Ab Workout Everyday?

I understand the "day of rest" for weight training, BUT why dosen't that apply to abs? Thanks, Carla

Hi Carla, Along with my regular routine I also see a Trainer twice a week. I asked the same question. He told me it is very important to rest any major muscle group, including abdominal muscles after working them. He said that they need time to recover just like our other muscles do after weight lifting. I am like you, I would prefer to work them every day but as I understand it that could lead to injury without proper rest. I do know people who seem to do this every day and have no issues.  Good luck!

The personal trainer that I used to work with said that large muscles such as abs can and should be worked every day.I don't know why...

Some muscles recover faster than others so can be worked more often, like calves. Abs are like any other muscle and if you want them to get "bigger" and stronger you should give them a day or 2 of rest and train them with resistance and work hard when you do. The reason people tend to work them every day is they want to over train them and keep the muscle small. In a sense, it's spot reduction, but you're losing muscle not fat when you over train them. If you're just doing a couple of sets of abs every day...not going all out...it's a toning thing you can do every day. You don't gain or lose on a program like that. But it makes you feel like you're doing something. I do abs every time I workout as part of my warmup. But I train them heavy and hard only after my squat workouts, which is maybe twice a week.

Thank you all for your reponses. Carla