which crunch do you prefer?

[Maddwraph]

should i apply heat or ice on my upper back because this hurts.

[Menjo]

yeah, i waspertty sure it was because of that, it kind of scared me for a second. oh, congratulations by the way Menjo, you seem to have moved up in rank.

thanks

[Menjo]

could i get a straight answer from this, is there really only one layer or sheet of muscle that makes up your abs or something else?

[Aodhan]

could i get a straight answer from this, is there really only one layer or sheet of muscle that makes up your abs or something else?

The abdominals are ONE sheet/layer of muscle. They run from your lower ribcage down to your pubis bone. They are responsible for flexion (curling in) of the spine. What causes the 6 pack (or 4 pack, 5, whatever, depends on genetics) is the connective tissue that helps hold it back and give it an anchor point.

Internal and external obliques are the muscles along your sides, that run diagonally up and down and are responsible for rotation of the trunk left and right. They have a minor role in spine flexion as well.

Where the confusion comes in is talking about lower and upper abs. Just as you can hit different parts of your pectoral (Chest) muscles by the angle at which you work them, you can do the same with the abs depending on how you do your crunch. You're still working the abs overall, just emphasizing a different section of the same muscle.

Aodhan

[CagedWarrior]

I'd recommend situps over crunches any day. (Well, maybe any day except the day after doing deadlifts or something.)