6 reasons why you need strong abdominal muscles

Get rid of fat, get rid of problems

Numerous studies show that people with a big belly are at high risk of fatal diseases. This statement is beyond any doubt.

According to the National Institutes of Health, men with a waist circumference greater than 40 inches are at high risk for heart disease and diabetes.

The Canadian Heart Health Study, which included 9,913 people aged 18 to 74, found that for ideal health, a man's waist should be no more than 35 inches (88 cm) (a little less for younger guys, a little more for older men). If your waist is more than 35 inches (88 cm), you're at high risk of developing two or more heart disease risk factors.

When scientists looked at data from the Physicians' Health Study, which included 22,701 male physicians, they found that men with waists larger than 36 inches (92 cm) had a significantly increased risk of myocardial infarction, a heart attack in which a section of the heart muscle dies or is partially damaged due to insufficient blood supply. Men with a big belly had a 60% risk.

Of course, strong abdominal muscles don't guarantee you perfect health, but research shows that they reduce blood lipids and significantly reduce the risk of numerous diseases, not just cardiovascular diseases.

For example, according to a study conducted in Sweden, the risk of cancer among obese people is 33% higher compared to slim people. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, every third case of colon, kidney or digestive tract cancer is caused by excess weight or a sedentary lifestyle.

Having excess abdominal fat is especially dangerous. The fact is that cancer occurs as a result of mutations that occur in cells during their division. Fat deposits in the abdominal area give your body an impulse to produce hormones that speed up cell division. More active cell division means a higher risk of cell mutation, i.e. a higher risk of developing cancer.

A slim waist will also save you from one of the most pressing diseases – diabetes. Often the cause of this disease is fat deposits in the waist area.

There is a misconception that diabetes only results from eating high levels of refined sugar, such as chocolate or ice cream. But diabetes can also result from years of eating foods high in carbohydrates that are easily converted to sugar, such as bread, pasta, or mashed potatoes.

If you eat a loaf of bread or a bowl of pasta, it can have the same effect on your body as a tub of ice cream: you're filling it with "sugar calories." The calories you can't burn are converted into fat cells that fill your belly and cause a disease that, if left untreated, can lead to impotence, blindness, heart attacks, strokes, amputations, and death. And that can really screw up your life.

Upper body obesity is also the biggest risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the soft tissue in the back of your throat collapses during sleep, blocking airflow. When this happens, your brain signals you to wake up and start breathing again. If you take another nap, the same thing will happen, and this can happen hundreds of times throughout the night. You’ll end up feeling groggy and not getting the sleep your body needs. (You won’t remember how you kept waking up; you’ll just wonder why you feel so groggy after 8 hours of sleep.)

The role of fat is that it can interfere with the muscles that ventilate and fill your lungs with air, making it harder for you to breathe. Australian scientists studied 313 severely obese patients and found that 62% of people whose waist was more than 125 cm had serious sleep problems, while 28% of obese people with a smaller waist (100-125) had sleep problems. Excess weight also puts you at risk of many other diseases that prevent you from getting a good night's sleep, including asthma and gastroesophageal reflux.

Dutch scientists who studied nearly 6,000 men found that even those with waist sizes of just 94-102 cm had a relatively high risk of respiratory problems, including wheezing, chronic coughing and shortness of breath.

All of these factors can create a vicious cycle: Belly fat leads to poor sleep. Poor sleep leads to sluggishness during the day. When you’re tired and sluggish, your body will crave a quick source of energy, so you’ll choose high-calorie fast food. These foods will lead to belly fat accumulation, which leads to… well, you get the idea.

In short, the smaller the waist, the fewer the health risks.

• Strong abdominal muscles will improve your sex life

Women claim that the sexiest organ is the brain: men say it's a little lower. So let's stop in the middle and focus on what's really important for a quality sex life.

You can't improve what nature gave you (although the Abs Diet* may even improve penis size a little), but you can improve yours. Consider how the following benefits can improve your sex life.

Increased energy. The thrusts you make during sex don't come from your leg muscles; they come from your core. Strong abdominal and lumbar muscles give you the energy and strength to try new positions, maintain form in old ones, and control your movements, which is important for your pleasure and your partner's pleasure.

Improving erection. It is no secret that a significant portion of men have various types of erectile dysfunction. Although this problem can arise as a result of various factors, one of the main reasons is poor nutrition.

Cheeseburgers and other junk food clog your arteries, so if you're overweight, the lipid deposits that build up in your blood vessels not only damage your heart and brain, but also travel through the vessels to your genitals. Plaques form on the inside of your arteries, blocking blood flow.

You don't need a chemistry degree to understand this equation: High fat means restricted blood flow. Restricted blood flow means soft (or no) erections, which makes life much more difficult. (By the way, clogged blood arteries have the same effect on women, leading to decreased lubrication, sensitivity, and sexual pleasure.)

Extra inches. When it comes to a man and his intimate health, fat is his body’s side mirror: it makes things look smaller than they really are. The average length of a man’s penis is about 3 inches (7.6 cm) at rest, but the thicker it is, the smaller it looks. This is because the fat that is found in the lower abdomen is stored at the base of the penis. Losing just 15 pounds (7 kg) of fat will add up to 0.5 inches (1.3 cm). Technically, your penis won’t grow, but reducing the amount of fat that surrounds it will make it appear larger.

• Strong abdominal muscles will protect you from injury

Think of your core as the hull of a building. You don’t want your core to be made of dry, brittle wood or straw. You want it to be made of strong steel that will protect you from injuries that belly fat can never protect you from.

Consider the claims of military scientists who link strong abdominal muscles to injury prevention. After 120 artillery soldiers in the standard Army completed a physical fitness test that included sit-ups, push-ups, and a two-mile run, scientists studied their injuries and ailments (such as low back pain and Achilles tendonitis) over a year of field training. The 29 men who did the most sit-ups (73 in 3 minutes) were five times less likely to suffer a lower-body injury than the 31 soldiers who barely managed 50. But that’s not the most surprising thing.

Men who performed well in push-ups and 2-mile runs did not have the same low risk of injury, suggesting that upper-body strength and cardiovascular endurance were not as important in keeping the body intact. It was the strong abdominal muscles that provided the real protection.

Unlike any other muscle, strong core muscles affect the functioning of the entire body. Whether you are skiing, sailing, playing with your kids, or fooling around with your girlfriend, your abdominal muscles are the most important muscles that protect you from injury. The stronger they are, the safer you are.

• Abdominal muscles strengthen your back

I have a friend who has back problems 2-3 times a year. And it always happens out of the blue - he just falls asleep in a weird position or gets up from a chair too quickly. One time he pulled his back trying to reach the back seat of his car to pick up something his daughter dropped. He was struck by such a sharp pain that he fell to the ground.

His problem wasn't a bad back; he just had weak abdominal muscles. If he worked them regularly, he wouldn't be one of the millions of men who suffer from back pain every year. (Incidentally, she started doing abdominal exercises, and within a few weeks his back pain was gone.)

Since most back pain is caused by weak core muscles, abdominal exercises can help you solve many back problems. Core muscles don't work in isolation; they're intertwined throughout your torso like a spider's web, including attaching you to your spine.

If you have weak abdominal muscles, your glutes, back, and leg muscles have to compensate for the work of your abdominal muscles. So your abdominal muscles kind of let the rest of your muscles down, which leads to a destabilization of your spine and, over time, can cause back pain and strains—or even more serious back problems.

• Strong abdominal muscles will relieve you from pain

As people age, they often experience joint pain – most commonly in the knees or feet and ankles. But weak joints aren’t necessarily the source of this pain; weak abdominal muscles can be the cause – especially if you play sports ranging from professional golf to weekend soccer matches with friends.

When you play sports, your abdominal muscles help stabilize your body during starting and stopping movements, such as changing direction on a soccer field or tennis court. If you have weak abdominal muscles, your joints absorb all the force of these movements.

It's like jumping on a trampoline. Jump into the center of the trampoline and it will absorb your weight and launch you into the air. Jump on the edge of the trampoline and you'll ruin your jump.

Your body is like this trampoline, your abdominal muscles are the center of the trampoline, and your ligaments are the supports along the edge of the trampoline. If your abdominal muscles are strong enough to absorb the impact, you will have no problems when playing sports. If they are not strong enough, your joints will be subjected to much more stress than they can handle.

But people who don’t exercise can reap the same benefits from strong abdominal muscles. A Dutch study of nearly 6,000 men found that men with waist sizes greater than 40 inches (102 cm) were more likely to have Sever’s syndrome (aseptic necrosis of the calcaneus), which causes foot pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful condition of the hand and wrist. One study found that 70 percent of people with the syndrome were overweight.

• Strong abdominal muscles will help you win

If you play golf, basketball, twister, or any other sport that requires movement, the most important part of your body is not your chest, biceps, or legs. It's your core muscles - your torso and thighs.

Strengthening your abdominal muscles will help you perform better in sports. If you play sports that involve sharp movements, such as tennis and basketball, having strong abdominal muscles will greatly improve your game.

Although athletes like to talk about speed, athletic success is not about speed. It’s all about acceleration and deceleration. How fast can you get to point A and stop at point B? It’s not your legs that control this; it’s your abdominal muscles.

Scientists have found that it is the abdominal muscles that are primarily involved in such sports movements. The stronger they are, the faster you will catch the ball.

• And one more thing...

These are all great reasons to follow the Abs Diet*. But here's the best reason: With this easy program, you'll eat foods that will make you feel better every day.

This program will help you lose weight in the easiest way possible: by changing the internal processes of the body and focusing on foods that will turn your body into a fat burning machine.

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