Abs By Doing Bench Press?

The increased demands on the American consumer’s time has fueled countless user-friendly innovations. Too pressed for time to buy a new area rug and this month’s groceries? Enter Wal-Mart Supercenter. Not enough hours in the day to pick up dinner and rent a movie? Introducing McDonalds’ Red Box movie kiosk. The continuous effort of the general public to put time in a bottle is relentlessly matched by corporations wanting to make lives easier for their customers (and securing a few extra coins from their pockets).

Today, people’s limited amount of time not only affects their shopping habits. Many avoid getting the exercise they need for this very reason. Those who do make time to workout often skip training certain body parts because of the busy day ahead. Often, the area that is forgotten is the abdominal region. One decides he or she can do crunches at home and leaves ab exercises out of the gym routine. Unfortunately, this person comes home from a long day, eats dinner, relaxes in front of the tv, and goes to bed. This cycle is inevitably repeated the next day.

I know, I know. You’re thinking, “But my arms need more work. My chest has just gotten where I want it. My legs and back are improving in appearance. I can’t afford to not work these areas out, and I don’t have time for anything else at the gym.” Assuming that this is true, the solution is to find a way to incorporate the abdominals in traditional lifting. While there is more than one way to do this, I want to introduce an easy technique to strengthen your abs while getting an effective bench press workout.

Studies have shown that performing dumbbell bench press on a Swiss Ball effectively targets the abdominal muscles. In fact, studies have verified significant increases in muscle activity for the rectus abdominus (front abs) and the transverse and internal obliques (side abs) when this lift is performed on a Swiss Ball versus a standard bench (not to mention the increase in engagement of the anterior deltoid).1 While performing this lift should not be the only abdominal exercise an individual regularly practices, doing something to engage the abs is certainly better than skipping ab work altogether.

In addition to the time efficiency of working the upper body and abdominals at the same time, this lift is also great for training balance. While this somewhat goes hand-in-hand with the increased stress on the abdominals, muscles of the hips, legs, and buttocks must engage to maintain the body’s position on the ball. An example of correct positioning is provided below in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Here, the Swiss Ball substitutes for a traditional bench. The lifter keeps his body in a straight line from the shoulder to the knee. His hips are up and his feet are firmly planted on the ground.

Take Away: Rather than cut out such a crucial muscle group to your body’s functional ability, substitute a Swiss Ball for a traditional bench the next time you do dumbbell bench press. With this adjustment, more muscles are trained, balance and core strength improves, and your workout meets your time constraints.

Now if you could just get McDonald’s to develop a kiosk for protein shakes.