It’s reasonable to assume that training your abdominal muscles can help you jump higher. Many team sports athletes can benefit from enhanced jumping ability, and a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research takes a novel approach to training deep abdominal muscles.

A group of 14 elite college soccer players was separated into two types of abdominal training. Some subjects concentrated on ‘hollowing’ or drawing in the stomach area to train the transversus abdominis muscles, while the rest performed ‘bracing’ moves which mimic the tensing up reaction you’d have right before being punched in the stomach. After 8 weeks, the bracing group increased jump height by 8.8% and the hollowing group jumped an average of 16.9% higher.

True Strength Moment: In addition to sit ups, leg raises and bridges, try working some of these simple hollowing and bracing movements into your abdominal training routine. It could help you get a jump on competitors in team sports while building up an impressive six pack look.