Six Pack Abs

The entire fitness community insists that you must only train your abs at the end of your workout. They state that since the abs contribute greatly to spinal stability, they should never be fatigued prior to performing non ab exercises such as, presses, squats, RDL’s or rowing exercises. Therefore the only option the “experts” give to you is to work your abs at the end of your workouts.

The problem is that this viewpoint goes against one of the most basic training principles: The Priority Principle. This principle clearly states that what gets trained first will get the best results. Is it possible that this principle works for each and every muscle group in the human body except for the abs?

What if you really want to emphasize training your abs? What if your number one goal is to get ripped, six pack abs?

In these cases, they should be trained at the beginning of your workout when you are in your freshest state.

So I recommend this modification to your workout: if six pack abs are your main concern, train them first! This one simple alteration in training order will make a significant difference in you bottom line results. When following this sequence, you will be able to put forth a better effort because you will be completely fresh.

If you are used to just cranking out a few sets of crunches at the end of your workouts, you will literally double your rate of progress towards carving out ripped abs by using this technique.

Additionally, prioritized ab training will also provide a great warm up for the workout to follow. I do have one exception to this rule. If you are training with maximal weights, I would opt to train the abs at the end of the workout. Performing any activity that could leave you with residual fatigue prior to a maximal weights workout would be undesirable.

Try this exercise sequencing technique and get great ab development in half the time! As Stephen Covey says, “Put First Things First”.