Breakdowns
Abdominal muscles have many important functions such as contributing to breathing, they are responsible for the acts of coughing, and sneezing. As well as maintaining posture and speech in a number of species (Iscoe, 1998) The anterior abdominal wall is made up of 4 muscles—the rectus abdominis muscle, the internal and external obliques, and the transversus abdominis."The two internal muscles, the internal oblique and the transverse abdominis, respond more to increases in chemical or volume-related drive than the two external muscles, the rectus abdominis and external oblique; the basis for this differential sensitivity is unknown" (Iscoe, 1998).
Read more about this topic: Abdominal Exercise