Abs training all about core muscles

Luis Castro of the Baptist Healthplex uses a stability ball to work his abdominal muscles.

Group exercise classes that tout abdominal training generally center on core fitness.

“In the front of your body, that’s the rectus abdominus, what most people call your six-pack,” said abs instructor Karen Lindsey-Lloyd. “If there is fat on your abs, you can do 100 crunches and not see results. With true core training, you also work your back … it’s highly repetitive.”

And repetition is the key, she said. You cannot spot-reduce fat on your mid-section, she said, so working your sides, front and lower portion of your back is also needed.

“As you get older, your metabolism slows down and you have to work on your core more,” Lindsey-Lloyd said.

In Lindsey-Lloyd’s class, at the Baptist Healthplex in Clinton, ab training is done to music, in concentrated 15-minute sessions. Because Clinton is a college town, her classes tend to be smaller in the summertime, with more mature participants.

“In the fall, it’s packed, just for that one part of the fitness routine,” she said. “Sometimes we use the stability ball. It’s the best way to train.”

Participants either sit on the ball or put their feet on it while they train.

“The weight of the ball provides resistance for you,” she said.

Lindsey-Lloyd said she tries to make her class challenging and fun at the same time. It’s all about positive results, but it’s also a good step toward making whole-life changes to get and stay fit.

“In my classes, they call me Sarge,” she joked. “But we do it in fun ways. We encourage people to do it at their level.”