Gym Lesson

How often do you train your abs? How many sets, reps, and exercises are you doing?

Please don't get in the mindset that "more is better" when it comes to training your abs. You abdominals are just like any other muscle group. Think about it: one of the best ways to increase the size of a muscle is increasing the training volume. This can be accomplished by performing more sets and reps, or by doing high frequency training (training a muscle group multiple times a week).

So, if you are training your abs with several sets on most days of the week, it is very likely that you are actually going to increase the size of your waist. I doubt you want that.

I wouldn't train your abs more than 3 times a week; in fact, 2 is probably sufficient. Focus on movements that require stabilization such as planks, side planks, and ab rollouts (wheel or stability ball).

You should stop doing crunches and sit-ups. They put too much stress on your spine.

Also, you shouldn't constantly train your abs with high reps. Doing 30 reps of any ab exercise is not going to get you a flat stomach or ripped abs. A flat stomach is the result of proper eating habits.

Train smart.