Six Pack Abs... Who Really Needs Them?

Those Ads are Ridiculous

Watching the television ads as they talk about the latest and greatest fitness gismo that will "shed inches off your waistline" or give you "six pack abs" has become quite a comedy show. Next in line are the weight loss programs showing you ridiculous before and after pictures with "results not typical" posted below. They are a hoot as well. The big question is "who really wants or needs six pack abs anyway?" Where did this obsession with our stomach muscles come from? If you have six pack abs, do you attract more girls? And for you ladies out there, do you think the "skinny mini" look of the super models is attractive? Think again.

The Good Old Stomach Muscle
Anatomically speaking, the stomach muscle is no more important than any other muscle in your body. In the northern latitudes, you can't even see it half the time because it's covered-up with a shirt or other article of clothing. The "ripped" stomach muscle look, AKA Six Pack Abs, is a legacy handed down by the bodybuilding community. If you are a bodybuilder; developing muscular size and definition is important for competition. To win, you want the biggest, most defined and balanced muscular body possible. As a bodybuilder, you don't care about winning more tennis matches, enjoying better stamina when skiing, hitting a golf ball farther or having a stronger heart and lungs. The judges won't ask you to do real work. They just ask you to stand there and flex your muscles. Big deal!

Succumbing to Marketing Fluff
Granted, many top quality athletes have very defined abs but that's not because they do a thousand sit-ups everyday. No, it's because their lifestyle, which is actually their training style, dictates a strict exercise and eating regime. Whether you see your abdominal muscles or not has more to do with the layer of fat covering them (determined by how much you eat) than all the crunches you could ever do or Abdominizers you could buy. It is only the wishful thinkers and sorely misinformed that bite on the hype from the exercise marketing machine. Watch any of these "body beautiful" ads playing on your misplaced vanity and you'll see what I mean.  

All Show and No Go
There are two important reasons to exercise. The first is for your health and the second is to keep you in top shape making it more fun to participate in activities like golf and tennis. One of the funniest sights ever was the World's Strongest Man contest that pitted strongmen against bodybuilders. The point was to show that bodybuilders by and large are not real athletes. Bodybuilders can lift large amounts of weight but they can't use their strength in a practical way. In the contest, bodybuilders and strongmen had to push refrigerators, lift 300 pound stones and try to pull a car. What was the final outcome? Well the bodybuilders looked pretty good as they tried to perform the tasks but they performed miserably against these strongmen. Most of the bodybuilders just could not match the strength, stamina or power of the strongmen. Another interesting note, none of the strongman were sporting six pack abs.  

What Makes More Sense?
Playing tennis, going to the gym, throwing a Frisbee or getting out your skateboard are all good forms of exercise. We now know that inactivity is not an option if you want good health. Inactive people experience many more health problems than physically active folks. When you do go to the gym, make it functional. Functional strength training (FST) helps you enjoy activities more by increasing your strength, stamina, flexibility and balance. FST is also good for your health increasing bone density and muscle mass; regulating your blood pressure and metabolism and rehabilitating and stabilizing knees, hips and back. Stop listening to and believing the hype and remember: There is no bad form of exercise; it really depends most on how you like to spend your time.