Q: I’m trying to build up my rectus abdominus, serratus and intercostals and get them beefier without adding bulk to my waist. Can I do abs daily?

A: Normally, for any body part, if someone asked, “Can I do it everyday?” we’d say, NO! But abs are a little different. Abs re-oxygenate rapidly, which is to say that they recover rapidly and actually require more intensity in terms of duration of workout, number of sets and reps, and less total rest times in between sets. But here’s the thing… you can work with the abs as they are – rapid re-oxygenators – and build them up without working them this often. Work them hard and fast and intensely during each workout, but don’t do more than 4-5 per week.

On the other hand, they’re no different from other muscles in the sense that they aren’t any more capable of burning the fat over themselves than other muscles, nor any more capable of growing than other muscles. We suggest you do more overall core work and do sprints and anaerobic work to support building a denser core and abdominal region. Keep in mind that abs repair fast, but you need to do more variety for them than other body parts. Sprint, do heavy weight ab workouts and higher weight ab workouts, and just keep variety in mind during those 4-5 workouts a week. That’s what’s going to really build denser ab muscles.