What if I told you that you could do a 100 crunches a day and flatten your abs forever?

You may have tried this and probably know that it is bogus. You could do 1 million and it still won’t flatten out that belly. To really flatten your belly forever you must have control over your inner unit. Now is the time to say “what is the inner unit?” That is okay because most people don’t understand the difference between the outer and inner unit and is also why they are not able to flatten their bellies.

The Inner Unit Explained

There are four main muscles that make up the inner unit:

Transverse Abdominus (TA):

The TA is often thought of as an internal weight belt or corset and functions by drawing in the abdomen. When properly functioning this can help to flatten your belly.

Multifidi:

These are very deep muscles that run along the spine and span only a few vertebral segments. They are critical for spinal proprioception as well stabilization during asymetric movements (opposite sides)

Pelvic Floor:

This is something that is often overlooked, but needs to be functioning properly to support your organs (both male and female, bladder and rectum). Today many people have either weakened or hypertonic pelvic floors leading to pain and dysfunction.

Diaphragm:

With the average person breathing 25,900 times per day this is one that had better be working right. Sadly this is not often the case and breathing properly must still be addressed for flattening of the belly and stabilizing the spine.

Notice I did not say anything about the rectus abdominus (6-pack muscles) or the internal or external obliques. These are certainly important, but are often the muscles that get the focus to the detriment of the inner unit. By focussing on the inner unit you will be able to start to eliminate that little paunch that hangs below the belly button as well as stabilize the whole spine. This is a biggie for those of you in back pain.

Be sure to stick around for the next two parts to this series to learn about the exercises that you can do for your inner unit as well as nutrition tips to flatten your belly forever.

To learn more about this topic and get yourself back on track with your own health and wellness journey be sure to contact me for your free evaluation.

Have a Great Day!

Nick Horowski