all posts post new thread

Barbell Ab Training?

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Another way to more core activation is to do a curl at the bottom of the goblet squat. It forces you to engage your glutes keeping them tense and tight, and you'll find that naturally you will want to extend your spine by keeping your chest up as if you were elongating.

This should get you more mileage out of your working bell!
Thanks for the recommendation! When I do the curls during the prying GS with the 24kg it hits the FLOOR so I stopped doing it. Perhaps I should try to hold it more in front of me.
 
What happened to the "ab paveliser"? I remember seeing that advertised awhile back.....the fact that I didn't buy one might answer my question!
Wasn't this device used to remove the hip flexor out of the equation so a proper janda sit up could be performed?
 
The infamous 'plank and shank' finisher from Tactical Barbell using the hardstyle plank technique sounds good as well.
 
Hip Belt Squats | T Nation

How is it that I had never heard of this friggin' awesome technique?? Kenny Croxdale always delivers. Sure- digression from the ab discussion but well worth it.

I've just finished the first read of Dan Johns ' Never Let Go' in which he strongly advises dedicated ab training. He likes the ab wheel but prefers rolling a weighted barbell- his load was 135lbs.
 
The infamous 'plank and shank' finisher from Tactical Barbell using the hardstyle plank technique sounds good as well.
Did those today. My Wed. session is a circuit of a BB complex, rack carry, row, and a short plank n shank. I like it. BB roll outs are a good idea if I can figure out how to do them without rotating collars.
 
I will have to do the shank part lying prone, doing a back extension...I can't find a way to lock my feet while lying on my bench, but I don't think it's supposed to be a back extension hold?
 
Marty Gallagher has said the main lifts work the abs enough

In Deadlift Dynamite, Pavel cites Marty on that same principle, with the caveat that Marty adds "if you cant deadlift 500 pounds, do some direct ab work".

Pavel says it can accelerate your progress. Personally Ive been more minimalist for time reasons but may start sneaking in some ab wheel or weighted Swissball situps after going through this thread.
 
Last edited:
This thread is inspiring me to dedicate 5-10 minutes to ab work and the end of a session a few days a week. Various planks, heavy TGU segments (to tall sit or windmill), hollow position/rocking, rollouts, rack carries, etc.
 
I will have to do the shank part lying prone, doing a back extension...I can't find a way to lock my feet while lying on my bench, but I don't think it's supposed to be a back extension hold?
It's a back extension hold. I hold each position by counting breaths like I do in vinyasa yoga.
 
Right, I always thought the 'shank' was performed by holding the upper body horizontal - no extension. Funny, I got bored with planks, but I just tried the hardstyle plank technique and wow.....back to novice level.
 
I try to work in some leg raises whenever I have the energy. In addition to the core work, it aligns with some of my general goals - I want to be able to kick people in the face. Gotta work on the strength to heave the legs up.
 
My guess is that, as many of the strength training moves targets posterior chain, there could be value in "dedicated ab training".

To absolutely ensure that you hit all the functions of the anterior abdominal muscles Jeff Cavalier says these moves are required:

  • Bottom up
  • Bottom up rotation
  • Mid range
  • Obliques
  • Top down
  • Top down rotation

He puts together short bodyweight routines which deliver this. This link goes to a "follow along" video, and good example of the approach. Skip to 1:13 if you want to avoid sales patter.



He advocates daily ab training with routines like this, so it's possibly an approach which fits alongside those doing daily S&S.

Since the "evil wheel" got a mention here's his video on the ab wheel, which describes good (safe) technique and how to customise (ie beginner - intermediate - advanced).



As always it depends what your goals are, because if it's "strength" then what you're already doing undoubtedly delivers that..?
 
Last edited:
Jeff is awesome- his videos are gold. I've decided to program my ab training in the mornings after my OS reset sessions- that way I can focus on the main lifts in the afternoon . Today was rack pull day and I really had to force myself to do sets of dead bugs after, then I only got to about 40 seconds on the hardstyle plank finisher. Then I just kept prone.....while crying like a baby.
 
then I only got to about 40 seconds on the hardstyle plank finisher
As a precision, the hardstyle plank teaches how to maximise tension, it is not a strength-endurance exercise. My record is 12 seconds. Actually, the better you do it, the less you can last.
 
Jef- please elaborate on the hardstyle technique! I probably spent the first 20 seconds inching my elbows forward and trying to keep my glutes tight....hindsight: I wonder if I was even close to proper technique? I still felt the effort in the old abs however!
 
My apologies, @KIWI5
When I wrote "If anything, it is always an option to simply practice the hard style plank.", I had in mind to practice the hard style plank to really feel how to use abs during other exercises, because it is all about feed-forward tension, but I see that it was not clearly written that way.

I would practice the plank around your training, sometimes even before it, to feel how you build gradually the tension in your abs, glutes, lats, fists, legs, everything. Don't overdo it (just a few seconds), then shake it off, and reproduce this sensation during a not too heavy squat or deadlift. You will see that you use your abs (and lats and glutes...) better during the main exercise.
 
How many of you train your 'core' as a dedicated drill, crunches/planks etc. I realised, with some shock, that I have no dedicated ab training in my program. Are the swings, rack pulls, loaded carries, TGU's, Zercher squats and incline bench press enough?? I certainly feel like what I'm doing is 'enough', but.....

I am currently doing swings and get-ups most of the time with the Bulldog or Beast - I guess abs are pretty good covered.

Otherwise I am a huge fan of Hardstyle Hanging Leg Raises, as taught at our SFB Course and SFB Cert. Their advantage is that they can plugged into virtually any program - 2x-3x a week, 3-5 reps of 3-5 sets. Much better "finisher" after the main program then burpees.
 
Those of you who who train the abs: how do you know the abs are not strong enough? How do you measure their strength?

With my usual lifts I find it easy. A 100kg or bodyweight overhead press, beast press, IPF classic 800kg total, etc. How about the abs? Especially when one isn't looking for stronger abs per se but abs that don't come in the way of the previous goals.
 
Those of you who who train the abs: how do you know the abs are not strong enough? How do you measure their strength?
For my case, training abs is an assistance exercise. It makes my other lifts easier and safer.
As I do essentially bodyweight movement, the measure is my ability to do a certain move with control, for instance hanging leg raise and its variations.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom