The abdominal muscles are an extremely important muscle group for fitness lovers. The abdominal muscles are the first area the eye is drawn to when viewing a fitness enthusiast. Well-developed abs with very low body fat gives the body a look of muscularity and refinement no other muscle group can duplicate. When it comes to training the abs, there are many different training methods which we will deal in a different article. Let’s first try and understand the anatomy of abdominal muscle and understand what actually we need to train.
The abdominal wall can be divided into two separate anatomic parts, the front wall and the side wall. The front wall consists of one muscle, the rectus abdominals (also known as the “abs”). The two rectus abdominal muscles (one on each side) are encased in a sheath of fascia that forms the central demarcation down the middle of the abs, known as the linea alba. Fascia divisions in the muscles are responsible for the “six-pack” appearance. Many refer rectus abdominals as the lower ab and upper ab, but technically it is actually one long muscle
The side wall consists of three layers of muscles. The external oblique is the outer visible layer that passes obliquely downward from the rib cage to the pelvic bone. The middle layer is the internal oblique that passes obliquely upward from the pelvic bone to the ribs. Internal oblique lies under external oblique. There are two external and internal oblique muscles located on each side of the rectus abdominal. The innermost layer is the transversus abdominis, which lies horizontally across the abdominal wall. The transverse abdominal muscle is the deepest muscle that cannot be touched from outside. The transverse abdominal muscle wraps around the torso and is an important component of the core, it is often neglected during the abdominal workout, some exercises for transvers abdominal are Vacuum, Planks and Back extension.
An effective abdominal workout should include exercises that target all of the six muscles of the abdominal region which are Rectus Abdominal, 2 Internal oblique, 2 External oblique and Transverse abdominal.
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