack" and are unable to do these, you also have muscle imbalances within your abdominal muscles (transverse, internal and exte
al obliques and rectus abdominis) and are headed for back and or postural problems.

The Ab Exercise That Makes Your Waist Bigger: Weighted Side Bends

Another exercise touted to "trim" the love handles and muffin tops but does exactly the opposite. When muscles are worked to failure, (even with high reps), they grow. The obliqe muscles grow outword therefore, when you do weighted side bends, you are making your waist (and love handles) bigger and thicker. If you are doing a gazillion reps with no weight because you think they are going to burn fat and "tone" the area, think again. If you aren't trainign a muscle to failure, you are wasting your time. A trim waist comes from effective core training and reduced body fat.
Do Instead:

Hill Climbers:

With all of the great benefits of ball rolls, hill climbers give an added metabolic boost by adding a cardio element!

Burpees:
One of the best total body (including internal and exte
al obliques) exercise you will ever find. Not only does it work every muscle in the body for ultimate calorie burn with each rep, the added cardio element takes it to all to the next level.