Every woman dreams of a slim and toned figure. Some people prefer to go on a diet, others exhaust themselves with long workouts in the gym. But what to do if you want to tighten your stomach and you need to do this in the shortest possible time. In this article we will talk about how you can pump up your abs at home, with minimal time investment. But if you are seriously wondering how to pump up your abs in a week. Or when can you get the coveted cubes and what needs to be done for this.
How to pump up your abs without harm to your health
Despite the benefits of physical exercises to pump up the abdominal muscles, in some cases it is recommended to refrain from doing them:
- Prolapse of the uterus and other organs;
- In the first two months after pregnancy;
- When detecting malignant tumors;
- In the first weeks after surgery (in this case everything depends on the doctor’s recommendations);
- During PMS;
- During exacerbation of chronic diseases.
Trainers advise not to overload yourself in the first two hours after eating. This is fraught with stomach upset, and the exercises themselves are more effective when performed on an empty stomach.
How to organize training correctly?
To achieve results as quickly as possible, try to adhere to several rules:
- Train in the morning. Preferably before breakfast. At this time, you will be able to maximally pump up your abs. A study by British scientists regarding morning workouts confirms this. According to the results of the experiment, it was found that morning exercises reduce weight by 20% more effectively than those performed at other times. In addition, exercising in the morning can reduce your appetite.
- The main condition for proper training is warming up. After sleep, the body needs time to unwind. 10-15 minutes of light warm-up exercises will help you wake up and prepare for more difficult exercises.
- Some people believe that you can only pump up your abs (and other parts of the body) in the gym. And here we will disagree. Of course, under the supervision of an experienced trainer it is easier to perform the exercises. But to get the desired result, you don’t have to have a simulator at hand. You can pump up your abs yourself at home.
- Regular training will help you achieve quick results. But it’s important not to overdo it here. Do the exercises three times a week. This way you can provide yourself with time to relax. The abdominal muscles need time to recover.
- Start small. If you are a beginner, and 3 sets of 20 reps seem impossible to you, you should not strive for this in your first workout. Reduce the number of approaches by half, gradually increasing the load. The main thing is to create a training program correctly.
Warm-up
The training begins with a warm-up, the purpose of which is to warm up the ligaments, muscles, and prepare the body for vigorous activity.
Start with simpler exercises without sudden movements. For example, bending, squatting, turning.
Be sure to start with the upper body. Neck turns, head tilts, exercises on the shoulders, waist, arms, legs.
Exercises that are performed before any training are suitable.
How long does it take to pump up a girl’s abs at home?
Gaining muscle mass is not a quick process. Therefore, if you want to pump up your abs, don't expect quick results. It all depends on your desire and how seriously you take the training process.. Training should be intense. The more time you devote to pumping up your abs, the faster you will come to success. But don't forget about rest. Muscles need time to recover. Otherwise, you risk injuring them. With intensive training and following all recommendations, noticeable results will appear in a couple of months.
Proper nutrition for abdominal muscle growth
When creating a training program to pump up your abs, do not forget to organize proper nutrition. It must be balanced. Forget about strict diets and fasting days. A low-carb diet is of no use here. To endure all physical activities, your body needs energy. Fitness trainers advise including a large amount of protein and plant foods in your diet. Protein is involved in the formation of muscles, and plant fiber normalizes metabolic processes. It is important to maintain a drinking regime of 2-2.5 liters of clean water per day. It is also useful to drink juices, fruit drinks and compotes, but if possible without added sugar.
Here is a list of foods and dishes to be excluded from the menu during training:
- Fatty and fried foods;
- Food from fast food restaurants;
- Alcoholic and carbonated drinks;
- Salted and smoked foods;
- High-calorie and hot sauces.
During training, increase your total daily calorie intake by 300-400 calories. At this moment, the body requires more energy. But you don’t need to get it from fatty foods. An ideal breakfast would be an omelette with vegetables or oatmeal with pieces of fresh fruit. Lunch includes boiled lean meat (chicken, beef or turkey) and a vegetable side dish. Dinner should be light, so try not to overeat. It would be best to eat a vegetable or fruit diet salad and drink a glass of kefir. In between meals, you can make fruit or vegetable smoothies.
Important! Remember that a beautiful, slender body in a short time is not only the result of hard training. Much depends on a properly composed diet.
Tips for girls to pump up their abs at home
- Create an individual training program. And here a lot depends on your physical fitness and initial weight. If you are not overweight, then the training program will be standard (warm-up - pumping the press - recovery). But if you want to lose a couple of extra pounds, include cardio exercises (running, brisk walking, swimming) in your program.
- Drink more water. The daily fluid intake is 2-2.5 liters. It is important to drink water, not tea or coffee.
- During PMS, it is highly not recommended to pump up your abs or do any heavy exercises. It is better to devote this time to relaxation or walks in the fresh air. It is also important to get enough sleep. The daily sleep requirement for a healthy person is 8 hours. At the same time, women need more time for proper rest and recuperation than men.
- Eat right. We decided to pay special attention to this point. Because no workout guarantees results unless you start watching your diet. In addition, any exercise without proper nutrition can cause problems in the form of dizziness, headaches and increased fatigue.
- Muscles quickly get used to the load, so it is necessary to constantly increase the intensity and duration of exercise. But don't overdo it. Don't forget to take time to rest.
- It is important to do the right exercises. Consult a trainer. But if this is not possible, use online advice or watch training videos.
Monitor your progress
Last but not least, what you should do when pumping up your abdominal muscles is to monitor your results. Whatever your goals are, whether it’s how to pump up beautiful sculpted abs at home in 1 month, or simply lose weight and “remove your sides,” or become a sports model, you still need to keep a diary.
Nothing motivates more than personal progress. In order to monitor your progress, you need to keep a diary, take measurements of your waist and photograph your achievements for comparison.
Diary of nutrition and training
Keep a diary and write down everything you eat and what exercise you do. A diary will help you identify any mistakes you're making in your diet and exercise routine, as well as identify areas in your routine that need closer attention.
Waist circumference measurements
Weight measurements will not give you a clear picture or be a reliable representation of your progress. After all, you pump up your muscles, and they will become bigger. And muscles are heavier than fat. Therefore, it is better to measure your waist size. Measure your waist over your hips and don't try to pull your stomach in, be relaxed when taking measurements.
Before and after photos
Working on sculpted abs is quite a long process, and since you see yourself in the mirror every day, you may not visually catch your progress. In order to see it, take photos every two weeks and compare them, you will definitely notice how you have changed during this time. Well, you can also easily answer the question - in how many days can you build beautiful abs in men.
Effective exercises for pumping up the abs
When performing exercises to pump up your abs, it is important to use all muscle groups. This way you will achieve better results. There are 4 abdominal muscle groups:
- Rectus abdominis muscle.
- Internal oblique abdominal muscle.
- Transverse abdominal muscle.
- External oblique abdominal muscle.
There are different types of exercises for each of these muscle groups. Let's look at a few of them.
Attention! The number of repetitions and approaches is individual and calculated based on your current physical condition.
Side crunches lying on your side
This type of exercise perfectly trains the lateral abdominal muscles, both internal and external. Lie on your side on a flat surface. Bend your free arm at the elbow, touching your temple with your palm. Place your other hand along your body. Slowly reach your elbow towards your legs and return to the original position. Do 15 sets and flip over. Repeat the same steps on the other side.
Lateral crunches while lying on your back
Another type of side muscle training. Lie on your back and bend your right arm at the elbow so that your palm touches your temple. Bend your legs. Slowly raise your body and touch your right elbow to your left knee. Perform the exercise 10-15 times and change hands. In the same way, slowly raising your body, touch the elbow of your left hand to the knee of your right leg.
Exercise bike
It is designed to train the rectus abdominis muscle. Lie on the floor and place your hands behind your head. Raise your legs and bend your knees slightly. Raise your head above the floor without putting pressure on your neck. Use your legs to move as if you were riding a bicycle for one minute. Beginners can start with three sets per day. This exercise can be used to train the oblique abdominal muscles. To do this, with each lift, perform a twist, directing the elbow of your right hand towards your left leg, and vice versa.
Leg raise while sitting on a chair
As with the bicycle, it is designed to train the rectus abdominis muscles. Sit on the edge of a chair and straighten your legs. As you inhale, pull your right leg toward your chest, gradually bending it at the knee. As you exhale, lower your leg back down. We repeat the same with the left leg. We perform 3 sets of 10 times on each leg.
Lifting the pelvis while lying on your back
To perform this exercise, you need to lie on your back on a flat surface. Bend your knees and slowly lift your pelvis. In this case, the shoulder blades should be in contact with the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and hold in this position for 10 seconds. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
Lifting your legs while lying down
Lie on your back and place your arms along your torso. As you inhale, lift them up, forming a 90-degree angle. Stay in this position for 10 seconds. At the same time, try to strain your abdominal muscles as much as possible. Do the required number of approaches 15 times.
Perform the exercises gradually, increasing the load each subsequent week. Remember that consistency is the key to success. If you want results, don't skip training. Unless, of course, we are talking about health problems. During the period of colds, stop exercising.
Plank
Let's move on to exercises that will help you get sculpted abs on your stomach. And first we will look at the plank exercise. We highlight it separately for the simple reason that it is a universal exercise for the abs. And not only for the abs, but for the whole body: the muscles of the back, arms, shoulders and legs are also involved in the exercise.
And it’s quite simple to do: you just need to lie face down on the floor and rest on your outstretched, straight arms and toes. Stay in this position for several minutes. The main difficulty in the exercise lies in the static position - you cannot move or arch your back.
To increase the load on certain parts of the press, some plank options are possible. You can focus on one arm with your torso turned to the side, you can pull your legs up to one of your arms, etc.
