Why you DON'T have ABS (Science Explained)

In this video, Dr. Milo Wolf breaks down why you may be struggling to see your abs. The truth is, while diet absolutely plays a large role, growing your abs via hypertrophy training is also very helpful when it comes to making them more visible. Dr. Wolf breaks down the science around ab training; how many reps to do, how many sets, how often, and more! He also answers the question of "are compound movements enough for the abs?"
Superset video: • SAME growth in HALF th...
References:
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"Why you DON'T have ABS (Science Explained)"
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[@CerebralFriction]

I trained the hell out of my abs for a year. Upside-down situps on an inversion table, and hanging leg raises bring knees to chest were main exercises. Totally worth it, they pop a lot more and are easy to maintain. If you dont like the way your abs look after a good cut, you have to train them.

[@WolfCoaching]

10000%. Even just the acute swelling after the first few workouts can make them substantially more visible!

[@gamerkyle14]

Do Leg raises count as lengthened movement for the abs even if your spine is neutral?​ @@WolfCoaching And if I don't have decline bench for crunches, weighted crunches with a dumbbell will be ok substitute? Thank you for all your content and free plans, I'm planning on following your 5 day muscle building one as soon as I'm done with this ppl block I've just started . Love the spread sheets

[@Paroex]

​​​@@gamerkyle14My 2 cents: If you do leg raises on a bench and make sure that your heels lightly touch the ground on each rep, you will be applying load in the lengthened position of the abs. Your spine will pretty naturally be in a non-neutral position at the bottom because you'll arch slightly (extension). In the top position, to get some good spinal flexion, you can focus on bringing your legs beyond the vertical position and farther back so that your toes are past your head. Make sure than your butt and lower back slightly raise off the bench. Think of the profile of your body looking like a V lying on its side, rather than an L.

[@srleplay]

Unsubscribed because of false advertising, not a single video on the channel is about coaching wolves

[@michaelshultz8973]

I've been applying Milo's principles to my wolf training, and my wolves are more jacked than ever before.

[@petruraciula9056]

I always thought we were the wolves in training 🥹

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

BECOME THE WOLF!!

[@hak116]

There are two wolves inside of me and... oh god. They ARE KISSING??!?

[@petruraciula9056]

@hakis7240 nice! One is called More Volume, the other is Deeper Squats.

[@Fletch_and1]

This is a good example of the fitness industry going too far in one direction. Basically saying training the abs is completely pointless and dieting is the only thing needed. Great video 🙌

[@CerebralFriction]

I think its advice that comes from bodybuilders whose goal is to win competitions. For them, it may validly be a waist of time, taking away from more important training to impress the judges. For your average lifter who just wants to look their best, its terrible advice.

[@AmericanIlluminati]

Great video, I hate when “fitness” influencers say “training your abs is pointless.” Abdominals are a muscle group & should be trained like any other muscle group under weighted resistance. Not only will that increase the muscle size allowing abs to become visible at higher body fat %, but it will increase muscle mass, which increases metabolic requirements. Which will ultimately help reduce over all body fat. No, you can’t spot reduce, but building as much muscle as possible in as many areas as possible is just as good. 🗣️TRAIN YOUR ABS!!!

[@AmericanIlluminati]

@@halox1 Yea, I got duped as well when I first started working out. I was around 10% body fat & couldn't see my abs. I had to get down to 7-8% to see them. Which is really low, and not sustainable. After I started doing weighted crunches, leg raises, etc. I can sit around 12-14% and see my abs just fine. Good luck on your training.

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

Guy drops down bodyfat to ridiculously low levels in hope of abs, gets none, looks like a skeleton. Many many such cases.

[@Itsmekvn]

Good perspective

[@WiecznieNieNasycony]

ab wheel is like one from the best for abs

[@WolfCoaching]

It for sure is! One of the best exercises!

[@WiecznieNieNasycony]

@@WolfCoaching it catches all the abdominal muscles oblique muscles If someone has never done it and try it, they may have soreness even for up to 10 days especially people who already have strong abdominal muscles trained in a different way and will do it to failure

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

Never felt it for some reason. Always hits my lats exclusively.

[@WiecznieNieNasycony]

@@user-he4ef9br7z the technique there is complicated, just like in Compound lifts It's easy to mess it up by not doing it technically correctly

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

I've always got visible abs even when I am high bf%(20%+). Yes cutting makes them pop more but it's a muscle just like any other, if you train it it gets stronger and more prominent.

[@sic313]

Thanks, i considered throwing abs out of my program since i started doing a more compound heavy program. Going to fix this now

[@dard4642]

My abs are so important to me that i protect them with a solid inch or so of fat.

[@ParvParashar]

Highly insightful and informative. Excellent work. Thanks for sharing your very valuable advice with us! 🙏💪👍

[@kriselkin123]

Totally agree with everything you said other than the choices of exercises you suggest. Where is the spinal flexion in a rollout? The rollout shows great hip and shoulder flexion but zero spinal felxion.!!!

[@atothegee9943]

I’m just here for the comments. How excited did you just get though when you got a little reply? Only to realise it’s me?! 😂

[@andreasbodman4892]

Another great video from wolf coachning, best information ever 💪. Thanks 😊!!

[@ferid9k]

Can you make a video about how much protein your body can utilize in one meal? New research shows It could be higher than previously thought

[@zenegillette3938]

Good Dr. ... please show any exercise mentioned. Some of us have no idea what a inverted hanging transverse offset single db/band supported row with a twist, is ???

[@Larwick]

Damn I actually needed this video so bad, explains so much, thanks doc

[@warrenhenning8064]

Treat the abs just like you do other muscles. They are not a magical special unicorn muscle group. Awesome barbell rollout from Dr Pak at 7:02

[@shaarrrrr]

Was that a 100kg ohp?

[@WolfCoaching]

It was indeed!

[@nicholasfevelo3041]

I have felt soreness in my abs when starting sprinting and doing pull ups. Pushups also can challenge the abs as well as the posterior core on the back

[@flow1188]

I must say, @ first i didnt liked you, but im getting to the Points that you are a well Dr. and Influencer. i have to correct my self.

[@slee2695]

Response video to Fazlifts?

[@madeleineollerton5993]

i've been thinking about this recently because i've been dieting and cutting for a while now, and while i'm sure there's a connection with skin tension and body water, it seems like most of my body is just more lean than my abs. i've been worried that i won't be able outline them without also having an incredibly restrictive diet, (6'2", cutting down to 195 rn on 2300 kcal, and i have a lot of veins and stris popping on chest and arms and legs that aren't really the look i'm going for, but a totally smooth tummy.)

[@rinkuhero]

that's usually the case for tall people actually. like i'm 6'3 and 18%-20% bodyfat (near the end of a bulk) but i still have veins all along my biceps and forearms, i've the arms of someone at 8% bodyfat, but also have a protruding "beer" gut when i relax it.

[@Ozchuck]

Interesting contrasting views to consider: Many olympia athletes dont really train their abs directly and obviously get along fine Counterpoint: If compound lifts were sufficient for abs, then powerlifters, who train probably mostly with compounds, wouldnt consistently train their abs at the highest level

[@jujoijo]

Yes he's back! thanks again Doc

[@WolfCoaching]

Thank you for watching, king!

[@Voidrunner01]

You've gotta remember that the main function of the "core" musculature is not merely to flex or extend the spine, but to stabilize it. If only your erector spinae are active during a squat, you're going to fold over like a wet paperbag. You simply can't maintain the intra-abdominal pressure needed to safely do a heavy squat, overhead press, etc, if your abs are not engaged. That's not to say that there's no benefit in regards to hypertrophy and improving aesthetics of your "six-pack", in doing ab isolation work, but for general strength, the abs absolutely have to be involved and they are absolutely getting stronger. You can't put a 600lb yoke on your back and walk it 50ft if you don't have a strong "core".

[@rockyevans1584]

Sure, but the idea is to optimally hypertrophy the abs, direct work is best. Have a peek at Larry wheels abs for reference, people don't get much stronger and he's been photographed at an absurdly lean bf % recently. Man might have the worst ab genetics of all time, but certainly they're strong

[@Voidrunner01]

@@rockyevans1584 You'll note that I did literally say that ab isolation work *does* have a benefit for hypertrophy. I take exception to the notion put forth by the good doctor in his video where he says that the rectus abdominis are NOT active or "contracting" during movements like a squat. Which is patently wrong.

[@EvanZamir]

Lyle is out to get you Milo...will be interested to see how this debate shakes out.

[@strong_slav]

No one cares about Lyle anymore lmao

[@joaoamstalden6321]

Hey Milo, what do you think about the hanging leg raises?

[@alichishti579]

Better off doing lying leg raise. Renaissance periodization did a great video on it, when your lying down the gravity causes the weighted part to be in the stretched part, where hanging there is limited tension in the stretched position.

[@zNervouss]

Any advice on abs cramping like crazy, while doing abs?

[@scaroz2749]

I do dragon Flys and Ab roll outs. I did not manage to get one full standing ab roll out yet though. I fall down at the last 20cm before the ground. 😅

[@shy6760]

What I don't understand about the Ab wheel is, is it not also an isometric exercise kinda like the plank? I don't see any spinal flexion? How does it lead to hypertrophy?

[@Daniel-ie3vq]

You can do it flexing the spine, which works the abs dynamically. The way you refer to, keeping the spine fixed, is more of a hip flexor exercise. I'm sure there are videos demonstrating the difference.

[@shy6760]

I‘ll look it up, cheers

[@timk8258]

Yeah I always was told to keep my pelvis tucked forward and stay isometrically contracted, basically the opposite of working it through the lengthened position. Which is funny because the first time I did it was the “wrong” way and I got incredibly bad DOMS. Then later when I tried to do it “right” it never seemed to do much.

[@simonemicucci9222]

Cable crunch is lit, especially if you do with the back to the weight stack, you can experience stretch in the lengthened section of exercise 😏😏😏

[@EmperorPenguinXRemas]

I love the hanging ab exercise into a dragonflag superset.

[@benstaniforth2591]

I feel attacked...

[@shawnleelaguna1632]

GHD (The ones with the round padding) sit ups is my favorite, by hyperextending your back it can stretch the abs in the bottom position.

[@Danielsalazar-31]

What about hanging leg raises ? Dr

[@LaverneusDinglefoot]

If I do direct ab work for a few months, can I then maintain the muscle through bracing for heavy compounds? I have diastasis recti and don't want to make it too much worse.

[@BenG-rd5wg]

I somehow don‘t have to train abs isolated at all but I still got good results by training the Front Lever. But it also works the lats a ton and they fatigue before the abs. Do you know why the effect is still big?

[@redchakra03]

You mentioned the side bend in your video for the oblique, what's your stand for this exercise ? All my life I have read and heard that this movement is terrible for your spine 😮😅

[@dynaspinner64]

They actually strengthen and grow your quadratus lamborum which does lateral flexion. If anything, it is good for your spine. If someone is experiencing pain currently, sure avoid it for some time but you can get into it again gradually with lighter loads as you would do if you get injured anywhere else. I am highly sceptical of anyone saying you shouldn't let your back do this or that EVER while it is a function of our body. Just because you shouldn't round your back excessively on deadlifts doesn't mean you shouldn't round your back in real life or that you can't do Jefferson curls.

[@Zaeyrus]

some time ago, I was squatting and this hot sexy girl who worked in the gym as a trainer approached me for some question like how many sets I have left or something and we started talking and I say to her that I am not satisfied with my (low bar) squat form and she tells me to try improving my core muscles, both front and back ones and that might improve. Now, whether that was because a sexy girl talked to me or my core was really lacking not sure :D, but my squat felt much better and more steady improvements followed. Not a revelation, strong core is important for squatting, but a girl talked to me, true story bro!

[@RoidfreeSenior]

I have never really heard you could get by just with compound work for abs

[@dynaspinner64]

It's surprisingly common to hear this whenever I go into a comment section of ab training videos or videos in general. Minimalism is quite popular but not that effective for maximising growth. And it leads to injury if movements aren't switched up.

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

They're not that wrong. You need to brace to do heavy compounds which do activate your abs. Plenty of athletes have abs without specifically training them. I had abs in high school just from soccer, armwrestling and martial arts. It depends on your genetics. Having visible abs is different from maximising ab aesthetics. If you want the best abs you can, you need to train them.

[@luxeayt6694]

I can feel my abs on heavy bench work, push ups or OHP.

[@moneymaker-ju1mq]

mostly in chalesthenics

[@paulshortall6734]

Where is your accent from ???

[@gokukakarot1855]

For the algorithm

[@_Azeem_]

How much do you weigh man that 2 plate ohp is crazy

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

2 plate OHP is meh.

[@_Azeem_]

@@user-he4ef9br7z depends on bw

[@apo75018]

​@@user-he4ef9br7zyeah...no. it is a very impressive lift, especially at his weight and leaness.

[@HellBoy-id6ss]

Stabilizing heavy weights does really develop the abs.. I notice that when strongmen lean out, they have incredible ab development. I know it's anecdotal, but I don't think it's coincidence..

[@kozmo7]

I would say powerlifting is a lot more static than strongman. Think of all the rounded back positions in strongman, like with stones for instance. Lots of weird bending picking up odd objects, I would say they get a lot of dynamic core work and not just isolation under load

[@chonkeboi]

Strongman isn’t very static like powerlifting tho, I would assume they would get there a development from other strongman exercises other than a deadlift for example.

[@AlexS_983]

Trying doing sandbag work and you'll see a lot of those variations torch your abs

[@EscapingMidnight24]

My gym has a mini abs class every weekday while I'm there and I try to catch it at least twice a week since it started and I've noticed a massive improvement in my other workouts thanks to my increased core stability

[@spinky2234]

Good video but the AI image in the thumbnail is abhorrent.

[@jeffbunnell9961]

I just do decline situps for 3 sets and hanging leg raises for 3 sets per week. I just don't care much about my abs right now. I might add another 3 sets of decline situps another day.

[@ouroboros6125]

When I started to lift weights seriously back in my early 20's I was lean/skinny from the start. And I developed abs not doing any ab-isolation exercises at all. So if it wasn't my squats, deadlifts, dips, or standing OHP that gave me abs. What's your theory? Magic? extreme outlier / exception? I didn't get like huge S+ tier abs, but I developed a very clear and defined 6-pack. So if these exercises do not trigger ab growth - where do you suppose they came from? The ab fairy? As someone who 100% got abs without ab isos, i don't see any plausible reason for where else they might have come from.

[@lachlanho6711]

we all have ab muscles. some people’s abs show more easily though because of having a low body fat/ genetically predisposed to hold less stomach fat. That doesn’t change the fact that doing ab exercises that make the abs larger means they show more easily. Your abs were probably small but because you were overall quite lean they were still visible. Not everyone wants to/is healthy being that lean

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

If you're lean you'll most probably have abs. But training them makes them pop way more, just like any other muscle. They'll also be at a higher bodyfat giving you the "fat jacked" bugenhagen type look.

[@chonkeboi]

You had abs because you were lean, you answered your own question. He literally said you’ll have abs if you get lean, the point of training them is to make them pop out more and be visible at much higher body fat percentages. Did you watch the video because all of this was clearly outlined within it.

[@nb9797]

So why does Eddie Hall have abs or Chinese olympic lifters if compound lifts do nothing then?

[@slee2695]

Chinese lifters do lots of ab work

[@helltoffi2289]

is pooping training my abs?

[@MutantMessiah]

For someone so set against that fellow known as Natural Hypertrophy, this sure sounds like one of his talking points.

[@slee2695]

So they have to disagree on every topic? NH fanboys are weird

[@MutantMessiah]

@@slee2695 😆 🤣 😂 😹

[@chonkeboi]

@@MutantMessiahif you watched their actual debate on Alex’s channel then you’d know they don’t hate each other, they just don’t see perfectly eye to eye when it comes to power building use in lifting.

[@MutantMessiah]

@chonkeboi , 🤣 I watched it. The whole scene rips on each other, my comment was in the same spirit... but I get it, that doesn't come through well in a short comment.

[@ArtificalHistoryI]

I got my abs from L sit pullups

[@lukeharris2622]

✝️💪

[@peetos-chan2835]

👍👍

[@danielkanewske8473]

Yes, but visible abs are the result of dieting. I don't train my abs at all and I have visible abs.

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

I have visible abs even at times when I am not dieting.

[@Vastilious]

But you can make them more visible by training them like any other muscle. Some people are unable to even get lean enough to see their abs at all, so training them might help to see them since they will get larger

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

Planks useless?

[@mr_wright_official_]

Completely useless, yes, unless getting good at plank is a goal of yours for some reason

[@jeffbunnell9961]

just do any of the other like 1000 more effective ab exercises that do spinal flexion, like cable crunches, decline situps, GHR situps, hanging knee raises. Unless you like doing planks sure. Natural Hypertrophy has a good tier list.

[@user-he4ef9br7z]

For pure hypertrophy yes.

[@braingel]

It's a simple answer for me. Too many cheeseburgers.

[@josho.9530]

Welp. I've been misled for a decade.

[@chrislong1287]

The “core” has been the alimentary canal until fitness idiots tried to come up with new words for anatomical features