Transverse Abdominal Exercises (with weights) ?

[houseofpain]

Transverse abdominal muscles, the inner muscle that keeps your stomach and intestines in your body and provides your body with trunk stability.

As I've aged, I notice that this muscle through time and gravity has allowed my stomach to extend more than when I was younger, even when I have a full six pack in my abdominus rectus muscles, (those that help compress the chest toward the pelvis).

I've seen and tried the exercise where you get down on all fours, arch your back, and do repetitions of sucking your gut in as tight as possible toward your spine. But I see little if any progress from this exercise.

Are there any exercises you can do with weighted resistance to tighten up the Transverse Abdominals?

 

[bignate73]

static holds while drawing in the abs.

try a few of these variations

pushup position: 1 hand off the ground out to the front (superman'ish) and the opposite leg up.

variations of said exercises. maybe you hold a small weight in hand, or take the leg from off the ground to held out to the side a ways.

emphasis should be on keeping the navel drawn in, if at any point during all the progressions of exercise you cant hold it in...you've lost TVA activation.

 

[endpoint]

squats have done wonders for me

 

[Eatmorechicken]

Do you have noticeable lordosis in your lower back or problems with lower back pain?

 

[houseofpain]

Lordosis...

Lordosis, more commonly known as curvature of the spine or "swayback"...

I don't "think" I have any abnormal curvature in my lower spine. And I don't ever suffer from lower back pain. But just as lat exercises will pull slumped shoulders back, I'd be interested in any exercises that would also pull my spine into a straighter orientation. Because, even if it's not a problem, I could see how a "straighter" lumbar would help in my quest to tuck my stomach back to where I want it to reside.

 

[bignate73]

check if your hip flexors are tight, low back are tight etc. things that can slightly throw off your posture. that can contribute to a distended abdomen, as well as a weakened TVA.

the statement about lats can be false as well as tight lats can contribute to a forward shoulder condition by internally rotating the humerus. which would roll the shoulders forward. tight pectorals and lats can be the cause of such a condition.

 

[PancakeFiend]

ok this isn't weighted but I think it does a good job... get a barbell, and place two 25lb plates, one on each end, and perform an ab roll. Make sure to suck in and contract your stomach to move the barbell forwards and backwards, really makes you sore in the lower abdominal area.

 

[Zander1983]

check if your hip flexors are tight, low back are tight etc. things that can slightly throw off your posture. that can contribute to a distended abdomen, as well as a weakened TVA.

Stretching properly sorted out my lordosis. It wasn't too severe, but I thought it was quite noticable.

Lots of hip, glute, lower back and hamstring stretches will sort it out nicely.