Will Sit-Ups Everyday Give Me Six Pack Abs?

Today we’re going to talk about some myths surrounding abs, and whether or not training them EVERY DAY will result in a six pack that you’ve always dreamed of having. Well, the short answer is no, but keep reading because it goes far beyond just muscle recovery and rest days.

The Problem With Solely & Exclusively Doing Sit-Ups

Here’s the problem guys. Let’s say you are actually dead-set on developing a great 6-pack by training with doing sit-ups. Let’s even say you understand the basics of biomechanics and muscle growth, and you decide to apply things like progressive overload, time-under tension and increased volume in your sit-up training. Even with all of that, it’s still naïve to think that you’re going to develop a COMPLETE six-pack with only sit-ups. This is because the actual movement pattern of a sit-up is just one of the 6 functions of your core, and selectively training only one function as hard as you can daily, will quickly lead you NOWHERE…aside from being really, really, really good at sit-ups!

Even if you gradually increase resistance by adding more weight, taking less breaks between sets, doing more reps or sets, or even doing them more often, your six-pack will not come any faster. It is true that you can train your abs more often because the core is a group of strong muscles that are constantly firing and activating all day and night, which means their potential for recovery is not the same as say, your chest and arms. Trust me when I say that theoretically, your abs can take the abuse of being trained every single day with sit-ups, even if you are progressively overloading and incorporating advanced training techniques.

However, the problem is that doing nothing but sit-ups every day is the DEFINITION of ONE-DIMENSIONAL training. As I said earlier, your core is comprised of many different muscles, each with different functions and ranges of motion. The sit-up belongs in the first of 6 named “categories” of abdominal exercises, and that category is simply flexing the upper body with your lower body remaining motionless. To dive deeper into that, I need to quickly go over all 6 main functions of the abs so that you can finally build that fully defined and developed six-pack that you’ve always wanted.

The Functions Of The Abs

And those are just the 6 MAIN functions. We’re not even going to get deep into the numerous secondary functions or the combinations between those 6. For example, a bicycle crunch would be a combo of #1 and #3, because you are bring your torso towards your legs WHILE also twisting it.

So my question to you is this: knowing how complicated your core truly is, and knowing that when it comes to muscle groups like the chest or arms, that you will most likely perform 3 – 5 exercises to target those muscle groups in different ways to maximize their growth, then why would you believe that simply performing one exercise for your abs is a magic solution for a ripped six-pack? The truth of the matter is that in order to optimally build and develop your core, you need to train it in a smart and effective way. I divide my core up into two sections but that’s just a personal preference. Upper abs is the first one and lower abs/obliques is the second one. I always focus on training my abs 4 times a week and this is usually how it goes:

• Monday – Upper Abs
• Tuesday- Lower Abs/Obliques
• Wednesday – Rest
• Thursday – Upper Abs
• Friday – Lower Abs/Obliques

You don’t have to do it this way. This just works for me because I want to emphasize my lower abs and obliques a bit more, instead of cramping everything up on a single workout. Also remember the goal is to pick and perform a few different exercises that collectively utilize all 6 main functions of the abs, instead of adopting a singular and one-dimension way of thinking and training.

Conclusion

Before you say ANYTHING, yes, the entire rectus abdominis is activated when training abs. BUT, you can place more emphasis on specific areas of the rectus abdominis with specific movements as we just went over with the 6 main functions. Anyone who says otherwise has never trained their abs properly with multiple movements before. I know summer is around the corner and I want to make sure you’re ready to show off those ripped abs!