The myth of 8-pack abdominal training programs
Researched and Composed by Vic Goyaram
Exclusive for Bodybuilding Mauritius
I am writing this article
because I have seen some abdominal training programs that are promising 8-pack
abdominals. At the same time I see that a lot of people still believe that one
can develop 8 blocks of abdominal muscles even though they most likely have
only 6 blocks (either visible or buried under layers of fat). This article will
deal with basic anatomy of abdominal muscles to help explain the situation at
hand.
Abdominal anatomy
The scientific name of the
abdominal muscle is the rectus abdominis. It is one continuous sheet of muscle
in the sense that it does not consists of different "heads", or
individual muscles like the deltoids/biceps and the legs respectively. When we
say ABS, we are referring to one muscle whereas when we say DELTOIDS we are
referring to a muscle which consists of front, lateral and rear delt heads with
each having an origin and an insertion. Just google more on muscle anatomy to
know more about these latter terms. The abdominal muscle runs from the ribcage
to the pelvis. There are dividers called "tendinous inscriptions"
which give the abdominals the appearance of tiles or "packs" as they
are more commonly called.
The rectus abdominis basic anatomy |
Genetics
Ronnie Coleman had a four pack abs and it had to do with his genetics (and of course this didn't stop him from winning 8 consecutive Mr. Olympia) |
We are born with a certain
number of these dividers and the way that they are arranged on the abdominal
muscle sheet. Most people have dividers that are arranged in such a way that
the abdominal sheet is divided into six blocks, hence the proverbial
"abdominal six pack". It is not possible to create more dividers by
exercising to turn a 6-pack into an 8-pack. If this was possible then Ronnie
Coleman would have had a 6-pack rather than a 4-pack. Some people may try to
sell you programs to give you eight pack abs but this is not possible.
Few people realise it but Zane had four pack abdominals |
As you can see in the
pictures above, Frank Zane and Ronnie Coleman have a four pack. Denis Ayen
displays a classic six pack. Nasser El Sonbaty (pictured below) was born with a
lucky eight pack. Nasser didn't train harder than everybody else to have these eight
packs and neither were Ronnie and Frank lazy to train their abs. Furthermore,
some people may have 5 or 7 abdominal blocks or their 6 blocks can be arranged
in a "disorderly" manner like Jack Madanamoothoo (pictured below).
The late Nasser El Sonbaty had a rare eight pack abdominal. |
Jack "The Mauritian Blade" Madanamoothoo has abs which are arranged in a disorderly manner. Very much like Flex Wheeler's abs. |
Both Ayen and Bru have classic six pack abdominals |
The take-home lesson
We cannot do anything to
increase the number of abdominal blocks that we have. I don't know if it is
surgically possible at present. What all of us can do is to train and diet to
make our abs visible. There is a difference between the number of blocks
"that we have" and "what is visible". If you can see 8
blocks, please rush to kiss your mom and dad. If you can see only 2 blocks,
then work and diet your ass off to decrease your bodyfat percentage so that you
can see more of the 6 blocks that you most probably already have but which are
hiding under bodyfat.
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©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any
reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.
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