Abdominal and muscle exercises. The most effective abdominal exercises

Abdominal exercises will not give any effect if you perform them without a systematic approach and the required level of knowledge! Today we will tell you something without which it will be impossible to pump up quality abs!

The abdominal press is a complex mechanism, its role is not only to limit and protect the internal organs, together with other core muscles it stabilizes the hips, pelvis and spinal column.

Worked abdominal muscles help maintain balance, improve posture and reduce injuries. During any physical activity, the abdominal muscles are one of the very first to work - they help fix and support the spine.

Today we will tell you which abdominal exercises are the most effective and how to get the maximum benefit from each workout!

Abdominal structure

The anterior wall of the abdomen is formed by a long paired muscle - the rectus abdominis muscle, its two parts are divided along the midline of the abdomen, and not at all across, as is commonly believed; upper and lower abs - the division is conditional, not anatomical. This muscle helps the spine bend and is involved in lowering the chest and raising the pelvis.
On the sides are the transversus abdominis and oblique (external and internal) abdominal muscles. They are responsible for bending and twisting, and protect the spinal discs from displacement.

Types of abdominal exercises

You can (and should) load muscles statically and dynamically.

• Dynamic load involves repeated repetition of the exercise, the muscles tense and relax. Such loads allow you to build muscle mass, improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system, and speed up metabolism.
• If an exercise requires fixing a given body position for as long as possible, we are talking about static loads; they increase endurance, strengthen tendons, joints, and even improve immunity.

To achieve better results, it is worth combining both types of loads.

If goal is to lose some weight, it is better to distribute the load in favor of dynamic loads, planning 60-70% of the training time for them, and leave static loads for the end of the training.
Beginners in sports should also not rush into static loads; strength and endurance may not be enough. It is better to add them in the second or third week of training.
If I want expressive cubes on the press, working only with your weight is not enough, an integrated approach is required:

• Even thin belly fat can hide abdominal definition. The solution is proper nutrition. No amount of exercise can replace healthy eating habits. If you are overweight, a special diet may be required.
• In order for the cubes to be well drawn on the torso, it is necessary to increase the muscle mass of the abs; this can be achieved using dynamic loads with weights. The rest between such trainings should be about two days so that the muscle fibers have time to recover.

Girls are often advised not to train with additional weights, predicting an increase in waist size due to increased muscle mass. This is a warning when performing, the female body reacts differently to stress due to the characteristics of anatomy and hormonal balance. Women's waists can expand if there are too many repetitions in one approach, and only if there is a genetic predisposition to this (the special structure of the abdominal muscles).

You can also work your abs indirectly. Squats are well suited for this purpose; a weight bar will increase the effectiveness of the training. Despite the fact that the main load falls on the back and legs, the abdominal muscles also work actively.
Another effective indirect exercise is the deadlift. It's similar to a barbell squat, requiring you to extend and bend your knees, but with a deadlift, the weights are placed in your hands instead of your shoulders. These are trainings for experienced athletes who have already sufficiently pumped up their core muscles; beginners should start with simpler loads.

Abdominal exercises for beginners

To begin with, it is worth understanding main mistakes beginner athletes:

• Neglecting warm-up and stretching. Running, jumping rope, rotating the arms, legs and head - all these exercises will prepare the muscles for the load and speed up the transmission of nerve impulses. After warming up, it is necessary to strengthen the flexibility of the muscles; this requires stretching. Proper preparation of muscles and joints before training will help avoid injuries and sprains.
• Performing exercises with relaxed abs. You need to feel your muscles; when under load, the abs should be tense and involved in the work.
• Incorrect technique. During the load, the abs should work, not the legs or back. It is better to do the exercise 12 times, observing the technique, than to perform a hundred movements in a convenient but incorrect way. Therefore, before starting training, it is worth finding out how to correctly do the selected abdominal exercises.
• Incorrect breathing. The general rule for all exercises is to inhale at the moment of least muscle effort, exhale when the exercise requires the greatest muscle tension. You should not hold your breath or take frequent shallow breaths - muscles need oxygen to work and burn fat.
• Irrational choice of loads. After training, a beginner should be pleasantly tired; you should not do 100 squats, crunches and push-ups on the first day of classes. If the training is not at all tiring, it means either the load is insufficient, or the exercises were performed incorrectly.
• Lack of system in classes. Infrequent exercise, regularly skipping workouts, or “snap” training for a busy week every six months will not bring visible results. If you exercise too often, damaged muscle fibers will not have time to recover.

Basic abdominal exercises for beginners include: static exercises - plank and vacuum, dynamic exercises - crunches, scissors, corner, climber. All trainings have several options for implementation.

It is better to plan your first workouts using dynamic exercises in the classic version. Working out at least 3-4 times a week, after a few weeks you can add a bar and a vacuum.

Usually, beginners are recommended to use a “strength” or “high-repetition” training scheme - do all exercises in two or three sets of 20-50 times (more is possible), depending on individual capabilities. The recommended break between sets is from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

This training regimen will improve the condition of the abdominal press. After 2-3 months, you can stop at the achieved level and switch to working on other muscle groups. If the goal is to continue pumping up the abdominal muscles, then you need to move from easy abdominal exercises for beginners to more complex training. For these purposes, as a rule, “strength” training complexes are used, designed for a small number of repetitions and a significant expenditure of force.

Advanced Exercises

Muscles quickly get used to the initial loads, training no longer provides an increase in strength and mass - additional stress is required. The first step to making your training more challenging is to use weights.

Additional weights can be applied to all simple abdominal exercises, for example, simple leg raises from a lying position become much more effective if weights are tied to the shins. When working with weights, you must follow the rule: to increase muscle volume, do an average number of repetitions with small weights; to increase strength, large weights and a small number of repetitions are required (up to 12).

Mike Mentzer, in search of the most effective abdominal exercises, developed a system of high-intensity training (HIT), he suggested repeating the exercise in one approach as long as you have the strength. This condition is called “failure” - the lack of physical strength for one more repetition of the exercise. By performing 1-2 sets “to failure” and taking long breaks between workouts - from three to five days - the athlete is able to achieve rapid muscle mass growth. In this approach, the training regimen is more important than the choice of exercises.

There is no one best exercise for pumping up your abdominal muscles. It all depends on the degree of training, on individual characteristics and even preferences - some people like to raise their legs on the horizontal bar, others prefer crunches.

It is important to consider that if you only focus on the abdominals, the result will be a disproportionate body; professional trainers recommend working evenly with all muscle groups.

There are two approaches to complex training:

• “Full body” - exercises for all muscle groups are planned in one workout. This approach is recommended for beginners; for experienced athletes, this scheme requires a large number of repetitions and approaches.
• Split – division of training loads. There are many types of distribution of exercises, most often the body is conditionally divided into groups (usually the back, arms, abs, shoulders and chest) and only one muscle group is worked out in one workout. As fitness increases, muscles require more and more simultaneous load and more time for recovery; split allows you to take this feature into account.

You can find specialized split programs for a specific muscle group, including the abs. With this approach, the abdominal press is pumped more often and more actively than other parts of the body.

Effective abdominal exercises

There is no need to look for the most difficult exercises to pump up your abs. There are a number of simple trainings, tested by time and by athletes, the main requirement for the exercise is that the target muscle must be fully involved in the work, and you can always increase the load with the help of weights or the use of sports equipment.

Crunches

Initial position for straight twisting: lying on your back, it is better to place your hands behind your head, legs bent at the knees. You need to pull the shoulder girdle towards the pelvis, rounding your back, and stay in this position for a few seconds, then slowly return to the starting position. This exercise should not be confused with “torso lifts” - when twisting, the lower back should not come off the floor. This technique effectively pumps the upper and lower parts of the rectus abdominis muscle. If the oblique abdominal muscles require work, then you can use diagonal crunches. Starting position: lying on your back, calves on a bench (or any convenient height), hands behind your head. You need to twist your right elbow towards your left knee and hold for a few seconds (your lower back is pressed to the floor). Return to the starting position, then repeat with the left elbow towards the right knee.

Plank

The simplest option is to lean on your elbows and toes and straighten your body; You need to be in this position for at least 30 seconds. You can gradually increase the duration of the load. There are variations of the plank with straight arms, with a raised leg and/or arm. Such loads tone the core muscles.

Rock climber

This exercise works almost the entire muscular corset; sometimes athletes use it in warm-up. Starting position – plank with straight arms. It is necessary to alternately pull your knees to your chest, making sure that your abs are tense at all times. The faster the pace of the exercise, the more effective it is.

Corner

This exercise has many variants, united by a common condition: you need to maintain a certain angle between the hips and the body using the abdominal muscles. The easiest way is to lie on the floor and raise your outstretched legs and hold them in this position as much as possible. A more difficult option is to sit on the floor, arms parallel to the body, palms on the floor. It is required, leaning on your hands, to raise your body above the floor, your legs are extended forward, while your pelvis moves slightly back. You need to stay in this position and return to the starting position. This training increases the endurance of all abdominal muscles.

Scissors

Lying on your back, extend your arms along your body, placing your palms under your buttocks. It is necessary to raise your legs above the floor by 10-20 cm and make cross swings with your legs. The lower back should remain relaxed. This training can work the rectus muscle and external oblique abdominal muscles.

These are some of the best exercises for pumping up the abs; full muscle development can only be achieved through an integrated and systematic approach.

Fitness accounts

Today, in order to get professional advice or communicate with like-minded people, it is not at all necessary to go to the gym. Athletes and coaches willingly share their experiences on Instagram and YouTube; on their pages you can find a detailed analysis of exercises for pumping up the abs, photos and video materials.

Elena Silka and her YouTube channel “happybodytv”. The trainer posts detailed and understandable videos; a separate section of the blog is dedicated to working out the abs. She runs a page on Instagram @happybody_home, where she regularly opens registrations for online marathons.
Janelia Skripnik is another fitness trainer, her YouTube channel “FitnessoManiya” is dedicated to weight loss, the “abs workouts” section offers training sets and a detailed analysis of all the intricacies of working out the abdominal muscles.

Alla Samodurova and her Instagram @allsfine_workout. The collections of training schemes that she posts are designed for home use.
On the YouTube channel “I’m losing weight with Ekaterina Kononova,” almost four dozen videos about working out the abs are collected in a separate playlist. In the selection you can find training complexes for weight loss, a thin waist and a flat stomach. Ekaterina runs the Instagram page @kononova1986, where she briefly and to the point talks about dietary nutrition and posts workout records.

Fitness trainer Tatyana Fedorishcheva on her YouTube channel “TGYM” not only collected workouts for muscle groups, but also prepared a lot of material for beginners.

My respect, dear kachatas and fitness girls!

On this fine Friday day, we will continue our press article answering the question, how to pump up your abs? I am sure that the content of the note will not correspond to its title, but you will soon see this for yourself. To make the reading interesting and rich, we will consider such aspects - all possible abdominal exercises, find out which of them are the best from a scientific point of view, and of course we will not ignore programs for creating 6 cubes from 1 ball :).

So, if everything is assembled, then let's start lightly.

How to pump up your abs? The practical side of the issue.

And I would immediately like to remind you that this is already the second “animal” note, in the first we paid attention to anatomical issues and gave answers to the most pressing insipid questions, so I highly recommend that you pay your respects to it, first of all, and only then proceed to the continuation. Actually, click on the link and absorb the theory, but we move on.

If you think that a flat stomach is exclusively a female prerogative, then you are deeply mistaken; the male gym (and not so much) population also dreams of cubic abs. After all, they know that girls like cubic guys and this raises their male quotations on the female exchange of potential gentlemen. I’ll say even more, we ourselves would never have been honored to remove our belly and give ourselves six-pack abs, we simply don’t need it. And this is where the women’s locker room audience acts as a stimulus, a magic kick, which forces you to take your belly in your hands and bring it into its proper flat-plank form. I note that such motivation is mutual in nature, i.e. ladies are also fighting for a place under the man’s sun and want to look “faqbl” both for themselves and, for the most part, for those around them who notice it.

Well, okay, those were the lyrics, so to speak, thoughts out loud, now let's get down to business.

Note:

For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters.

Abdominal exercises. The most complete list.

Often in gyms you can see how people perform the same exercises, although in fact there are just a bunch of them, you just need to know them and be able to correctly select them for yourself, your goals and the health/illness of the body. So that you don’t get hung up on hammering your abs with a standard set of exercises, I will give the most complete list of press movements for different areas of the abdominal muscles. So here they are:

• straight crunches lying on your back (different leg positions);
• twisting with a rope handle at the lower block;
• lateral thrust of the upper block;
• abdominal crunches in an ab machine;
• leg raises (straight/half-bent) lying up on your back with your hands supporting your head;
• straight crunches on a Roman chair at a downward angle (including leg raises while lying on your back on a Roman chair);
• cross crunches on a Roman chair;
• Ab exercise book while sitting on the edge of a bench;
• crunches lying on one side;
• turns to the sides with the bar on the back;
• hanging leg/knee lifts on bars/bars;
• vertical/horizontal scissors lying on the back;
• keeping your legs straight while lying on your back;
• touch while lying on your back.

In the picture version, the assembled atlas of fresh exercises looks like this.

This is not a complete list, however, with it your abdominal muscle training will become much more diverse. One of the main factors in building a competent abdominal workout is the inclusion of exercises that affect different parts of the abdominal muscles. In other words, it is necessary to use different exercises and work the muscle fibers from different angles.

So, your ideal fresh workout should include:

• 1-2 exercises for the rectum (conditionally upper/lower cubes);
• 1-2 oblique exercises (external/internal);
• 1 serrated exercise;
• 1 transverse exercise;
• 1-2 core exercises.

Top best abdominal exercises: research results

In this sub-chapter, we will look at the best exercises for developing a six-pack abs, which have been identified through scientific research on muscle electrical activity/electromyography (EMG). How do you feel if I say that up to 80% of the exercises done in gyms for abs are ineffective? Not ice, right?

You can often hear: “I train my abs hard, I hit them with different crunches, but they don’t grow so bad.” To grow a six-pack as efficiently as possible, you need a low percentage of subcutaneous fat and the best abdominal exercises. We will now study the list of the latter.

Study No. 1. USA, April 2014

The University of Wisconsin Physiology, led by John Porcari and Edward Stenger, conducted an EMG study of the activity of the abdominal muscles during various exercises. The volunteers were a team from 16 volunteers (eight men and eight women) aged from 18 before 24 years.

Here are the results obtained.

Schedule No. 1. Comparison of activation of the upper rectus abdominis muscle compared to traditional crunches (straight crunches).

Schedule No. 2. Comparison of Lower Rectus Activation Versus Traditional Crunches

Note:

Explication (decoding) of the research exercises:

1. stability ball crunch – twisting in one position while lying on a fitball;
2. yoga boat pose – boat yoga pose (“navasana”);
3. bicycle crunch - bicycle crunches;
4. decline bench curl-up – lifting the legs from a lying position on a Roman chair at an upward angle;
5. perfect sit-up – lifting a straight leg upward while lying on your back;
6. ab lounge – crunches in an ab machine;
7. ab roller – roller for the press; ab wheel – wheel for the press;
8. side plank – side plank;
9. ab rocket – exercise on a special ab rocket simulator;
10. ab circle pro - exercise on a special ab circle pro simulator;
11. captains chair crunch – lifting legs/knees while hanging on uneven bars;
12. ab straps – leg/knee lifts while hanging on straps;
13. ab coaster - exercise on a special ab coaster simulator;
14. front plank – front plank.

Straight crunches while lying on your back have fairly high EMG muscle activity, which indicates their high efficiency. Only some exercises are slightly ahead of crunches in terms of activation level, these are numbers 1, 4, 5 . Also, the results of the study indicate that there is no significant difference in the impact of exercises on the upper/lower abs. All exercises, equally, affect the entire abdominal area (rectus abdominis muscle), which only confirms physiology.

Among other things, the researchers found that there was no difference in the position of the hands. The variant of hands crossed on the chest and clasped behind the head gave the same activity of the abdominal muscles.

Slightly different data were obtained regarding the activation of the external oblique muscles when comparing the tested exercises with crunches.

Exercises by numbers 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13 showed higher EMG activity of the external oblique muscles and are much more effective than straight crunches.

Conclusion:

Straight crunch exercises lying on the floor are effective for the rectus abdominis muscle. Only crunches on a fitball, leg raises while lying on a Roman chair at an upward angle, and straight leg raises while lying on your back are more effective. If you have problems with your lower back, then it is better not to use straight crunches, but replace them with a fitball. Side planks and cross leg raises while hanging on parallel bars/straps are best suited for developing oblique muscles.

So that we are not guided in our training by the results of only one study, I will give one more...

Study No. 2. USA, 2010

Researchers from the journal Orthop Sports Phys decided to identify the most effective abdominal exercise that would maximally activate all the abdominal muscles at once and minimize the load on the back muscles (lumbar).

They took and combined a fitball with rollouts and got a total combo exercise that looks like this.

The exercise affects the entire abdominal muscle corset and is highly effective.

Now you know by sight the best abdominal exercises and it’s time to start the training process itself.

So, next in line...

Top 3 ab training programs

Abs training program No. 1. “Flat tummy, please come back!”

PT is intended for young mothers and all those who once had a flat tummy, but then, for various reasons, it began to look like something unpresentable and carefully hidden under a T-shirt. The peculiarity is that PT can be performed in any conditions without the presence of special equipment.

Technical specifications:

• training 2 once a week at intervals of 72 hours ( 3 days);
• rest with exercise is 60 seconds;

In tabular form, the program looks like this:

In the picture it’s like that.

The following PT is intended for special categories of workers, namely...

Abs training program No. 2. “Accelerated press. Cubes in 8 minutes a day!”

PT is designed for businessmen and other business people for whom every second counts and they do not have time to walk around the halls and listen to lectures from personal trainers. They need quick results, namely cubic abs and preferably yesterday :).

Technical specifications:

• Total 8 exercises on 1 a minute for each;
• workout 5 once a week;
• duration 1 th session 8 minutes;
• There is no rest for exercise.

In a visual form, the training program “abs for 8 minutes” looks like this.

And finally, the most delicious, or rather...

Abs training program No. 3. "Steel press"

The target audience is athletes who already have a certain abdominal muscle corset and want to make their abdominal muscles as strong, strong and tough as possible.

Technical specifications:

• Total 9 exercises;
• number of sets: beginner level – 3 , advanced – 5 , master - 7 ;
• rest with sets 2 minutes.

In the picture version, the “abs of steel” training program looks like this.

Well, now you know how to get your “tummy” in order :) and you can do this activity at your leisure.

Actually, this was the last essential information; all that was left was to sum it up and say goodbye.

Afterword

Another article has come to an end and today we answered the question, how to pump up your abs? I tried to cover this press topic as fully as possible, I hope it didn’t turn out too bland :). Now I wash my hands of it, and you study the material one more time and go to the hall to practice the theory in practice. Flat tummies everyone, good luck!

PS. What secrets do you know about pumping up your abs? Let's share in the comments.

P.P.S. Attention! 20.09 The ability to send questionnaires for and food will become available. I will be glad to see you working together!

With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov.

Currently, there are a huge number of workouts focused on training the abdominal muscles. This article will tell you everything you need to know about building a beautiful, sculpted body.

You can be strong... you can be big... but all the really tough guys have incredibly awesome abs. If you want to get abs like Arnold Schwarzenegger, that's great.

If creating a sculpted figure is so easy, why doesn’t everyone have a toned and sculpted stomach? This means there is some kind of problem.

You know what happens when millions of people want something so badly that it forces them to scan Google for what they want late into the night, with their wallets at the ready.

Of course... it's a siren call for the savvy marketers hiding in the shadows. Perhaps it is better to call them eagles, soaring overhead, searching for weakened prey.

Okay, okay, this is going to sound a little dramatic, but my point is this:

• Some people will tell you that you only need to do a few exercises a day to get ripped abs... but that's a mistake.
• Some will say that you must do squats and deadlifts, otherwise you will not be able to form a beautiful torso... but this is a mistake.
• Someone will say that you need to eat only certain foods, and everything else is absolutely forbidden... but this is a mistake.
• Some will say that you just need to lose weight... but this is a mistake.
• And some will say that it’s all about food additives... but they are also wrong.

There are really only two things you need to do well:

How to get ripped six-pack abs in 2 easy steps

Getting six pack abs is easier said than done. Although it is quite simple if you follow certain instructions.

1. Lose weight

I think this is obvious.

The first reason why six packs are not visible is the presence of a large layer of fat covering the muscle layer.

By losing fat, you will be closer to your goal, if you are not already there. However, this leads to the next question: how to lose weight?

First, you can't get rid of belly fat directly. Losing weight in limited areas of the body is a myth.

Targeted fat loss or "limited reduction" has long been a hot button for selling fitness books, magazines, DVDs, nutritional supplements and more.

One workout is for “slimming” your thighs and the other is for “sculpting” your midsection. This food is supposed to reduce belly fat and this food can somehow make your thighs look slimmer.

I wish it were that simple.

Research showed that muscle training does lead to increased levels of blood flow and lipolysis (the breakdown of fat cells into usable energy) in the area of ​​the trained muscles, but the effect is so small as to be of no significance.

Training muscles burns calories and thus promotes muscle growth and fat burning, but does not directly reduce the amount of fat formed on those muscles.

Thus, fat loss is a process that involves the entire body.

For effective weight loss you need maintain a calorie deficit, which causes the body to reduce the overall volume of its fat reserves. Contractions occur everywhere, however, some areas dry out faster than others.

The point is, you can work out as much as you want until your abs explode, but you will never see the result until you send body fat percentage to the required ratio.

This ratio should be: 15% or less body fat for men and 25% or less for women.

Here is a visual image that shows what abs look like with different amounts of subcutaneous fat:

As you can see, the abdominal muscles become visible at 15% and 25% in men and women respectively, and especially stand out at 10% in men and 20% in women.

It was mentioned earlier that some areas of the body lose fat faster than others.

Unfortunately, the layer of fat that covers the core muscles, especially the lower parts, is terribly resilient. And the point is not in the individual characteristics of the body, but in physiology.

There are scientific reasons why fat cells in this area of ​​the body are more difficult to burn than others. And fortunately, there are various strategies to improve this situation.

2. Develop all your abdominal muscles

In other words, you need to pump all the core muscles. There is a common belief that people who do a lot of weight-bearing exercises (squats, deadlifts, weight training exercises, etc.) do not need to train their abdominal muscles.

One may not agree with this. Let's take a quick look at the muscles that make up the abdominals.

Firstly, this rectus abdominis (rectus abdominal muscle). This is the name for a group of muscles that look like six “packs”:

Then there are several other abdominal muscles that complete the appearance of the torso, these include the obliques and abdominals (or transversus as it is commonly called), as well as the serratus:

Don't discount the need to develop these muscles other than the "pretty" rectus muscle.

Here is an example of abs, with poorly developed lower layers of core muscles:

Yes, it doesn’t look bad, but there is no relief of the oblique abdominal muscles, the serratus muscle is underdeveloped and there is no line of the transverse muscle.

Some people have a different problem: their rectus muscle is weakly expressed or unevenly expressed, while the rest of the abdominal muscles are pumped:

If the obliques are too extended, the rectus muscle is deficient, and the transversus and serratus muscles may be absent.

Now let's take a look at what a good, proper abdominal press should look like:

Of course the model (Greg Plitt) has much better genetics than those two guys, but he's no thinner than the second guy. He just has the perfect balance of development of all the core muscles.

The goal is not just to get beautiful abs, but to have great abs.

I don't look like Plitt, but I have personal experience working on building my abdominal muscle groups. This is me a few years ago:

I was about 7% body fat and, as you can see, pretty good core muscle building. It is worth noting that I did squats, deadlifts, and some abdominal exercises, but this is not what I would like to write about in this article.

(If you're wondering why I only have four abs instead of six, it's purely genetic. Some people develop better rectus abdominis muscles than others.)

This rather dramatic improvement was the result of not only training the rectus muscles, but also other major abdominal muscles.

The Real Shortcut to Six-Pack Abs

It doesn't matter whether you are a man or a woman, a thin person must have developed abdominal muscles.

You can lose weight through proper nutrition and dieting, and to develop the core muscles, you need to train both isolated muscle groups and all muscles as a whole.

Use this workout and flexible diet program to lose up to 5 kg of fat and build beautiful muscles in just 30 days... without exhausting fasting or constant training in the gym.

The best exercises to train your abdominal muscles

I have seen and talked to many people who regularly do an incredible number of different exercises, who can plank for an impressive amount of time, but all this does not lead to results - their abs remain underdeveloped.

It is necessary to leave the “comfort zone”, i.e. it is necessary to give increased load on the muscles For their growth. It is worth paying attention to this, and, in the case of weight-bearing strength training, increase the weight from time to time.

One of the biggest mistakes is not doing strength training with weights when working on your core muscles.

Before we talk about training routines, let's look at what individual exercises are.

There are an almost endless number of different abdominal exercises to choose from, and almost as many opinions as to which exercises are best. Luckily, we're only interested in a few exercises that will help build your core.

All exercises listed in this article were selected based on certain research, as well as my personal experience, which was gained while working with hundreds of people.

I also described several exercises that you can perform, but if you carefully follow the basic plan, then most likely they are not needed.

Basic exercises

Squats, deadlift, bench press, classic army press While they are not abdominal exercises in themselves, they are effective in building and strengthening your core muscles.

They are also the most important exercises for overall building and strengthening the muscles of the body. If you don't do them and don't intend to do them, then you lose the lion's share of progress.

Twisting on the upper block

Crunches are one of my favorite exercises and are great for building the rectus abdominis muscle.

A variant of “twisting” twists is possible, in which, in addition to the rectus muscle, there is a large load on the oblique abdominal muscles. In this case, the sequence of actions is as follows: you need to touch the left knee with your right elbow, then the usual straight twist, and the left elbow touches the right knee, back to the center and so on.

Raising the legs while resting on the elbows

This exercise is considered one of the best, which involves the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles (including their lower parts).

You can start with knee raises, but you should aim to do the exercise with your legs extended. After this load becomes small, you can add weight, for example, holding a medicine ball between your legs.

Hanging leg raises on the bar

This exercise is similar to the previous one, but requires much more effort.

Similar to the previous one, at first you can also perform it with bent knees, but strive to perform it with extended legs. Over time you can add weight.

Bike

Don't let this easy exercise fool you - it's a great addition to your workout routine. When performing a bicycle, the oblique and transverse abdominal muscles are involved.

Ab roller

I'm not a fan of various gadgets and other gizmos for training, but the ab roller is a really effective and cheap tool.

If you want to include this exercise in your regular training program, then you need to purchase a high-quality video, for example, this one:

Although you can use any :)

You can add weight to this exercise using a weighted vest.

How to create an effective training program and pump up your abs

The rules for creating a workout focused on shaping the abs are very simple:

1. Combine weight-bearing and body-weight exercises into one workout.

Abs capable of deep, separate contractions of individual muscles require much more preparation than many might think. In this case, the approach periodic"exercise is the most effective way to achieve this goal.

2. Exercise regularly

Optimal training frequency is a subject of endless debate. However, the main rule can be identified: The smaller the muscle group, the faster it recovers.

So, general exercises like deadlifts or squats take longer to recover than isolated exercises like biceps curls.

So I noticed that, just like the calf muscles, the abdominal muscles can do more contractions than larger muscle groups.

I noticed that 2-3 ab workouts per week, and at the same time general strength training, is the “golden mean” for getting maximum results and preventing overtraining .

If we consider the question of the required number of abdominal workouts per week, then it is worth leaving 1 to 2 days of rest between workouts. If I plan three workouts a week, I prefer to train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, or Tuesday and Thursday if I plan to do two workouts.

3. Make sure progress is not stagnant

As with any other workout, the main goal of the workout is to become stronger, with beautiful, toned muscles.

The weight used during training should gradually increase as the number of times you can do the same exercise with the weight equals the number of times you can do the same exercise without the weight.

Now that we know the “rules,” let’s take a closer look at how to plan your workouts.

The training scheme is elementary. It is necessary to do the exercises cyclically. One cycle contains 3 exercises that must be performed continuously one after another. We rest only between cycles; we do not rest between exercises within a cycle.

Abdominal training program

How to build a loop:

1. The first set should include a strength exercise, such as crunches, elbow raises, or hanging leg raises on the bar - 10-15 repetitions in total.

If you cannot do the exercise at least 10 times, then you need to reduce the weight. If you do it 15 times, it’s time to add a couple of kilograms.

1. We immediately move on to one set of exercises without weight and do it as many times as possible.
2. We move on to another set of exercises without weight and do it as many times as possible.
3. Rest 2-3 minutes before a new cycle.

For example, here's one of my favorite loops:

• 1 set of crunches in the upper block, 10-12 times
• 1 set of leg raises resting on the elbows as many times as possible
• 1 bicycle set maximum number of times

Rest 2-3 minutes

I usually insert ab circuits between sets of common muscle groups to save time. For example:

• 1 set of deadlifts
• 1 cycle per press
• Rest 60-90 seconds
• 1 set of deadlifts
• 1 cycle per press
• Rest 60-90 seconds

It’s better to set yourself a goal of 3 abdominal cycles during one workout (and 2-3 workouts per week). It's actually not as easy as it seems!

Can sports nutrition supplements help you get bigger abs faster?

No natural substances can “burn fat,” no matter how complicated or pseudo-scientific the explanation may be.

Supplement companies most often talk about increasing fat oxidation levels (while maintaining muscle mass) while supporting the thyroid, inducing thermogenesis, blocking enzymes related to fat storage, inducing enzymes that cause fat loss, managing hormone and neurotransmitter levels , reducing water retention, improving nutrient absorption and more.

Okay, while these aspects do have an impact on weight loss, this type of marketing is nothing more than an attempt to blind us with terminology and scientific half-truths in hopes that we will believe it.

If you look at the science of fat loss, you'll find that the right supplements can help, but they won't compensate for poor nutrition and exercise. If you follow the advice in this article, and don't torture yourself with exhausting diets and workouts, you can reap benefits from supplements that will truly accelerate fat loss.

Let's summarize the ab training

Almost every fitness guru and workout program promises to give you a six-pack in a very short time, but few can actually deliver on this promise because the process is actually not that fast.

There is no panacea for creating a beautiful torso. If you want a lean, sexy belly, then you need to be patient, eat right and exercise. If you are willing to wait months rather than days, you will get the results you want.

Now you know everything you need to eventually get a six pack, get out of your comfort zone and get to work!

Natalia Govorova

Reading time: 9 minutes

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Every woman (and not only women) dreams of a toned and beautiful tummy. And if he also has six-pack abs, that’s great!

Naturally, abs on the stomach do not appear on their own, and in order to achieve the ideal in this matter, you have to sweat in the literal sense of the word. But, first of all, we note that the most effective abdominal workouts are in the morning, on an empty stomach and with proper breathing.

Exercise bike

This exercise is familiar to everyone from school physical education classes. But many people learn about its effectiveness after spending many years on completely useless training.

“Bicycle” is confidently included in the TOP 3 best exercises for the abs - moreover, it takes first place among exercises for the rectus muscle, and second place for the oblique muscles.

How to do?

We lie on our backs, with our hands behind our heads (don’t put them in a lock!) – our thighs are perpendicular to the floor, imitating riding a bicycle. That is, we “pedal” by straightening one leg and at the same time pulling the knee of the other to the chest as we exhale (note – we straighten the leg as we inhale).

It is desirable that when the right knee approaches the chest, the left elbow moves towards it (and, accordingly, vice versa) - they should easily touch each other when they meet (however, this is not necessary).

The number of repetitions is 10-20, the number of approaches is 3-4, rest between approaches is half a minute.

Rules: We don’t lower our feet to the floor, we don’t strain our neck, we do the exercise slowly, smoothly and on a hard surface.

Leg raises

The main task of the exercise is not to lift the pelvis upward, but to “twist” it towards the head.

How to do?

We lie down on the floor, arms along the body - or hide behind our heads. Next, bend your legs and pull your hips towards you so that they are perpendicular to the floor (this is the starting position). Next, while exhaling, using the force of the abdominal muscles, we sharply twist the pelvis towards our head, holding in the peak position for a second.

Now you can inhale and lower your pelvis with your legs, but without touching the floor. The closer the knees are to the head, the greater the load.

Rules: use the entire range of motion, do not lower the pelvis, do not twist to the sides - strictly vertically.

Be sure to breathe with each repetition - holding your breath for the entire approach is not recommended.

According to the results of thorough scientific research, the most effective exercises for “building up” beautiful abs are exercises such as “bicycle”, the hanging leg raises and crunches we described.

But only with a fat content of less than 12%. Otherwise, your fantastic cubes will simply be lost in the depths of the fat folds.

Therefore, in addition to hard training - diet, regimen and the right approach to exercise!

The site site thanks you for your attention to the article! We will be very pleased if you share your feedback and tips in the comments below.

Let's pump up your abs?

Cubes, elastic abs, thin waist, remove the sides - the goals may be different, but to achieve them there is only one task - to work the abdominal muscles! If you want six-pack, you need more intense workouts with weights. Thin waist and sides - . But in any case, you need to strengthen your abdominal muscles!

And all this can be easily done at home! Are you with us?

Train regularly and!

You can achieve a seductive relief in the abdominal area, spending only 15-20 minutes of your time. We present to your attention the top most effective abdominal exercises that you can perform at home.

Pumping up the press is not an easy task; it requires effort, determination and perseverance. Let’s immediately dispel the myth about the press; with exercises alone you cannot achieve the desired results; it must be a complex of physical effects on the abdominal muscles and a properly balanced diet. Without proper nutrition, you will of course be able to pump up your abs, but it will be securely hidden under the previously accumulated layer of fat, which you cannot get rid of only through exercises aimed at the abdominal muscles. But if you exclude exercise and focus only on a balanced diet, you will get rid of excess fat deposits, but your stomach will lose its elasticity, which completely eliminates seductiveness. That is why you need to follow both proper nutrition and regular exercise.

It is worth noting that the abdominal muscles very quickly get used to the same type of load, so you should not get hung up on the same exercises, repeating them from workout to workout. Also, for effective training, one should not forget about the basic rules for pumping the abs, which will help eliminate the occurrence of injuries and strains of the muscles of both the abdominal press and the lumbar region and cervical spine. Next, we will not delve into theory, but will practice and analyze the most effective abdominal exercises at home. Perform the exercise 15-20 times in three approaches, between which pause for 30 seconds.

The most effective abdominal exercises you can do at home

Twisting in a lying position “Crunch”

To effectively pump up your abs, crunch exercises must be included in your training program. To perform this exercise, you need to lie on your back, bend your knees, place your palms behind your head, and spread your elbows to the sides. Attention! Press your lower back firmly into the floor, and do not arch your back or lift your lower back while performing the exercise, this will help prevent sprains and more serious injuries. As you exhale, lift your shoulder blades off the floor, forming an angle of 20 degrees. As you inhale, smoothly return to the starting position. During the exercise, do not press your chin to your chest, try to keep your elbows apart, work only with your abdominal muscles.

Twisting in a lying position with a spring

This exercise is a more complicated version of the previous one; the recommendations for performing it correctly remain the same. Take a position lying on your back, as you exhale, raise your shoulder blades, forming an angle of 20 degrees, pause and with a small amplitude, make three rocking movements in front, while leaving your lower back tightly pressed to the floor, then, while inhaling, return to the starting position

Twisting in a lying position with lateral rotations

This exercise is performed on the basis of the previous ones, but it adds the work of the internal oblique abdominal muscles. After you have lifted your shoulder blades from the floor, lock in this position, then stretch your right elbow to the heel of your right foot and return to the starting position. At the same time, do not lower your shoulder blades to the floor; they should be securely held by the muscles of the upper abs and do not lift your lower back off the floor; only your shoulder blades should hang above the floor. Perform 15-20 twists on each side alternately, taking a break of 10-15 seconds between changing sides for twists. If it is very difficult to reach with your arms bent behind your head, the exercise can be made easier by stretching your arms along your body.

Raising the body with twists

Starting position: lying on your back, legs bent at the knees, place your right leg on your left, hands behind your head, elbows apart. As you exhale, lift your shoulder blades off the floor and fix this position, then stretch your left elbow towards your right knee, and then return to the starting position. During the exercise, do not lower your shoulder blades to the floor, do not fall to the side; to do this, press your pelvis tightly to the floor. Perform the exercise 15-20 times in three approaches on each side.

Leg raises from a lying position

Take a lying position on your back, raise your legs perpendicular to your body, press your lower back firmly to the floor; if during the exercise your lower back still bends, place your hands under your buttocks so as to push your pelvis slightly upward and allow your lower back to come into more close contact with the floor. Then lower your straight legs one by one until they are parallel to the floor, but without touching it.

Alternating leg raises from a lying position

This is a complicated version of the previous exercise, however, the legs need to be lowered and raised at the same time, as if doing vertical scissors. In order to further complicate the exercise and engage the muscles of the upper abs, during the execution, lift your shoulder blades off the floor and fix them in this position.

Raising the pelvis from a lying position “Berezka”

Take the starting position, lying on your back, raise your straight legs perpendicular to your body, forming an angle of 90 degrees, stretch your arms along your body. Tightening your abdominal muscles, lift your pelvis off the floor, then return to the starting position, try not to throw your legs forward, but to reach your heels towards the ceiling. Try to do the exercise smoothly, excluding upward jerks, do the base on the abdominal muscles.

"Plank"

This is perhaps one of the most effective exercises not only for the abdominal muscles, but also for the muscular corset as a whole. There are a huge number of variations of the plank, but first let’s look at the classic version. We take a lying position, bend our arms and place emphasis on our elbows, press our palms tightly to the floor or tightly close our fingers into a lock. We don’t bend our legs at the knees, we try to keep them absolutely straight, shoulder-width apart, and rest on our toes. Attention! Do not arch your back in the lower back, this can lead to serious injuries; twist your pelvis forward, this will help keep your back straight. Tightening all your muscles, fix your body and remain in this position for a minute; this exercise is performed in three approaches.

While pumping the abs, a burning sensation is felt in the muscles; if this feeling is absent during training, the exercise was not performed correctly, you should carefully read the instructions for its implementation again. Training at home is primarily an impact on willpower. Try to give your best, following all the instructions for performing the exercises, without making them easier. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, be patient and have additional motivation, this will help you persistently pursue your goal. Remember, your figure is in your hands.