The “A” Factor

The Importance of Abs in Sports

Many coaches and strength coaches who create weight-training programs for their teams tend to neglect emphasis on the area of the body that many fitness experts feel is paramount to athletic performance.  The most overlooked, underrated part of the body with respect to competitive sports training is the midsection.  For the purposes of this article, the midsection is defined as the abdominals, obliques, and lower-back muscles.  The function of strong abs is not just to look good at the beach; a well-trained midsection is the “missing link” to modern sports training, and is crucial in taking your athletic ability to the next level and beyond.

What makes abs important?

Strong abs are vital to all athletes for a variety of reasons.  Having strong abs leads to better balance, faster movements, quicker turns and cuts, and increased speed and power.  Having a shield of muscle encompassing your trunk also helps in shock absorption and assists in the reduction of lower-back injuries.  Your midsection is a place where power is both created and transferred, allowing you to collectively apply your upper and lower body strengths into one harmonious burst of energy.

The absence of a well-trained midsection is not only detrimental to athletic performance, but it can also negatively affect your health.  Lower-back injuries plague many athletes and non-athletes worldwide and the chances of experiencing lower back pain increase as you age.  One of the best ways to prevent lower-back injuries is to strengthen the muscles of the midsection.  Strong midsection muscles will help to drastically reduce some of the daily stress that is placed on your back muscles and lower lumbar vertebrae.  Strengthening your trunk can also play a major role in injury rehabilitation.  Muscles that are well trained are more likely to recover faster from injuries, which will reduce chronic pains and soreness.

How to effectively train the midsection

Unlike other muscles in the body, the midsection is uniquely capable of being trained on a daily basis without experiencing fatigue or overtraining.  The midsection should be trained at the onset of every weight-training session.  As I explain in my book, this provides the dual effect of both warming you up by increasing your blood flow, and strengthening your abs.  This can be thought of this as killing two birds with one stone.  Working your midsection prior to each weight-training session makes your training more efficient by cutting down your time in the gym while maintaining an equally effective workout. 

There are four methods of training the midsection.  For the best results, all should be used.  These methods include:

1. Keeping your upper body stationary while your lower body moves.
2. Keeping your lower body stationary while your upper body moves.
3. Using rotational movements.
4. Focusing on lower back exercises

The first method works the lower abs, the second method trains the upper abs, and the fourth method strengthens the lower back.  The third method, or using rotational movements, is the most beneficial method of training for athletes because it trains all regions of the midsection and simulates many sport-specific movements.  As you throw a baseball, swing a golf club, or make a sharp cut in football, your midsection twists and turns.  As you perform rotational-movement exercises, think about how they will help you in your sport and concentrate on simulating your sport-specific movements.

By nature, the muscles in your midsection are different from the other muscles in your body and need to be trained differently in order to achieve maximum results.  To train your abs properly, you need the following:

1.         Slow movements:  Abs are made up mostly of slow-twitch muscle fibers, which requires them to be trained with slow movements for optimal results. 

2.         Quantity and consistency:  Abdominals need to be trained for muscular endurance, not muscular strength, which requires many, many repetitions that can be performed daily. 

3.          Variety:  Your midsection consists of different areas, each of which requires different exercises.  To train each area, you need to perform a variety of exercises.  Variety allows you to build, tone, and strengthen every part of the muscles you are training and helps to keep you from getting bored in the gym. 

An effective method for training your abdominal region is to perform between four and six different midsection exercises each time you work out.  Perform each exercise slowly and smoothly for one full minute without rest, and rest for 30 seconds between exercises.  If you are unable to perform each exercise for one full minute, try going for 30-second increments instead.  You should begin your midsection training with lower-abs exercises, followed by oblique then upper abs exercises, which will reduce premature fatigue in the upper abs and ensure a holistic approach in your midsection training.  Always have a partner or spotter present for motivation and to assist you with the proper technique, and never sacrifice quality for quantity.

The results are clearly visible and the correlation is undeniable; a strong, well-trained, and powerful midsection goes hand in hand with increased athletic performance.  If you are looking to improve your athletic potential, look no further than your stomach.  Coaches, athletes, and trainers, if you are looking to take your team, your client, or yourself to the next level, be sure to never forget the “A” factor!
This is an excerpt from The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Sports.