Downside to no direct ab training?

J72FIT

jemhh wrote: »

I directly train abs very intermittently. I'll decide I need to do it and stick with using the ab roller a couple of days a week for several weeks. Then I will have to leave it out due to running out of time for one or two workouts and then then thought of doing it leaves my head entirely for several months.

My question is...if my goals do not include visible abs, is there a downside to not doing direct ab training? My lifting is centered around compound lifts. I deadlift and squat 2+ times a week and believe that I have good core strength from those exercises.

The only thing I can think of is a drop in muscle endurance.

jemhh

J72FIT wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

I directly train abs very intermittently. I'll decide I need to do it and stick with using the ab roller a couple of days a week for several weeks. Then I will have to leave it out due to running out of time for one or two workouts and then then thought of doing it leaves my head entirely for several months.

My question is...if my goals do not include visible abs, is there a downside to not doing direct ab training? My lifting is centered around compound lifts. I deadlift and squat 2+ times a week and believe that I have good core strength from those exercises.

The only thing I can think of is a drop in muscle endurance.

@J72FIT , could you explain what you mean by that? I think of muscle endurance as being able to do something over and over and over again. If I'm already not doing direct core work and continue not doing it, do you mean that there could be a drop in muscle endurance while I am doing indirect core work (i.e., deadlifting, squatting, etc.)? Or would I only see the drop if I had been doing direct work and then stopped doing so?

J72FIT

jemhh wrote: »

J72FIT wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

I directly train abs very intermittently. I'll decide I need to do it and stick with using the ab roller a couple of days a week for several weeks. Then I will have to leave it out due to running out of time for one or two workouts and then then thought of doing it leaves my head entirely for several months.

My question is...if my goals do not include visible abs, is there a downside to not doing direct ab training? My lifting is centered around compound lifts. I deadlift and squat 2+ times a week and believe that I have good core strength from those exercises.

The only thing I can think of is a drop in muscle endurance.

@J72FIT , could you explain what you mean by that? I think of muscle endurance as being able to do something over and over and over again. If I'm already not doing direct core work and continue not doing it, do you mean that there could be a drop in muscle endurance while I am doing indirect core work (i.e., deadlifting, squatting, etc.)? Or would I only see the drop if I had been doing direct work and then stopped doing so?

Imagine the difference between running long distances and sprinting. Direct ab work would be like running long distances and say, deadlifting would be like sprinting. Deadlifting, pull-ups, pushups and planks make my abs strong. Lots of direct ab work (sit ups crunches etc ) make my abs strong in a different manner, being able to do say a lot of sit ups. I personally never noticed a difference in the way they looked as that always came down to body fat.

I do though find a difference in this manner. What I do more now is take harder ab exercises, flags for example (think Stallone in Rocky IV) do them less frequently so there is more time for recovery. What I notice is my waist gets gradually smaller (with limits to genetics) without necessarily getting leaner. In other words, I feel like I am able to contract my core harder and draw it inward better.

I hope this made sense. Maybe someone can explain it better then me...