Ab/core work every day??

josiereside

I know you should not work the same body part 2 days in a row but I heard that you can work abs every day as they are harder to really over train?? Opinions???

waldo56

Part of that reason is that hardly anyone actually does hard ab training.

If you are working hard enough that you are reaching failure in 15 seconds, chances are working 2 days in a row is not a good thing.

If you are doing 150 crunches and 5 minutes of planks it is no big deal; that is about the same thing as taking a brisk jog around the block each day, which isn't going to overtrian your legs. You just aren't working hard enough to require significant recovery.

You probably don't want to be doing sets of dragon flags to failure every day; when your abs are really burned out chances are everything is burned out along with it, since core strength is integral to almost everything.

secretlobster

If you are working CORRECTLY... Your core is involved in every exercise you do.

I almost never exercises specific to my core/abs and yet I have a very strong core foundation. Yes you can burn out your ab muscles, but it's unlikely, and there is no great reason to be doing a ton of work on your core to begin with unless for some weird reason you actually enjoy it.

sonyachan

Only thing I know is that if you are a runner, cyclist, swimmer, or other athlete, overtraining your core can decrease your respiratory effectiveness. You gotta be able to get big breaths during running and swimming especially, and it is possible to hinder that with hard core abs.

josiereside

Well, I am a runner. My legs get a good workout in 3 days a week with running plus I do strength training with my legs. My upper body is muscular/defined. Just want to fix my worst, part (at least in my eyes), the belly. Maybe I will add core work on my running days... now to do abs/core before or after my runs is the question.

waldo56

I almost never exercises specific to my core/abs and yet I have a very strong core foundation. Yes you can burn out your ab muscles, but it's unlikely, and there is no great reason to be doing a ton of work on your core to begin with unless for some weird reason you actually enjoy it.

If your strength training plan is based around progressive calisthenics and not weights (or non-progressive calisthenics) this is incorrect; training the core must be the primary focus; your ability to reduce leverage and put your muscles in mechancially disadvantaged positions is more often than not created by core strength. More important than being strong in the core is having a great degree of endurance with that strength.

ItsMeRebekah

Well, I am a runner. My legs get a good workout in 3 days a week with running plus I do strength training with my legs. My upper body is muscular/defined. Just want to fix my worst, part (at least in my eyes), the belly. Maybe I will add core work on my running days... now to do abs/core before or after my runs is the question.

i work with my kettlebells on a daily basis and also run 5-6 days a week. you can def do it. if i were you i would do it before the run.

CountryMom03

I almost never exercises specific to my core/abs and yet I have a very strong core foundation. Yes you can burn out your ab muscles, but it's unlikely, and there is no great reason to be doing a ton of work on your core to begin with unless for some weird reason you actually enjoy it.

If your strength training plan is based around progressive calisthenics and not weights (or non-progressive calisthenics) this is incorrect; training the core must be the primary focus; your ability to reduce leverage and put your muscles in mechancially disadvantaged positions is more often than not created by core strength. More important than being strong in the core is having a great degree of endurance with that strength.

lol I was just about to say the same thing:) Your Core is extremely important!

secretlobster

If you're a runner, you should ideally be engaging your core when you run. Doing core workouts won't decrease the amount of fat on your belly.

Running (no specific ab workouts) is actually making my stomach more defined!! It rocks

josiereside

Unfortunately, not getting the abs I want, but I also know abs are probably about 80% diet... :drinker: