Women love relaxing on the seashore - the sound of the waves calms them down and gives them the opportunity to take a break from pressing problems. But the desired vacation turns into complete frustration when a slender woman passes by fit girl with a perfectly pumped up tummy - of course, the gaze involuntarily falls on his own, far from ideal one.
The most important thing at such a moment is not to lose heart, but to pull yourself together and achieve the same result by your next vacation. And for this our advice and effective exercises for the press for women.
The abdominal muscles are the most difficult to train. This muscle group is most often left without proper attention.
Lifestyle dictates its own rules to us, and most often an active lifestyle is not included in them - as a result, the abs are not in at its best and has a rounded relief.
Abdominal muscles require grueling and regular training! They need to be given special attention in training.
The rectus abdominis muscle is responsible for direct and lower inclination of the body.
It also serves as a corset for internal organs. The external oblique muscle is responsible for turning the body and flexing the spine when bending and turning.
For a beautiful and firm abdomen, you need to perform a certain set of exercises, taking into account the characteristics of each muscle. The most difficult part to train is the lower abs in women. This is due to the fact that a woman’s body stores fat reserves for bearing a child in this area of the abdomen.
A set of abdominal exercises mainly involves the flexor muscles. hip joint, while the abdominal muscles do not receive the proper load. If the exercises are performed incorrectly, the abdominal muscles do not actually work, which ultimately does not give you the desired result.
To get maximum results, you need to bend at the torso; to do this, you need to reach for the pelvis, not the knees.
In order for only the abdominal muscles to be involved when performing the exercise, it is necessary to reduce the amplitude of the exercise, it should be very small, and most importantly, not involve the flexor muscles.
The number of approaches must be done as much as possible. A burning sensation in your abdominal muscles will be a signal to you that you are doing the exercises correctly.
First you need to familiarize yourself with the theory. Surely few people know how to correctly perform a number of exercises in order to remove belly fat.
A person who monitors his health pays special attention to training his muscles. The female abs deserve the most attention, but it is important to take into account the fact that the female body is not capable of six-pack abs and this is due to the fact that the fat layer on the abdomen is higher than necessary for this abs.
Professional athletes achieve this result (cube press) before competitions, resorting to special diets and training, we emphasize that they are taking such tough measures for a short period of time. If she really wants, a girl can tighten her tummy and make it perfectly flat. The most important thing is to choose a set of exercises that are right for you. Otherwise, your efforts will not give the desired result.
To obtain a result in the form flat stomach There is no need to torture yourself with grueling workouts. Main task The challenge in front of you is to get rid of belly fat.
It is important to remember that the desire to get rid of extra centimeters on the stomach can lead to unwanted changes in breast shape and disorders menstrual cycle. To avoid such problems, you need to remember that body fat should not be less than 18%; a decrease to 10% and below will lead to the problems described above. This is due to the special physiological functions of the female body.
Before you start doing the exercises, you need to do a warm-up so that the muscles are ready for the load. To warm up your abs, you need to lie on the floor, put your hands behind your head and bend your knees, pulling them towards your stomach. You need to stay in this position for a couple of minutes, while not forgetting to breathe correctly.
The best and in an efficient way For the abdominal press, twisting is recognized; this method is also called the “frog pull-up”; this exercise is presented in various versions.
For beginners and those who have poorly developed abdominal muscles, it is not recommended to pump up the abdominal muscles by lifting the legs and body; such exercises without prior training can injure the spine. The exercises of the so-called giant set will be much more effective - they are performed without respite.
Having done them, you can rest a little, but just a couple of minutes, no more. With this technique, the muscles receive sufficient load. After completing a series of giant set exercises, you should feel a burning sensation in your abs. The main thing is to do the exercises correctly.
Does the burning sensation in your abs burn fat?
One of the misconceptions of many is that burning in the muscles occurs when exercises are performed correctly. This sensation is the result of the accumulation of lactic acid, which is formed during the exchange of glycogen and glucose.
The appearance of lactic acid is caused by excessive muscle load, that is, the result of a lack of oxygen. If its accumulation is insignificant, there will be no consequences, but during long-term training, the accumulations form many local foci in which the fibers in the muscles are burned, which leads to a burning sensation.
Lactic acid is washed out of the body within a couple of hours, even after grueling workouts, but for this there must be normal blood flow, and a significant part of the lactic acid is also washed out between approaches. The burning sensation can be overcome in a lot of ways, but you also may not be able to prevent its occurrence.
Abdominal fat - how to deal with it?
No matter how hard you try to pump up your abs while having belly fat, you won’t be able to do it without an integrated approach. To get the best results, you must follow a diet and at the same time perform a set of exercises. You need to consume 300–500 calories less per day than you burn.
It’s not for nothing that they say that movement is life, but it is also beauty.
Very effective and at the same time in a simple way Rotation of the hoop is considered, 40–45 minutes a day will be enough.
Also, exercises with a skipping rope give visible results. The body is saturated with oxygen, as a result of which the process of burning fat occurs much faster.
By following simple rules, you can achieve fairly quick results.
There are several factors on which the effectiveness of training depends: first of all, the genetic predisposition to increase muscle mass, diet and lifestyle. These three factors will help you achieve the desired result.
With willpower and strong motivation, you will easily achieve your goal. The result of grueling and frequent training is, of course, a sculpted stomach. But if you have never played sports, relief press you won't achieve it even if you follow a low-carb diet.
When compiling a set of exercises, focus on the most basic of them, try to pay attention to all muscle groups. Many athletes believe that the most effective results are obtained by doing crunches a hundred times.
But this method will not give you the desired sculpted belly, it will only strengthen the abdominal muscles.
It is not necessary to carry out long workouts in order to pump up six-pack abs. Performing 10–15 repetitions of each type of exercise will be enough.
How to achieve a flat tummy at home?
Having set the goal of pumping up your abs at home, the most important thing is not to lose self-control and not allow yourself to be lazy. It is worth remembering that by limiting yourself to exercises only, you will not get the desired result - you will have to strictly follow proper nutrition and training. Sticking to these simple rules, pumping up your abs will be easy.
Exercises are best done on the floor or a special mat; exercises on a soft surface can injure the spine, and such exercise will be of little use. Meals should be 2 hours before classes, and it is also better to do them at least 2 hours before bedtime. In the first case, if you don’t follow the time, you will tear your stomach, and in the second, you will have trouble sleeping.
One of the most effective exercises for the press is considered to be “Bicycle”.
Starting position: lying on the floor, press your back to the floor, place your hands on the back of your head (do not hold them together), bend your knees at an angle of 45 degrees, breathing should be even.
You need to do 12-15 repetitions with a time interval of 2-3 seconds for each, it will be enough to complete 4 approaches.
“Lotus” is optimal for loading the rectus abdominis muscle.
Starting position: lying on your back, bend your knees over your hips, cross your ankles, place your arms along your body, palms down. As you inhale, we draw in your stomach, and as you exhale, raise your hips.
As you inhale, draw in your stomach, as you exhale, lift your hips off the floor and straighten your legs, throwing them behind your head without breaking the crossing of your ankles. We return to the starting position. The exercise should be repeated 10 times. The number of approaches can be increased over time.
“Berezka” – works all abdominal muscle groups.
Starting position: lying on the floor, we raise and cross our legs, provide support by placing our hands behind our heads, lift our shoulder blades off the floor and stretch our chests towards our legs. We keep our legs in their original position. Perform 12–16 repetitions in several sets.
Workouts by day
Before you start doing abdominal exercises, you need to decide what days of the week you will do the workouts. To receive high results It's best to stick to training 4-5 times a week. Performing the exercise in the morning is considered the most optimal.
For example:
The 10 Minute Abs program includes three steps to get the best results. The stages are divided by days:
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Day 1 – exercises are performed for the lower abdominal muscle group;
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Day 2 – a group of exercises that involve the oblique abdominal muscles;
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Day 3 – performing exercises in which the load is placed on the upper abs;
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Day 4 – a day off to tone the muscles.
Every woman is beautiful, but if you want, you can achieve that you become the standard of beauty. To achieve results, you need very little, self-control and motivation. By performing the proposed set of exercises, not only will you be proud of your tummy, but for many, your appearance will become an example to follow.
A selection of photos of abdominal exercises for women
uprazhnenija dlja pressa dlja zhenshhin photo_13
This is a standard abdominal exercise. It is during crunches that the rectus abdominis muscle (responsible for the abs on the abdomen), the pectoralis major muscle, the external and internal obliques, and the transverse abdominal muscles are activated.
Execution. Make sure to keep your middle and lower back pressed to the floor. This way you avoid engaging the hip flexors. Try to keep your hands at your temples, do not reach up with your chin and neck. The abdominal muscles should lift you up. When ascending, you should exhale deeply and inhale in the lower position.
Perform three sets of 30 reps.
This exercise is aimed at working the lower abs (abdominal part). Muscles involved in this exercise: iliopsoas, tensor fascia lata, sartorius, rectus femoris, adductor longus and brevis, pectineus, rectus abdominis, oblique and transverse abdominis, and quadriceps.
Execution. Lie on the floor, stretch your arms along your body and press them to the floor. Raise your legs off the floor and perform crossing movements. While performing the exercise, make sure that your lower back is pressed to the floor. The lower your legs are, the greater the load on your lower abs. If you find it difficult to keep your legs at this level, raise them a little higher. If you feel your lower back lifting off the floor, raise your legs a little higher. Make sure your legs are straight.
This exercise is also aimed at working the lower abs (abdominal part). Muscles involved in this exercise: iliopsoas, tensor fascia lata, sartorius, rectus femoris, adductor longus and brevis, pectineus, rectus abdominis, oblique and transverse abdominis, and quadriceps.
Execution. Lie on the floor, stretch your arms along your body and press them to the floor. Raise your legs above the floor and perform walking movements with a small amplitude. Socks should be pulled towards you, your lower back pressed to the floor. The lower your legs are, the greater the load on your lower abs. If you feel your lower back lifting off the floor, raise your legs a little higher and hold this position. Make sure your legs are straight.
Perform three sets of 30 seconds each.
This exercise works the rectus abdominis, external oblique, quadriceps, and tensor fasciae lata (thigh muscles). This exercise is more aimed at burning fat, rather than working out the relief.
Execution. Lie on the floor, raise your knees bent (the angle should be 90 degrees), stretch your arms in front of you. Raise your upper body towards your knees, reaching forward with your arms. Exhale while going up, and inhale when going down. Try not to lift your lower back off the floor or lower your legs. Make sure that your chin is not pressed against your neck.
A simpler option for performing this exercise is to cross your arms and lie on your chest. More complex - hands are placed behind the head or at the temples.
Perform three sets of 10 reps.
During this exercise, the main load is directed to the oblique abdominal muscles, but the rectus abdominis, quadriceps and tensor fasciae lata (hip muscles) are also worked.
Execution. Lie on the floor, put your hands behind your head, bend your knees. The feet should rest on the floor. Perform a crunch in which the right elbow reaches behind the left knee toward the middle of the thigh and the knee moves toward the elbow. While performing the exercise, try to lift your upper body so that your shoulder blades come off the floor. The lower back should be pressed to the floor. Do not press your chin to your neck or pull yourself up with your arms. When twisting, exhale, in the starting position - inhale.
The closer the feet are to the pelvis, the greater the load.
A simpler option for performing this exercise is to have the non-working arm extended to the side (forming a straight line with the shoulder girdle) and pressed to the floor. This will give you extra support while twisting.
Perform 30 repetitions on each leg.
This exercise works the rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, transverse abdominis, and leg and buttock muscles (gluteus maximus).
Execution. Lie on the floor, place your hands behind your head. Start making movements with your feet as if you were pedaling a bicycle. At the same time, lift your upper body, trying to lift your shoulder blades off the floor. Alternately stretch your right elbow to your left knee, your left elbow to your right knee. The exercise can be performed at any pace. Try not to press your chin to your chest or pull your head up with your arms. Don’t forget to breathe correctly: exhale every time you twist.
Perform three sets of 20 reps.
During this exercise, the core muscles are included in the work (rectus and transverse abdominal muscles, dorsal extensor, trapezius muscle, biceps and pectoral muscles), buttocks and leg muscles (thighs and calves).
Execution. Get into a plank position with your forearms resting. The elbows should be positioned exactly under the shoulders, the stomach should be pulled in (the navel is pulled towards the tailbone), the back should be straight (there should be no arching in the lower back). In this position, swing with a small amplitude. When moving forward, your shoulders should be in front of your elbows, and when moving back, they should be behind your elbows. Make sure that your back and legs constantly form a straight line (without bending or, conversely, an arch in the lower back).
Do the exercise for one minute.
You can watch the full video with all the exercises.
First of all, think about nutrition. The most important thing is to exclude fried, fatty, sweet, floury foods. And also salt and spices: sometimes you can use a little soy sauce with minimal salt content and natural ketchup or tomato paste. Food portions should not be too large, but there is no need to starve either: if you are undernourished, your metabolism will be disrupted, swelling will appear and you will begin, as they say, “to swell from hunger.”
Many athletes set themselves the goal of building up their abdominal muscles and increasing their volume. In this case, complex exercises are needed - lowering the legs while lying down or raising the legs while hanging. But for most people, to achieve just beautiful, sculpted abs, it’s enough to do easy, high-repetition workouts. By working on the abs, we burn fat tissue not only in the abdominal area, but throughout the body. Abdominal exercises are generally unique in that they involve many areas: the body, arms, and legs.
How to train your abs
There is no need to pay too much attention to the abs: if you do, for example, an hour a day, then excessive massage of the internal organs will not lead to good things. 15-20 minutes a day is enough, and abdominal exercises can be performed before, during, and after training. And for complete beginners, I advise you to choose a couple of light exercises (for example, do minimum quantity repetitions in two sets every other day. From the second week you can increase the load, listening to your feelings.
There is one more good thing abdominal exercise - at home, on the street or in the office, you can perform it constantly and completely unnoticed. Although no, someone will eventually notice that you have become slimmer and began to hold your back straight. The fact is that when you straighten your posture, your stomach automatically retracts. The exercise is precisely to straighten the spine and keep the stomach slightly tucked. If you don’t forget about this, you will be pleased with the results very soon!
- Read also: Exercises for losing belly fat at home
Ab exercises and training principles for men and women are no different. But the goals are different. For men, it is desirable to really have cubes, but for women it would be better not to have them. If two vertical stripes and even one horizontal stripe on top are drawn on the stomach, this is still normal. But if not only the top two cubes are visible, but also the rest, it means you overdid it. When a woman strives for dried male abs, she can upset the fat balance, and this entails a threat to reproductive function and a disruption in other metabolic processes. In addition, a woman having all six cubes is no longer aesthetically pleasing, and many will agree with me on this.
Ab exercises
I offer you simple and effective abdominal exercises at home. After each of them, I recommend stretching well to relieve tension from the abdominal muscles. The number of approaches is arbitrary.
1. Lifting the body 20 degrees
How to do it: lying on your back, lift your body, stretching your arms forward and up. Contract your abdominal muscles as much as possible. Perform 20-40 repetitions.
3. Lifting the body 45 degrees with extension behind the arm
How to do it: lying on your back, rounding your lower back as much as possible, lift your body until your chest touches your knees. If it is difficult to keep your feet on the floor, hold a heavy object with them. Perform 15-35 repetitions.
5. "Folding bed"
How to do it: repeat the previous exercise, lifting opposite arms and legs. Perform 15-30 repetitions.
7. “Clamshell” with one leg lift
How to do it: lying on your back, lift your legs up and lower them down to a position in which you manage to keep your lower back from the floor. Perform 10-25 repetitions.
9. Lowering legs one at a time
Abdominal exercises will not give any effect if you do them without 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 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. For any physical activity The abdominal muscles are among 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 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 reach best 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. In case 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 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 muscles and joints before training will 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. General rule all exercises: inhale should be done 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.
TO basic exercises Abs for beginners include: from static exercises- plank and vacuum, from dynamic ones - twisting, scissors, corner, climber. All trainings have several options for implementation.
It is better to plan your first workouts from dynamic exercises in 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 - it is required extra stress. The first step to making your training more challenging is to use weights.
Additional weights can be applied to all simple exercises for the abdominals, 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 all muscle 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 variations, combined general condition: It is required 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 to pump up the abs, full muscle development is achieved only with an integrated and systematic approach.
Fitness accounts
Today in order to receive professional advice or chat with like-minded people, it’s not at all necessary to go to gym. Athletes and coaches willingly share their experiences on Instagram and YouTube; on their pages you can find detailed analysis 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, thin waist and a flat stomach. Ekaterina runs an Instagram page @kononova1986, where she briefly and to the point talks about dietary nutrition and posts recordings of training sessions.
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.
Ab roller crunches are often thought to be the best exercise for developing abdominal muscles - but is this really true? Peter Francis, professor San Diego State University, set out to determine the most effective abdominal exercise using scientific methods.
His study (1) assessed the effects of 13 exercises on the abdominal muscles in 30 men aged 20-45 years. Using electromyography equipment, the load in the upper, lower and lateral abdominal muscle groups was measured. In addition, the load in the thigh muscles was measured to determine whether the movement was being performed by the leg muscles.
The most effective abdominal exercises
Each subject in the above-mentioned study performed 10-12 repetitions of a specific abdominal exercise, strictly following a rhythm of two seconds to raise and two seconds to lower the body. The effect of each exercise on both the rectus abdominis muscles and the lateral and oblique abdominal muscles was determined.
The effect of each exercise on the abdominal muscles was compared with classic crunches. If the exercise score was determined to be, for example, 200 units, this means that the exercise used the abdominal muscles twice as effectively as crunches. If the result was 50 units, then it was twice as bad.
Press: rating of the best exercises
Below are the results of a comparative study of the most popular abdominal exercises. It should be noted that although the primary goal was to determine the best exercises for both the rectus abdominis muscles and the abdominal muscles, it ultimately turned out that isolating certain area press is almost impossible.
Exercises for the rectus abdominis muscles
Exercises for the lateral abdominal muscles
7 Best Abdominal Exercises
Does the ab roller work?
Another myth indirectly refuted by this study is the super-effectiveness of the ab roller. Despite the fact that roller exercises show slightly greater engagement of the abdominal muscles than regular crunches, it is easy to see that there are more effective exercises for the abdominal muscles.
Among other things, it is important to mention that when performing abdominal crunches with a roller, it requires a fairly serious level of development of the abdominal muscles - if the muscles are too weak, then the main load will go to the arms and lower back. The result, in the end, will be only, and not at all, pumped-up six-pack abs.
***
No abdominal machine or roller will be as effective as a regular hanging leg raise or bicycle exercise performed at a slow pace and with perfect technique. In addition, most trainees with an average level of training are not able to separate the work of the upper and lower abdominal muscles.
Data sources:
- Peter Francis, Ph.D, Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University,
