Are AB workout pointless?

[trapzilla]

Yes and no.
No; for core strength to assist in lifts, not necessarily essential if your core is not a weak link in the lifting chain.
if your ripped but skinny training abs heavily will make them pop more.

Yes; if your not already ripped doing ab work is nigh on useless you get abs by diet and cardio not by banging on abs. At the end of my last cut with visible abs, i did no ab work at all and i feel training them would not have made the results any better

 

[TJTJ]

No way is it pointless! A strong core means everything in bodybuilding and powerlifting

^This

You can't bench without a solid core, among other things. Next time you're in the gym and someone is on a flat bench, incline or machines. If they are sitting with their legs open wide IMO this is a clear indication of a weak core.

Next time you flat barbell bench try it with your legs off the ground, knees bent together close to your body above your abs. That's a solid core if you can hold your self together w/o wobbling or falling off during your set.

 

[Hench]

lol, legs 'wide open' is not an indication of a poor core, it's an indication of proper form.

 

[trapzilla]

^x2 if you feet are off the floor then your training abs, why? flat bench is for chest(amongst other assisting muscles) how can you be expected to supply proper force without transferal through your legs?

 

[TJTJ]

^x2 if you feet are off the floor then your training abs, why? flat bench is for chest(amongst other assisting muscles) how can you be expected to supply proper force without transferal through your legs?

Im not implying it trains your abs. Of course bench is for your chest dummy. Im saying IMO your core is solid and stabilized if you can hold yourself together when benching not relying on your legs. IF you can its almost Chuck Norris like lol

Where is this confusion coming from?

 

[Hench]

Im not implying it trains your abs. Of course bench is for your chest dummy. Im saying IMO your core is solid and stabilized if you can hold yourself together when benching not relying on your legs. IF you can its almost Chuck Norris like lol

Where is this confusion coming from?

So are you recommending this as a method of testing core strength? Or as a training protocol?

 

[TJTJ]

So are you recommending this as a method of testing core strength? Or as a training protocol?

Stability and I guess strength too IMO. I can do up to 225lbs flat barbell bench like that but I dont go higher because I worry that if I go too heavy I will indeed lose control and roll and my feet not on the ground.

Its just something to think about. All those internal muscles along your body have to keep you in the same position w/o wobbling and falling off. Its not easy.

 

[Hench]

What's the point? If you do compound movements core gets hit shit loads.

I don't know why you would compromise your bench, and your manhood, by not using your legs to stabilise/drive the lift.

 

[usafchris]

What's the point? If you do compound movements core gets hit shit loads.

I don't know why you would compromise your bench, and your manhood, by not using your legs to stabilise/drive the lift.

Going to have to second, or third, or fourth this info... whatever we're on now. I have fought to pull myself away from so much isolation training and move to more compound movements. Great things is what I have noticed!!!! I spent years "spot training". Should've been doing my big lifts, I would have more to show forth had I............

 

[trapzilla]

What's the point? If you do compound movements core gets hit shit loads.

I don't know why you would compromise your bench, and your manhood, by not using your legs to stabilise/drive the lift.

this is exactly why powerlifters have ridiculous bench amongst other things they utilise their legs. to sacrfiice bench strength and hence chest development for the sake of what? partially increasing core stability is just daft IMO

Stability and I guess strength too IMO. I can do up to 225lbs flat barbell bench like that but I dont go higher because I worry that if I go too heavy I will indeed lose control and roll and my feet not on the ground.

Its just something to think about. All those internal muscles along your body have to keep you in the same position w/o wobbling and falling off. Its not easy.

thats the point were making why rob your chest of a workout for your abs sake?
I don't know if you use straps or belts but it is the same principle, if your grip fails you can't hit back so you strap up to prevent this.

Im not implying it trains your abs. Of course bench is for your chest dummy. Im saying IMO your core is solid and stabilized if you can hold yourself together when benching not relying on your legs. IF you can its almost Chuck Norris like lol

Where is this confusion coming from?

No confusion at all simply questioning the logic for it. I know a guy who benches 440lbs with his feet off the floor, and he has a monster chest but he may have an even better one if he were to have his feet on the floor and lift greater weight.

 

[Built]

^This

You can't bench without a solid core, among other things. Next time you're in the gym and someone is on a flat bench, incline or machines. If they are sitting with their legs open wide IMO this is a clear indication of a weak core.

No, but your post is a clear indication that you don't bench properly.

Proper bench pressing involves driving the weight through your feet and into the floor. I urge you to reconsider your current paradigm - you need this stability when you're pressing heavy things that can wreck your rotator cuff in the blink of an eye if you were to lose control on the last rep of your last set, when you're trashed.

Go to a powerlifting competition sometime; watch how those men and women bench. While you're at it, notice how freaking solid these people are through the core. Heavy deads, squats and bench make a body solid all the way through, and I've never seen a single one of 'em take their feet off the floor while pressing.

 

[Merkaba]

"The Core"...

 

[ponyboy]

Im not implying it trains your abs. Of course bench is for your chest dummy. Im saying IMO your core is solid and stabilized if you can hold yourself together when benching not relying on your legs. IF you can its almost Chuck Norris like lol

Where is this confusion coming from?

It's coming from the laws of physics as it applies to the body. Applying force to the floor with your feet downwards (and therefore pushing up) helps to counterbalance the force of the bar that is over the top half of your body, which is actually pushing down on your torso.

People really need to stop thinking of "core" as just your abs.

And yes, slightly sacrificing a big chest for making sure that your shoulders, hips and spine are going to be okay and not destroy themselves is a really, really good idea. Losing control means that you put yourself at much higher risk of your tendons, ligaments and small little stabilizers having to help with more of the load, which they really don't want to do.

 

[natural1]

Just a note, I havent trained abs for around a year but yet they are showing through better than ever due to a good bulk then cut diet. I used to train them 2-3 times a week and got nowere.

Im not going to say direct ab work is pointless but can IMO become surplus to requirements if you already have a good routine with the major compounds executed correctly and a clean diet if you want them to show.

Choices in your routine such as choosing front squats as an accessary instead of leg press will get your "core" plenty

 

[LAM]

the only worthless exercises are the ones performed improperly. just remember to directly exercise the low back with the same number of sets, reps, etc. to keep the muscles in balance. far too many only work the abs neglected the low back which creates a severe muscle imbalance setting them up for future injury in that area (lower lumbar) in the future.

 

[juggernaut]

My PRs are as follows: Military presses with 210, deads with 505, RDLs with 400lbs twice, front squat with 235 for 8 reps. These are good for me at least, but I know I can be better...I'm pretty certain my core is strong enough, and when I get to 4% fat this year, I'll be certain abs will show. As for doing ab "workouts", I only do 4-6 sets total once a week. I dont bother much with them,