Moreover, it plays a big role in spinal and pelvis stability. It plays the very important role of abdominal compression, which means drawing your belly button toward your spine, as well as protecting your internal organs by keeping them in place. It is underneath all the abdominal muscles. The transverse abdominis, also called the tranversus abdominis, is a deep muscle that wraps all the way around your abdomen to your spine. planks), the entire rectus abdominis will be activated. crunches) and the lower abs will be more activated when your bring your legs up toward your upper body (i.e. And while there really is no such thing as upper abs and lower abs, it's simply one muscle, the upper fibers of the abs will be more activated when you bring your shoulders toward your legs (i.e. Note: trunk flexion means you are moving the body between the ribcage and pelvis (i.e. It also helps to hold your internal organs in place! So, it is responsible for bending forward, curling up, resisting bending backward, and bending side to side. It's main job is trunk flexion and anti-extension, and it assists in lateral trunk flexion as well. The muscle is divided into two halves (left and right side) by a band of connective tissue known as the linea alba. 8 pack, the muscle is long, extending from your sternum to the bottom of your pelvis. Now, regardless of whether you have 4 pack abs vs. Needless to say, it is a superficial muscle, meaning it is close to the skin, so it is visible with low body fat. The rectus abdominis is your 'six pack' (or 2, 4, 8, or even 10 pack depending on your ab structure, as everyone is different). When you think of 'abs', this is the muscle. That way you will understand which muscles are being worked with all the various cable core exercises below.** On that note, let's look at each muscle and what their main responsibilities are. After all, there is no point in putting up walls without a strong pillar to hold them up. So, w hile the stars of the show are the rectus abdominis (your 'packs') and the obliques, because they are visible (if you have lower body fat), it is paramount that you work your core from the inside out, meaning that you train your core through all planes of motion and actions. Transverse Abdominis (abdominal muscle)Īmong those, the transverse abdominis, internal obliques and multifidus are deep muscles that rest beneath the others.Your core consists of muscles that cover the front, sides and back of your mid-section (abdomen and low back). Six major muscles make up your core, and they aren't only your abdominal muscles.

The abs and core, in particular, benefit from its use in that it's a great way to progressively increase strength and add variety to your training (through all planes of motion). Keep on reading for 17 of the best cable ab & oblique exercises that will take your core workouts to the next level.

The nature of the cable machine allows for fluid motions and consistent tension, which lets you more efficiently strengthen your muscle group of choice and increase time under tension. While most use it for upper body exercises, such as the chest, back, and shoulders, not many realize it is quite effective for the abs as well. The cable machine is perhaps one of the most versatile and user-friendly machines you could use in the gym.

Cable crunch