Guest Blog from TrueFitness: Why Doing Ab Crunches is Wasting Your Time

Why doing ab crunches is wasting your time

So you think that having a “6 pack” means you are leaner and therefore a better athlete so you go about getting a “6 pack” for that very reason.  Well I am sorry to say that a “6 pack” in no way helps with sports performance and doing millions of crunches will never produce the look you are hoping for and to make matters worse having a little bit of fat around your midsection can actually help you play better and improve your sports performance.

Sport is not about beauty.  Sport is about performance and wins and losses.  It is not about whether you look good in your uniform or how your muscles looked ripped in your jersey.  Can these muscles perform is all that matters.  Having a well defined midsection does not increase sports performance.  In no way does an ultra ripped waistline help you run faster, hit harder, move more explosively and win games.  It simply doesn’t equate.  More powerful legs for running over people equates, a stronger back to pull people to the ground helps.  Better conditioning to be less fatigued toward the end of the game can also be beneficial.  The appearance of a “6 pack” will not help with any of these things.

In a sport such as rugby it can actually be beneficial to have some body fat.  Body fat stored around the organs known as adipose tissue serves as protection for the organs.  In times of impact upon the body the adipose tissue acts as a shock absorber for the organs of your body.  Fat helps to lessen the impact by absorbing the force of the hit or impact.  Having no body fat around your midsection which is necessary to have the appearance of the “6 pack” means there is no adipose tissue protecting the organs.  Your organs take the full brunt of the impact and can increase risk of rupturing, bruising, or swelling. None of those are worth the risk that comes about with having no adipose tissue protecting your organs which is what is needed for a “6 pack”.

Remember, as an athlete your training needs to focus on one goal and only one goal, improved sports performance.  Winning is all that matters.  Becoming the best athlete that you can be is the reason you work so hard in the off season and the reason you work your butt off.  If your workout and training program is not specifically designed to improve your game performance then it needs to be changed to make sure that is the goal.  Having a “6 pack” does not improve game performance and therefore should not be a training goal.  Having a powerful, strong, tight trunk is very important but none of those rely on being visually pleasing in order to be present.  A good way to look at it is the best looking car isn’t necessarily the fastest, most powerful or quickest.  It is not about appearance.  It is about performance.  For athletes, performance is all that matters.

As an athlete, your sole worry is about game performance.  A “6 pack” although a visual indication of physical fitness, is not directly applicable to sports performance and therefore training for a “6 pack” should not be a training priority.  Instead focus on power, agility, reactivity, strength, conditioning, and explosiveness.  These will directly help with performance and for that reason should be a focus for sports performance training.
Anyone in the San Diego area is welcome to drop in at our studio at 2949 Garnet Ave. 3rd floor, Pacific Beach, CA.  We would love to put you through our workout.   Please feel free to call or email Spencer Aiken,CSCS  (951) 296-7993 email: spencer@truefitness.biz

Article written by Spencer Aiken, CSCS, CEO, TrueFitness