The Importance of Working Large Muscle Groups For Great Abs

For many people who have made it their goal to obtain a sleek, sculpted midriff, it’s a common misconception that doing hundreds of crunches a day can help them get there. In reality, you can work your abdominals all day, but if you neglect your other larger muscle groups and continue to indulge in a high-fat, high-calorie diet, your newly developed stomach muscles will never see the light of day.

So what do your large muscle groups have to do with the smaller muscles found in your midsection? Although it may not at first seem like they’re linked, there are many direct and indirect associations between the various muscle groups in your body.

The most obvious advantage of developing and toning your larger muscle groups is the aesthetic reward. Sure, a six-pack is worthy of admiration, especially during swimsuit season, but the reality is that your stomach is obscured from view most of the time. When you work your chest, back, and legs in addition to the smaller muscles in your abs and arms, you’ll enjoy an overall enhancement in muscle tone and physical fitness, resulting in a well-proportioned, sculpted body that gets noticed, even when you’re wearing clothes.

Another advantage is that the exercises used to work those larger muscle groups also indirectly works the stomach muscles. Remember, our musculatory system is one big linked network, and every demand you make on your body has a ripple effect that challenges several different areas. As a general rule, the smaller muscles support the larger ones, so if your larger muscles are strong and developed, your smaller muscles will perform better and respond more readily to targeted workouts.

If that’s not reason enough to include large muscle groups in your regular workout regimen, it’s a fact that optimizing these core muscles helps to raise your metabolism. This means that toning your quads, back, chest, and other big muscles will help you to burn more calories at a faster rate, thus eliminating more fat and potentially achieving greater weight loss. Your body will continue to burn an abundance of calories and fat during resting states -- even while sleeping. You’ll also boost your body’s production of muscle-strengthening, fat-boosting hormones, such as testosterone and growth hormone.

Working larger back muscles, such as the trapezius, rhomboids, and Latissimus Dorsi, helps you to achieve a better posture and stronger torso, which in turn promotes increased core strength and makes your abdominal exercises more effective.

There are many different ways you can work your larger muscle groups, and not all of them require a gym membership. Sure, having a fully equipped weight room and on-site trainers is a big help, but there are plenty of ways you can work these areas at home. Many forms of cardio exercise, such as jogging or walking, work your larger leg muscles, while push-ups and chin-ups help to develop the chest and back. With an inexpensive set of dumbbells, you can perform a wide range of upper and lower muscle workouts, including squats, lunges, chest presses, chest flies, and dumbbell rows.

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