Actually, Abs Are NOT Made in the Kitchen

We get it, abs are cool! 

It's perfectly fine to desire them. Plus, a strong core that helps us lift more weight and avoid injury is even cooler. 

So, let's talk about how to actually build them.

Core muscles grow just like any other muscle: they respond to load and repetitions, We don't lift weights in the kitchen, right?

While it's true that a person needs to be lean if they want to see their abs, it's even more necessary to actually HAVE abdominal muscles, and muscles are built by lifting weights.

Here are the best methods for loading and building core muscles:

Heavy Compound Lifts

Squats, deadlifts, lunges, presses, etc., engage and load muscles throughout the entire body. These compound lifts require us to brace our core against the load, leading to isometric contractions that strengthen and build core muscles. 

Weighted Core Exercises

GHD sit-ups, Turkish sit-ups, standing side bends, landmine rotations, and cable leg raises are some of my favorites. These exercises are excellent because you can progressively increase the load over time. For example, consider the GHD sit-up: start with an unweighted version, and as you become stronger, add load to the range of motion, resulting in the development of larger and stronger core muscles. 

Bodyweight Core Exercises

I'm not referring to exercises like mountain climbers or bicycle crunches commonly seen on fitness influencer accounts. In Mezzo, we primarily focus on specific bodyweight movements such as L-sits, barbell roll outs, strict toes-to-bar, and hanging heel hooks, along with their scaling variations.

We emphasize these exercises because if someone can maintain a solid L-sit for over 30 seconds or perform 10 strict toes-to-bar/hanging heel hooks with a full range of motion, then they have a strong core and will have no trouble doing mountain climbers. On the other hand, someone who only practices mountain climbers and flutter kicks will struggle to even achieve a proper L-sit position.

So while what we do in the kitchen is important as well, that's not where our abs are BUILT.

Instead, we want to prioritize compound lifts in our training, incorporate weighted core exercises in our assistance work, and emphasize challenging bodyweight ab exercises.

If you're unfamiliar with any of the exercises mentioned above you can find video demonstrations of all of them on our Mezzo Strength YouTube channel!