Abdominals or Rectus Abdominis are the muscles that make up your six-pack. The rectus begins at the crest of the pubic bone and goes all the way up to the sternum and to the cartilage of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs. Each individual muscle that makes up the “six pack” are connected by tissue called Fascia. The strip down the middle of the abdominals is called the Linea Alba.

The purpose of these muscle groups are for what is called spinal fexion, or bending your body forward at the waist. This is most useful in sports. Volleyball for example, is a perfect example of why you want strong Rectus Abdominis. When spiking a volleyball for a kill, to generate power, you can use these muscles to bend yourself at the waist to snap yourself downward at the ball and hit for a lot more power.

Another important muscle group is the External Obliques, which are located on the sides of the rectus abdominis and are the widest muscles in your body. The fibers that make up these muscles begin at the lower eight ribs and run diagonally to attach to the top of the pelvis. External Obliques work with Internal Obliques which lie beneath the External Obliques. The external oblique fibers run diagonally downward from the middle of the rib cage and the internal oblique fibers run diagonally upward from the pelvis.

Obliques are very important muscles because they help in spinal flexibility but also control twisting at the waist. When you hit a golf ball or tennis ball, you are using your oblique muscles. Your oblique muscles generate your power to do all these things.

Now that we understand all the muscles and muscle groups in this region and why they are important not only for looks but for strength and sports, here are some exercises to get you ripped abs!

Sit-ups (we all know how to do)

Side Bridge, Plank with Diagonal Arm Lift, Single-Leg Lowering, Swiss-Ball Knee Tuck, Glute-Bridge March

Double Crunch, Seated Twist, Reverse Crunch with Knee Drops

Verticle Leg crunch

Hip Up

Cross Crunch

Technorati Tags: Abdominals, abs, Exercise, External Obliques, fitness, internal oblique, Linea Alba, muscle, Rectus Abdominis, six pack, spinal fexion

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