Abdominal Fat Annihilation With Clay-Wraps, Microcurrents & Aerobic Exercise? There is Something in This List That Works, But It's Probably Not the Clay ;-)

This, probably won't cut it (the fat), because the electrodes and the wraps are missing.

I suppose that the headline of today's SuppVersity article will probably split the SuppVersity Readership into two camps. Those who say: "Pah, I am not a pussy: Clay-Wraps are not an option. I'd rather do a couple of additional HIIT sessions than getting one of those!" And the other camp saying: "Wtf, finally I have a reason to go to the spa regularly!"

In the end, it does not matter on which side of this divide you are, the results a group of scientists from the Oporto Polytechnic Institut in Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal present in their most recent paper in Clay Sciences (no, this is not a joke, there really is a peer-reviewed journal on "clay science"), will probably surprise all of you.

"Clay wraps? Really?"

Assuming you would read the full-text of the study, you would, just like me, initially be enlightened that clay has been used for centuries not just as a cosmetic to make your skin look younger and healthier, but also as a means to reduce abdominal fat (Melo. 2013). Usually, these clays are composed of "green clay" (which has natural calcium and aluminum as components), green tea and magnesium sulfate. The clay is impregnated in a bandage that compresses the tissue and enhances fluid drainage from the abdominal region through the superficial lymphatic system (Standring. 2008).

• 

  Green tea reduces thyroid hormoness. Reason for concern? (learn more)

  Green tea: I am quite certain that all of you are familiar with the fat liberating effects green tea has on adipose tissue, as well as its ability to induce apoptosis in mature fat cells, to inhibit adipogenesis (storage of fat) and differentiation of preadipocytes (formation of new fat cells). Accoding to Belo (2009) and Heinrich (2004) these effects are retained within the adipose tissue, when its applied topically and only very little of the agent will actually make it into circulation.

• Magnesium sulfate: Being an essential mineral to the activity of hormone-sensitive lipase, magnesium can facilitate triglyceride breakdown. It's topical application may be particularly useful, in people with circulatory problems (as in cellulite; learn more). The way the author's present it as an "active fat burner" (in between the lines, only) is yet unwarranted.

• Calcium: Contrary to magnesium, calcium actually plays a more active role in the promotion of body fat loss. An increase in extracellular calcium concentration leads to an augmented enzymatic activity and promotes a reduction of calcitriol (active vitamin D) that will in turn trigger lipolysis (Somaet. 2003; Zemel. 2005). Whether this works via topical application has AFAIK not been well-established.

Another not fully understood factor that could make clay and the minerals in it a valuable tool for minimalist local body reshaping is their ionic nature. The latter can have direct effects on the microcurrents (electrolipophoresis; the movement of molecules due to electric currents) and may thus promote triglyceride degradation by increasing bloodflow and metabolism and by provoking changes in cell membrane polarity.

Ultrasound, caliper and body impedance

The subjects the scientists selected for this research were 20 young women (faculty students), with a body mass index that would rank them as either normal (18.5–24) or pre-obese (25–29). To make sure they would not be fooled by mere changes in the fluid levels of the tissues, the scientists used a combination of ultrasound, body fat caliper and body impedance measures, to access the effects of the "clay-wrap intervention" on the body composition of the ladies.

For the women in the active arm of the study, the protocol, which they went trough two times a week over a course of five weeks (10 interventions altogether) looked like this:

1. 

   In case it's not the amount of fat, but the orange peel look you want to get rid off, check out the SuppVersity Cellulite Special and listen to the show.

   Vigorous 5 min massage with an alcoholic extract of green tea (96% ethanol) macerated for 5 days, about which the scientists say: "[A] combination of ethyl alcohol with green tea provides a good extraction of the tea components . In addition, ethanol promotes the mechanical removal of contaminants and dissolves lipids in the lipid membrane, increasing the permeability of the skin" (Melo. 2003)
2. Application of a solution of 33.79 g of green clay combined with 18.56 g of magnesium sulfate (proportion in volume of 6 measures of green clay for 4 measures of sulfate) dissolved in 16.67 ml of distilled water to the abdomen. 
3. Application of a low elasticity bandage soaked in an infusion of 3.12 g of green tea, 6.94 g of magnesium sulfate (1 measure, in volume) and 0.5 l of water was applied with increased pressure from the center to the periphery. 
4. Application of microcurrents to the abdominal region with electrodes in a parallel position, and at an intensity below the sensitivity threshold (max. of 1 mA, frequencies of 25 Hz and 10 Hz) for 15 minutes. The polarity changed every second.

The protocol also included 30 min of aerobic moderate-intensity exercise (50%) on a cycloergometer
which had to be performed with the clay body wrap on the abs.

Figure 1: Before vs. after local (ultrasound) and total (body fat caliper in %) in the active arm of the study (Melo. 2003)

If we look at the main study outcomes, it's hard to argue that the intervention was kind of successful. "Kind of", in this case, implies that the effects were not earth-shattering and nothing you couldn't achieve by diet + exercise alone. More importantly, though, the results of the control group were within statistical margins the same. So what does that tell you about the usefulness of clay wraps?

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If you are in his position, clay is certainly the last thing you want to rely on, to reduce your weight to a healthy level. Stick to what works dieting and the glucose repartitioning effects of exercise about which you've read in an article from Friday, July 5 (read it)

Bottom line: So what can we learn from a study like this? Well, personally, I would say: "Just because it's science, this does not mean it does make sense!" And I guess you will concede that going through the ardeous procedure is not exactly worth the statistically non-significant additional 1 cm reduction in waist circumference in the intervention group.

Not convinced,yet, well if you put any faith in the data from body-fat calipers and body impedance devices which tell us that the total trunk fat loss was (non significantly) larger in the control group (-2.1% vs. -1.6) and the total body fat loss measured using triceps, suprailiac, thigh and abdominal skinfolds, were -1.9% and -1.8% for the women in the control and intervention group, respectively, I guess that should suffice to shelve the idea of going to the spa to actively burn fat. That does not mean, however that the relaxing effect it can have may eventually promote body fat loss, but this would be the topic for another study ;-)

References:

• Belo SE, Gaspar LR, Maia Campos PM, Marty JP. Skin penetration of epigallocatechin-3-gallate and quercetin from green tea and Ginkgo biloba extracts vehiculated in cosmetic formulations. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2009;22(6):299-304.
• Heinrich M, Barnes J, Gibbons S, Williamson EM.Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy. Churchill Livingstone—Elsevier Limited. 2004.
• Melo et al. Clay body wrap with microcurrent: Effects in central adiposity. Applied Clay Science. 2013; 80-81:140–146.
• Soma MR, Gotto AM Jr, Ghiselli G. Rapid modulation of rat adipocyte lipoprotein lipase: effect of calcium, A23187 ionophore, and thrombin. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1989 Jun 28;1003(3):307-14.
• Standring S. Anterior abdominal wall (chapter 61). Standring, S, Gray's Anatomy—The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Elsevier, 40th Churchill Livingstone. 2008; p1059.
• Zemel MB, Richards J, Milstead A, Campbell P. Effects of calcium and dairy on body composition and weight loss in African-American adults. Obes Res. 2005 Jul;13(7):1218-25.

Want to Have 6-Pack Abs? Abdominal Bracing Strengthens Deep Ab Muscles and May Push Those Packs Out. Plus: It Will Add More to Your Core Stability Than 1000 Crunches

Embrace,... ah pardon, I meant brace your abs! Brace your abs and make the six packs shine through.

It's summertime and thus the time of the year, when men all over the world suddenly realize that there is something missing right between their well-shaven chest and the elastic waist of their shorts. In fact, for the majority of these "poor wretches" (aka perfectly normal men), there is rather "something too much" than something missing and I should point out in advance that the following blogpost is not going to help you to solve that problem, in order not to raise false hopes: Bracing yourself is not going to help you lose body fat. What "bracing yourself" or rather your abs can do for you, though is to help you strengthen your core, wherever you go, stand or train.

"How's that and what exactly is abdominal bracing?"

Now that I have gotten your full attention, it is probably about time to explain what exactly abdominal bracing is. Actually it is nothing else than a static contraction of the musculature. The same thing you would do, when I told you that I was about to punch you right into the stomach. You tighten your abdominal muscles as much as possible and wait for the impact (video). If you do have abs, you will probably be doing something similar while you are doing crunches or any other ab-exercise lying on your back to make sure that your lower back is pressed into the ground all the time (in case you are not ding that it is no wonder you don't see your abs, despite having a low body fat %, by the way).

Figure 1: % EMGmax values in each muscle during abdominal bracing (Maeo. 2013; image on the left Wikipedia)

Now, while the usefulness of this "exercise" for core-stability is something scientists have been aware of for years, the latter cannot be said of the actual activation pattern of the trunk muscle activities during abdominal bracing. Accordingly, a group of Japanese researchers set out to test and compare the intensity of the muscular contraction during abdominal bracint to 5 static exercises, which are often prescribed in rehabilitation programs, and 5 dynamic exercises, which are usually conducted for strength-training purposes. In that, the scientists used an EMG device in order to quantify the muscular activation durin

• Trunk extension
• V-Sits
• Curl-Ups
• Sit-Ups
• Back extensions on the floor
• Back extensions on the back

• Abdominal hollowing (video)
• Prone Planks
• Lateral Planks 
• Supine Planks
• Trunk flexion
• Trunk lateral flexion

and observed the following activation patterns for the rectus abdominis, the internal and external obliques and the erectors spinae (learn more about the anatomy of the abs; check out exrx.net to learn about the exercises): 

Figure 1: EMG-max values for rectus abd., external oblique, internal oblique, erectors spinae (Maeo. 2013)

If you scrutinize the data, there is no debating the "bracing yourself" works - much better than the notorious "hollowing", when it comes to training the rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO) and erector spinae (ES) muscles the maximal activation during the "braces" is alway inferior to at least one of the other exercises. However,

"[...] the % EMGmax value for IO during the abdominal bracing was significantly higher than those in most of the other exercises including dynamic ones such as curl-ups and sit-ups."

Consequently, abdominal bracing (but also hollowing) is one of the "most effective techniques for inducing  a higher activation in deep abdominal muscles, such as IO muscle" (Maeo. 2013) and an underdeveloped "deep" abdominal musculature is much more likely to be the underlying reason that you are lean and still don't see abs, than a generally underdeveloped midsection.

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Suggested read: "Shoulder Presses Ain't for Delts, Only!" (read more)

Bottom line: I you are one of the guys or girls who are constantly complaining about seeing nothing but the upper two abs despite being already hilariously lean, abdominal bracing could help push the "upper layer" of muscle out enough to make the horizontal stripes shine through the skin.

And don't forget, even if you don't do it as a standalone movement, you better "brace yourself", when you are doing your sit-ups, crunches and all the rest of the exercises people are wasting their time on, because they don't brace, or rather press their back firmly into the ground, when they are fidgeting around for hours. That being said, you may remember the post about the "ab-building effects" of shoulder presses, take a look at Flex Wheeler over there to the right. If he did not brace his abs he would break his back (the position he is in is still 100% suboptimal).

References: 

• Maeo S, Takahashi T, Takai T, Kanehisa H. Trunk Muscle Activities during Abdominal Bracing: Comparison among Muscles and Exercises. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2013 [ahead of print]

Nasty Insights into the Yo-Yo-Effect: Lower Body Fat Sticks and From Fit2Fat There's no Easy Way Back! Plus: Why It's Easier to Get 6-Pack Abs Than Striated Glutes & Hams.

Image 1: The person in the middle was probably once morbidly obese. How I know? Lower body adipose tissue sticks.

After yesterday's first installment of "On Short Notice", which by the way appears to have pleased most of you (thanks for the feedback, everyone!), we are going back to an in-depth analysis of another cherry-picked study, today. Don't worry, though, I believe even those who are more into the "rumpy pumpy" news will like this one. After all, it could provide some more insights into why your upper body and lower body don't match each other and - what's even more important it puts another emphasis on the primer to never ever let yourself go for too long.

The fat you gain today, will not be gone tomorrow!

In the scientific version of "from fit2fat2fit" (click here to watch the ABC report on the "experiment"), Prachi Singh and his colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, UK, fed 23 volunteers (15 men and 8 women; BMI 23.6 6kg/m², mean age 30y), who were sedentary, but normal-weight and free of chronic disease, standardized diets with a macronutrient composition of 20% protein, 40% carbs and 40% fat. In addition each of the participants, who were weighed at least 5x per week had to eat 1-3 of the following snacks

• ice-cream shake (402 kcal),
• chocolate bars (a king-size Snickers bar, 510 kcal), or
• an energy drink (Boost Plus, 360 kcal/8 oz)

in order to gain ~5% of body weight within the initial 8-week weight gain phase. By dropping the extra snacks, dietary counseling from and an increase in overall activity the participants had shed those extra pounds in a subsequent 8-week weight loss phase, again - and, somewhat to my surprise, this did actually work quite well, as the data in figure 1 goes to show you:

Figure 1: Body composition and fat depot weight at baseline and after weight gain and loss (based on Singh. 2012)

But despite the fact that it looks as if they were more or less exactly back to baseline a more detailed statistical analysis of the data revealed that only the total body weight, total fat mass and total fat free mass of the subjects (figure 1, left) , as well as their visceral and upper body subcutaneous (UBSQ) fat loss showed statistically significant correlations with the initial weight gain (p < 0.0001, p =0.001, respectively), or as a non-scientist would say it: Only for the aforementioned parameters everything was in fact back to baseline - the lower body fat gains, on the other hand stuck.

Figure 2: Correlation of changes in lower-body fat mass and femoral fat cell size (men: squares, women: circles; Singh. 2012)

Is lower body fat not a female problem? No, according to the study at hand which was however not not adequately powered to provide any definitive answers to this question, there were "no sex differences in fat distributions during weight gain and weight loss" (Singth. 2012). And while the actual actual data in figure 2 (taken directly from the original study) does confirm that, there is still a non-negligible difference in the total amount of body fat gained and lost, which reminds me of a previous post of mine on "Busting the 3,500kcal = 1lbs Weight Loss Myth! Plus: Women Need More, Men Less Than the Rule Predicts", it only confirms the scientists observation.

Due to the limited number of subjects and relative scarce data Singh et al. can only speculate about the exact underlying reasons for this phenomenon, stating that it is most likely related to the "differential triglyceride storage capacity or lipolysis rates of lower- and upper-body adipocytes". An assumption that does appear very likely, though, also because the reverse, i.e. the increased ability to rapidly store meal triglycerides of upper body fat cells (Marin. 1990; Jenson. 2003) and their overall increased susceptibility to to lipolytic stimuli (e.g. your average caffeine based lipolytic "fat burner") had been established in previous studies already (Gui. 1997; Martin. 1991; Nielsen. 2004).

Faster in faster out ain't the whole explanation, though.

Image 2: You can ask any bodybuilder, a six-pack is easier to get than striated glutes & hamstrings. And the difference between upper - and lower body fat storage could well explain this phenomenon!

Unfortunately, Singh et al.'s study does also suggest that the "faster in - faster out" mechanism is not the only physical / physiological reason for the persistence of lower body fat... when I come to think about it, you may yet well argue that it is in the end the reason that another phenomenon takes place. One, the scientists had observed in a previous study, already (Tchoukalova. 2010), namely that "UBSQ [upper body subcutaneous] and lower-body subcutaneous fat respond differently at the cellular level to accommodate increased energy storage" (Singh. 2012). While the former simply increases in size, the latter "reproduces", or to say it in medical terms:

• upper body subcutaneous fat mass increases (mainly) by cellular hypertrophy
• lower body subcutaneous fat mass increases (mainly) by cellular hyperplasia

You have encountered this difference in the "Intermittent Thoughts on Building Muscle" already (specifically in "Intermittent Thoughts on Building Muscle: The Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy 101 - Part 1: What is Hypertrophy?") and may remember that it is essentially not much different from inflating a given number of balloons (hypertropy) vs. adding more balloons until the few large or the many small balloons eventually occupy the same total volume or, in this case, the fat depots (=sum of many small or few large fat cells) can hold the same amount of triglycerides.

Hypertophy vs. hyperplasia - the latter sticks!

In fact previous research suggests that as soon as the storage ability of the individual fat cells is exceeded, hyperplasia becomes the predominant way to increase the bodies fat storage capacities (usually this is also when the overflowing existing adipose tissue stores begin to "burn down" the house by releasing copious amounts of inflammatory cytokines; cf. Skurk. 2007). Consequently,

[a]fter weight loss, obese people have smaller adipocytes than do people with a similar percentage of body fat and stable weight [though] it is unknown whether those obese adults had more adipocytes before they became obese [...] evidence has suggested that postobese adults have a larger number of fat cells, which could be a long-term consequence of adult weight gain on adipose tissue cellularity. (Singh 2012)

And in fact, these changes in "adipose tissue cellularity" became obvious in the study at hand after no more than 8 weeks of weight gain and loss - life long body fat accumulation or weight gain in the double digit range may not even be necessary...

Limitations of the study: Taken on it's own the Singh study does yet fail to prove the hypothesis that weight gain is associated with increases in fat cell number while weight loss is not, simply because the scientists did take biopsies only at the end of the study - in my eyes a major design flaw, irrespective of the fact, whether the data they would have elucidated would have been "statistically non-significant", as they point out. I did therefore decide against plotting the respective data on adipocyte size and number because without appropriate knowledge of where the subjects were coming from it is worthless anyway.

In this context, it is also noteworthy that the amount of leptin that's released by a given fat cell appears to (non-linearly!) increase with it's size. Against that background the "adipocyte abundance" (many now almost empty fat cells with a very low leptin secretion) in formerly obese subjects could even explain why most of them are having a very hard time to keep the weight off, let alone shed those pounds that still cover their abs, buttocks, etc. After all, on the individual cell level, their body fat stores are in fact almost empty - regardless of the fact that these people still carry 20+ more pounds of body fat on their frame than someone who has not gotten obese in the first place.

Bottom line: NEVER go from fit2fat!

Video 1 (click here to watch): Don't do the "Drew Manning" - making money and becoming famous with being fat is not going to work out another time - after all, Ozzy has already had it on the show... well, maybe if you used Ozzy's Rasberry product (see previous post) to shed the weight again ;-)

Unless Spalding et al. are right and obese individuals must have developed their entire compliment of adipocytes before reaching adulthood (Spalding. 2008; studies such as Löfgren et al. suggest the exact difference, by the way) the results of this study do thus suggest that you better not do the Drew Manning (see video 1) - after all, your chances to cause a similar media stir like Drew (who by the way appears to be a nice guy), are invited by Dr. Oz and make it into the main news on almost all global television channels are close to zero. And with the profoundly reduced leptin expression, from your emptied fat cells you are going to have a very hard time to get rid of any of those new fat cells which may have formed while you were bulking (regardless of whether they are sitting in your upper or lower body), because an abundance of circulating leptin appears to be the crucial signal for your body to send those nasty storage cells into the fat cell nirvana (Della-Fera. 2001).

There are studies that suggest that supplements like CLA could help accelerate this process (Tsuboyama-Kasaoka. 2000). Unfortunately, the data comes from rodent studies, many human trials on the other hand did not elicit any beneficial results, in parts certainly due to lower dosages, which are however a safety measure to prevent side effects such as the profound insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia Tsuboyma-Kasoaka et al. observed in their study. It appears only logical that the latter would be a direct consequence of the combination of triglyceride release profoundly reduced leptin levels in response to the sudden death of the fat cells, which was in fact so pronounced that the scientists do speak of "lipodystrophy", a medical condition characterized by abnormal or degenerative conditions of the body's adipose tissue.

In the end, the only feasible option left appears - once again - to turn your life inside out and wait until the pendulum will have swung back into the right direction.

References:

1. Della-Fera MA, Qian H, Baile CA. Adipocyte apoptosis in the regulation of body fat mass by leptin. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2001 Oct;3(5):299-310.
2. Dilzer A, Park Y. Implication of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in human health. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2012;52(6):488-513.
3. Guo Z, Johnson CM, Jensen MD. Regional lipolytic responses to isoproterenol in women. Am J Physiol 1997;273:E108–12.
4. Jensen MD, Sarr MG, Dumesic DA, Southorn PA, Levine JA. Regional uptake of meal fatty acids in humans. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2003;285:E1282–8.
5. Löfgren P, Andersson I, Adolfsson B, Leijonhufvud B, Hertel K, Hoffstedt J, Arner P. Long-term prospective and controlled studies demonstrate adipose tissue hypercellularity and relative leptin deficiency in the postobese state. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2005;90:6207–13.
6. Marin P, Rebuffe-Scrive M, Bjorntorp P. Uptake of triglyceride fatty acids in adipose tissue in vivo in man. Eur J Clin Invest 1990;20:158–65.
7. Martin ML, Jensen MD. Effects of body fat distribution on regional lipolysis in obesity. J Clin Invest 1991;88:609–13.
8. Nielsen S, Guo ZK, Johnson CM, Hensrud DD, Jensen MD. Splanchnic lipolysis in human obesity. J Clin Invest 2004;113:1582–8.
9. Skurk T, Alberti-Huber C, Herder C, Hauner H. Relationship between adipocyte size and adipokine expression and secretion. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007
10. Spalding KL, Arner E, Westermark PO, Bernard S, Buchholz BA, Bergmann O, Blomqvist L, Hoffstedt J, Naslund E, Britton T, et al. Dynamics of fat cell turnover in humans. Nature 2008;453:783–7
11. Tchoukalova YD, Votruba SB, Tchkonia T, Giorgadze N, Kirkland JL, Jensen MD. Regional differences in cellular mechanisms of adipose tissue gain with overfeeding. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2010;107: 18226–31.
12. Tsuboyama-Kasaoka N, Takahashi M, Tanemura K, Kim HJ, Tange T, Okuyama H, Kasai M, Ikemoto S, Ezaki O. Conjugated linoleic acid supplementation reduces adipose tissue by apoptosis and develops lipodystrophy in mice. Diabetes. 2000 Sep;49(9):1534-42.

SuppVersity EMG Series - Rectus Abdominis, Obliques and Erector Spinae: The Very Best Exercises For Sixpack Abs and a Powerful Midsection

Image 1: There is more to a strong core
than just the m. rectus abdominis aka
'the abs' (red);  its imperative to train your
obliques (blue) and the muscle strands
of the erector spinae muscles which
stabilize your spine (violette)

"6 weeks to 6-pack abs" - although we all know that this is unattainable for the majoritity of beer-bellied casual Men's Health reader, headlines like that still make the sales of today's fitness magazines go up. On the other hand, Charles Atlas, John Grimek, Ray Parks, Eugen Sandow and the other fathers of physical culture would certainly turn in their graves, if they saw the metrosexual size zero bans on the covers of respective 'lifestyle' magazines and read about the 'cult of sculpted abs' that has befallen their 'grandchildren'... well, I guess you don't care about those 'grandpas', let alone my rants, and still want your sixpack to shine in its full glory on the next spring break, no matter what? Ok, but beware, even the best exercises won't help, as long as your glorious rectus abdominis is covered by an unaesthetic layer of adipose tissue - the key to sculpted abs is dieting! As far as core training is concerned, it is imperative to understand that building a stable core, which is a major yet often disregarded prerequisite for lifelong mobility, is not only about 'ab-training'. Its about training all those exterior and interior muscle strands that keep you upright:

• the m. rectus abdominis (image 1, red), which consists of two parallel muscle strands that run vertically on each side of the anterior wall of the human abdomenis and are often simply referred to as 'the abs'
• the external and internal oblique muscles (image 1, blue),  which pull the chest downwards and compress the abdominal cavity (external) also have a limited action in both flexion and rotation of the vertebral column (both) and cover the transverse abdominis muscles, which are located beneath the obliques and help to compress the ribs and viscera, thus providing thoracic and pelvic stability
• the muscles of the erector spinae (image 1, violette), which are of paramount importance to your life, because they stabilize and protect your spine

Now that you know what this issue of the SuppVersity EMG Series is all about, I do not want to put you on the abwheel, ah... pardon, the rack any longer, but just in case you agree with me that a great physique is not about having abs alone, you may want to check out some of the other parts of this series, as well.

Chest	Biceps	Back	Core	Legs	Triceps	Shoulders
Navigate the SuppVersity EMG Series - Click on the desired body part to see the optimal exercises.

The SuppVersity proudly presents: The most effective exercises, as measured by electromyography (10 male resistance-trained subjects, mean age 22y, mean body-fat 13%; data from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000) for your abs, your obliques and your the stabilizer muscles...

I. Training the m. rectus abdominis (aka 'the abs') & the oblique muscles
 

I want to begin with a word of caution, although 'the abs' do in fact comprise two muscle strands, the two strands ran vertically and parallel to your spine. The assertion that there are 'upper' and 'lower' abs is thus not supportable from a purely anatomical point of view. If you do ab-exercises and even more so, if you do full body movements like squats, deadlifts or military presses, the muscle strands of your rectus abdominis (as well as your obliques and the erector spinae muscles) will always be engaged as a whole. As it is the case for the latissimus dorsi, another of the large muscle groups in your body, it is yet possible to put a special emphasize on the upper or lower part of your abs. Remember that, when you read about the best exercises for 'upper' and 'lower part' of the m. rectus abdominis in the following overview.

Six or eight packs - genetics or training? It is an urban or, I should say a 'gym myth' that you "progress from a six- to an eightpack" by training your abs until they hurt. The way your 'abs' look, which includes the number of packs, is determined by genetics and body fat level. The latter, by the way, is the reason why so many trainees believe they would just have to keep training until - almost magically - the 7th and 8th pack would pop up. While this does work for many people, it is not because of training-induced hypertrophy, but rather due to atrophy - adipocyte-atrophy, or fat loss to be precise. Especially the lowest of the six or eight packs tend to be covered by a very stubborn layer of stress-fat, that's why many peple begin to see them, when their training advances and their body fat levels drop.

The EMG data from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies also goes to show that even in the case of the rectus abdominis and the external and internal oblique muscles, true isolation is impossible. Everytime you engage in any type of core exercise both the central, as well as the lateral stabilizers or, in other words, the abs and the obliques will be working.

Figure 2: EMG activity of m. rectus abdominis (upper part), m. rectus abdmonis (lower part) and oblique muscles during twelve selected core exercises relative to muscle(-part) specific reference exercises as indicated by the asterisk '*' (data adapted from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000)

The graphical illustration of the relative EMG activity of twelve selected core exercises confirms the statement that any given exercise for the 'abs' will inevitably also involve a certain degree of oblique activity. It is however also quite obvious that trainees can easily emphasize a certain muscle group (or part) by selecting the appropriate exercises from the following top 12:

Table 1: Top 12 ab- and oblique exercises; ranking according to Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies, 2000

It is quite obvious that with a set of 3-6 exercises (I marked the top exercises in green) you can effectively train the whole anterior part of your core and still keep enough variety to avoid getting bored - and, what's probably even more important, to "keep your body guessing". It is yet also obvious that much more than it is the case with exercises for other body parts, there is huge inter-personal variety in terms of which ab-exercises work best for whom. Therefore I decided to give you some additional data on the exact mean ranks of the specific exercises - something I omitted in the previous issues of the SuppVersity EMG Series simply because (with the exception of the chest, where I mentioned it in the text) the mean rank and the mean EMG activity toplists would have been identical, anyway.  

Perfect form counts, especially on the advanced movements

Image 2: Trainees tend to (ab-)use the psoas major and thus decrease the activation of the 'abs', when doing leg raises, sit-ups etc. (image by Beth ohara @ Wikipedia)

A perfect example of improper form compromising exercise efficiacy is the hanging leg raise, where, in the case of the upper part of the m. rectus abdominis, you can see that the exercise must have produced an extraordinarily high EMG activity in some, and a rather mediocre muscular activation in other subjects. Otherwise the ranking according to mean EMG for the exercise over all subjects (rank 2) and the mean exercise rank for the individual (rank 3) would be identical. Those of you who know how to do the exercise properly will know that even under professional supervision many trainees fail to actually flex their abs and thus train their psoas major (cf. image 2) instead of their abs, when they hang like a flabby sack from the bar and swing their legs up and down. A similar shift away from the m. rectus abdominis and towards the psoas, occurs in all ab-exercises where your legs are held in a fixed position, the most dreaded example being the classic sit-up, from which generations of trainees developed a hollow back (hyperlordosis); a pathology that cannot only entail lower back pain, but will also make your abdomen stick out even further, the result of which would be an untrained pair of abs that "sticks out" not in the intended metaphorical, but in the unwanted literal sense. Don't get me wrong, I am not generally against doing sit-ups, let alone leg raises (they are in fact among my favorite core exercises), I just want you to make sure, you are doing them right, so that you...

1. do not get hurt,
2. do not develop muscular imbalances, where despite or rather due to improper ab training your m. rectus abdominis becomes the weakest link and thus
3. do not put yourself at danger of developing a (painful) hollow back and an untrained pair of abs on a portruding abdomen

Therefore I would advice beginners to follow exercise tip #1 to build up the strength of your abs and learn how to do the hanging leg raises properly before you wrack havoc on your lower back.

Exercise tip #1 - the road to correct hanging leg raise: Done properly, hanging leg raises are the king of all ab-exercises, which does yet require practice and a core that is already pretty strong. Therefore I would suggest beginners start out with the lying leg raises with their hands or one of those pillows under their lower back for lumbar support. By trying to press their hands / the pillow into the floor in the course of the movement, they will develop the core stability that is necessary to progress

1. from the supported to the unsupported lying leg raises
2. from leg raises on the floor to leg raises on a decline
3. from decline leg raises to hanging leg raises

Note: It is neither necessary nor advisable to fully extend your legs during any of these exercises. Doing any of these movements with your legs straight tends to shift the relative workload away from your abs and towards the psoas major, and it increases the overall load on your lower back - the same applies for the dreaded sit-ups with leg-fixation, as well.

I suppose, some of you may be disappointed, that exercises like the cable crunch or your favorite abdominal trainer have not made it to the list. While I think that many of the ab-machines share the same problematic psoas major activity as improperly executed hanging less raises or sit-ups, I count the cable crunch among the most effective ab exercises one can do.
 

Image 3: Exercise variation is key, especially for advanced trainees, who do not want to hit a plateau. Therefore, even self-proclaimed 'pros' should not back off from stability exercises like the side plank, which is the 2nd most effective exercise for the oblique muscles in the top 12 (image from www.everkinetic.com)

That being said, EMG data, no matter how scientifically objective it may seem, should never have you give up what works for you. Ab training, just like everything else you do in the gym, is not about doing, but about feeling the movement. Or, in other words, if the consequence of extending your arms behind your head is that you stop feeling how your upper abs are contracting, chances are that the purported #1 exercise for the upper part of the m. rectus abdominis, the crunch with extended arms, is not for you. The possible reasons for that are manifold, with the two most likely reasons being that you're simply not doing the exercise right (remember: doing crunches is not about raising your head off the floor ;-) and/or the exercise intensity is not appropriate for your training level. The latter is an oftentimes overlooked factor which hampers progress in beginners and advanced trainees, alike. I've hinted at this in exercise tip #1, already rookies need to build a foundation before they start doing 'advanced' exercises such as hanging leg raises - you would not tell a toddler who has just taken his/her first steps to go and compete in the Olympic 200m race, would you? In the same vein, you will probably get neck and lower back problems if you start doing 100s or 1000s of 'ballistic' sitpus, where you're virtually trying to lift your upper body from the floor by pulling it up from your ears or the back of your head. Believe me, many of the pot-bellied weekend warriors I see doing this type of "ab training" would be better off doing a single set of 6-12 properly performed crunches with peak contractions. Unfortunately, many of them cannot do even one of those, because their m rectus abdominis is simply too weak to lift their massive upper body off the floor. Similarly, I see some advanced trainees still perform an hour-long crunch workout, carefully making sure that they perform at least 50 reps of each and every funky move they have ever seen in one of those stupid fitness magazines - come on guys (interestingly only few girls seem to be stupid enough to do so), I know you have not been making progress in years... always remember. progress, or rather progressive muscular (not lumbar ;-) overload that is the key to success in whatever you do in the gym.

Exercise tip #2 - Exercise intensity and the myth of high-rep-training for abs: In that it is important to accept that they may be no limit to the number of 1.25 pounds of weight you want to try to add to the bar every week, there certainly is one to adding another rep to the number of crunches, leg raises or side-bends you perform. In the case of the crunch, for example, the beginner would first have to practice doing the basic crunch right, to feel his abs working, to be able to stop half-way up or down and deliberately contract his muscles and to "peak-contract" his m. rectus abdominis until it hurts. The advanced trainee, on the other hand, will have to refrain from increasing the number of reps beyond a max of 20 reps. Instead, they should focus on increasing torque by either

• varying the position of his arms - beginner: hands support lower back; intermediate: hands on the chest / at the sides of your head; advanced: arms extended behind the head
• adding light weights - e.g. holding a light dumbbell in your hands when you do the crunch with your arms extended behind your head, on the leg raises you could use some of those weight straps for the ankles, etc.
• switching to more advanced exercises - properly executed hanging leg raises, for example, activate the upper part of the abs almost as effectively as crunches; they are the #1 exercise for the lower abs and #3 for the obliques; but they are difficult to do and require an already fortified core (cf. exercise tip #1)

Rookie or pro, training abs is not essentially different from training any other muscle group - its about feeling the contraction not about lifting the weight (your body), let alone impressive rep counts and without proper rest, i.e. at least 48h to the next ab workout, the m. rectus abdominis will rather atrophy than shine in full glory.

If you are doing the right exercises and increase reps and then weights, incorporate advanced exercises and still do not see progress, I can tell, without even even knowing what you had for breakfast that it ruined your efforts in the gym. Having great abs is 75% diet and 20% whole body training and 5% ab training, remember that whenever you get the idea that doing another 100 sit ups or training your abs every day (every other day = max) would magically melt the fat away... you better save the time for some serious squatting, deadlifting or high intensity interval training if you want your abs to shine in their full glory. II. Training the erector spinae (focus on lumbar part) Contrary to having "great abs", which is probably the #1 on the wish-list of trainees in gyms all around the world, impressive erector spinae muscles appear to be way less popular in a world where the divide between morbidly obese exercise dyslectics and ripped exercise freaks is ever increasing. And while the former simply ignore that a strong lower back may save them from a whole host of minor ailments of will experience on top of heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's in their later life, the latter keep looking at their sixpacks and simply take for granted that the literal flipside of what they consider the epitome of a fit and healthy body (their sixpack) would look alike. Sometimes this may be the case, more often than not, those are however the same guys and girls who neither squat or deadlift, because they falsely assume that this would make them bulky. The EMG data by Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies goes to show that, due to this commonly held misconception many trainees miss out on the two most effective (hard-)core exercises.

Image 4: Variations of the deadlift (here the romanian deadlift) are still the most basic lower back movements

The best exercises with standard equipment

1. Leg raises on the lying leg curl machine*
2. Classic squat
3. Hackquat machine
4. Deadlift (100% body weight)
5. Romanian deadlift (50% body weight)
6. Partial Deadlift (50% body weight)

* The leg raise on the lying leg curl machine is done with your hamstrings flexed by just rising your quads off the pad with the muscles of your lower back - the move is quite tricky and I personally would suggest you refrain from doing it, when you do not have any health issues that hinder you from doing squats and deadlifts

Figure 3: EMG activity of erector spinae (lumbar part) during six selected core exercises with standard equipment relative to the "king of all exercises", the squat (data adapted from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000)

I consider it noteworthy that the decrease in weight on the deadlift (done to avoid injury) obviously takes away from the EMG activity Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies were able to measure. It is thus highly likely, that

1. the deadlift is the most taxing and at the same time most stimulating exercise for the muscles of the erector spinae, and
2. the partial romanian deadlift (legs straight) is probably even more taxing and thus more stimulating than the "classic" deadlift (the EMG data seems to confirm that, as the subjects lifted 2-times the amount of weight on the classic deadlift, yet the muscular activation increased by only 76%)

That being said, at least one of the two fundamentals of true strength, i.e. deadlifting or squatting, should be part of everyones routine - no other exercises will fortify your core and whole body in a similar fashion as these two. Add one, maximal two of the following body weight exercises and your lower back is ready to roll... pardon me, to lift!

Image 5: The flutter kick with endcontractions & the pelvic lift, which is similar to the lying hip extension with the exception that you bend the free leg (100°) turn to be slightly more effective than the good old reverse extensions

The best body-weight exercises

1. Flutter kicks, prone position, with peak contractions
2. Pelvic lift, knee angle 100°
3. Hyper-/reverse extensions
4. Bird (plank position, no arm activity)
5. Sitting upright arms spread like an eagle

I find it quite telling that just sitting 100% straight on a bench with your arms in the eagle position (90° between upper arms and torso, arms slightly bend, so that your palms are facing upward / has something of a preacher ;-) still produces 25% of the activation classical reverse extentions do. This goes to show you how demanding everyday life is for your lower back!

Figure 4: EMG activity of erector spinae (lumbar part) during five selected body-weight exercises relative to the well-known hyper-/reverse extensions (data adapted from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000

III. Conclusion: 3 basic moves for a fortified core!

I suppose, there were not too many big surprises in this issue of the SuppVersity EMG Series, or at least I would hope so... you did not believe all those exotic contortions Men's Idiocy & co invent each spring to attract new readers would be worth doing. Did you? Some sort of crunch, some leg raises and one of the core (this refers to both your core as well as the core of your workout) exercises, i.e. deadlifting or squatting max 2-3 times a week is all it takes to fortify the center of your body. If you want the additional bonus of a shiny six (or eight-)pack, do at least as many squats and deadlifts as you do crunches, add in some HIIT (high intensity interval training) and stick to your diet.

Image 6: You asked for it, here is the
info - the ab-roll-out probably is probably
among the most effective ab-exercises, as well.

User requested update: "Dr. Andro What about the Ab-Roll-out?" This question has now been posed twice and not only because one of the persons who asked was my Buddy Duong, I dug a little in the archives of exercise sciences and came up with a study that compared 8 Swiss ball exercises (roll-out, pike, knee-up, skier, hip extension right, hip extension left, decline push-up, and sitting march right) and 2 traditional abdominal exercises (crunch and bent-knee sit-up) and found that EMG signals for the upper and lower part of the m. rectus abdominis, as well as the obliques were "greater compared to most other exercises". In that it has to be said that the movements were performed for 5 reps only and that even the authors remark that higher / more diverse repetition ranges could have influenced the overall results they summarize in their conclusion as follows: "The roll-out and pike were the most effective exercises [in this study! a direct comparison of the EMG data with the one from the Boeckh-Behrens Buskies study would of course be invalid] in activating upper and lower rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques, and latissimus dorsi muscles". Bottom-line: Daron, Duong & the rest - keep doing your roll-outs, if you like them ;-)

An EMG-optimized routine

Image 7: The kneeling cable crunch (image shows seated) is one of my favorite exercises for the m. rectus abdominis; although the authors did not measure EMG activity, Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies explicitly mention this ab-exercise as being particularly effective for advanced trainees (image from everkinetic.com)

There is of course a myriad of ways of combining the individual exercises, my personal recommendation for overall core development (based on EMG measures) would yet be as follows*:

1. Crunches < 20 reps; vary arm / hand position or add weight + peak contractions to build intensity without going past max. 25 reps
2. Leg raises < 15 reps; vary according to exercise tip #1; do at least one of your sets with your legs / torso rotating sideways, alternate left and right
3. Deadlift variety 10-12 controlled reps; select the deadlift variety you feel isolates your lower back best

* "<" indicates that you should not be able to perform another rep with perfect form You may alternate that with:

1. Kneeling cable crunch < 15 reps; add weight whenever possible
2. Side bends < 15 reps; add weight if necessary, be cautious not to bend over or go into hyperlordosis
3. Hyperextensions** < 12 reps, with proper form + peak contraction; add weight if necessary

** I chose the hyperextensions over the other two movements, because you can easily add weight by grabbing a plate and holding it before your chest You may notice that I do not make volume (i.e. set) recommendations. This is due to the fact that I found that everyone has to find what works best for him / her in terms of optimal volume and training frequency. This may also change over time / according to lifestyle factors / nutrition and supplementation.

Optimal Fat Loss - Best Time, Intensity and Equipment: Medium Intensity Aerobic Exercise in the PM at 60% For Obese and >60% For Lean To get Shredded. Vibration Training Won't Help, Though.

Although I suppose that what I am about to tell you won't settle the everlasting debate on the effectiveness of early morning cardio training on an empty stomach (or even cardio training in general) for fat loss, you may nevertheless be interested to hear the results of a a study which has recently been published in the Journal of Human Sports & Exercise (Mohebbi. 2011).

Figure 1: Percentage of VO2Max for maximal (red) and minimal (green) fatty oxidation (main axis) and maximal fatty oxidation (secondary / right axis) absolute values in mg/min/fat free mass (data adapted from Mohebbi. 2011)

Mohebbi & Aziz recruited 12 normal-weight and 10 obese men for their study and measured maximal fat oxidation (MFO) in the course of a standardized treadmill incremental running exercise, where speed and increment were increased at 3 minute intervals. MFO was determined by VO2 / VCO2 measurements during the last 2 minutes of each exercise stage. With the participants performing the same exercise protocol twice, once in the AM (8-12h fasting) and once in the PM (5-6h fasting) the study design allowed to assess both, the effects of exercise time, as well as those of the exercise intensity on fatty acid oxidation in lean, as well as obese individuals. The main results were as follows:

fat oxidation rates and energy expenditure in both groups in the evening were higher than morning; there were no significant differences in MFO between obese and normal groups. Furthermore, the fat oxidation rate in low intensity exercise (<60% VO2max) was similar in obese and normal weight groups, but in high exercise intensities, in normal weight men were significantly higher than obese men.

Obviously, these results have practical implications in terms of exercise time and intensity which also depend on the training status / body composition of the individual. For "optimal" fat loss while training in a "fasted" (or at least not a postprandial state)...

• normal weight men optimally train in the PM at an exercise intensity >60% VO2max

• obese men optimally train in the PM at an exercise intensity of approximately 60% of their VO2Max 

The substitution of the good old treadmill for one of those fancy XXL-vibrators, which are used by more and more gym owners to rip off lazy... ah, I mean attract new clients, would turn out to be pretty useless, however. Published in the same journal is a paper by Cochrane (Cochrane. 2011) in which the author warns that in contrast to claims from the popular press, which say that "10 minutes of VbX [vibration exercise] is equivalent to one hour of traditional exercise", just hopping onto a giant vibrator although it may "increase whole and local oxygen uptake", even when executed ...

[...] with additional load, high vibration frequency and/or amplitude [...] cannot match the demands of conventional aerobic exercise. Therefore, caution is required when VbX programmes are solely used for the purpose of reducing body fat without considering dietary and aerobic conditioning guidelines.

Image 1: Not so innovative as you may have though:
"Vibration is life", advertisement dating back to 1910!
(Der Spiegel, 1/1999, p.145).

Fat or lean, lazy or not, you better get your asses off your vibrating couch and out into the park, because - guess what - you do not even need a treadmill to get in shape. Apart from some running shoes (some may argue running barefoot would be even better), nature already provided you with all the tools it takes to strip off the unaesthetic and oftentimes unhealthy fat-pads and get your six-packs summer-ready. You're still reading? What are you waiting for? Go for it!

On a side note: Isn't it interesting that the results of this study suggest that higher intensities become more and more effective, the leaner / fitter you get? Well, guess why most studies on obese people showed benefits of light intensity steady state cardio, while more recent studies on fit people or even athletes suggest that high intensity interval training (HIIT) is far superior to "recompose" your body.