One of the most noticeable muscles on the human body, which is a kind of indicator of a sports lifestyle. In addition to its aesthetic appearance, the abdominal muscles are involved in almost all movements.
They stabilize the upper and lower body, allowing them to interact with each other, protect the internal organs and control intra-abdominal pressure.
Anatomy
To many of the uninitiated, the muscles that make up the abs consist only of the front abs. These are the most obvious, but not the only important areas of the abdomen.
The body also has lateral press, which many people do not develop.
If you roughly divide the belly, you get four parts:
- Upper part of the rectus muscle;
- Lower;
- Right and left.
The upper section performs a stabilizing function and is involved in the breathing process. The lower one provides support to the abdominal organs. And the side ones allow the upper and lower parts of the body to turn and bend.
Some people think that the abdominal pattern, consisting of bulges similar to cubes, is the result of titanic work.
In fact, each of us has one. The problem is that for some it is hidden under a layer of fat, while for others it is atrophied so much that the thickness of the red fibers coincides with the connecting adhesions.
By correctly approaching abdominal exercises and your abs, you can achieve beautiful relief in a month, of course, depending on your physical shape.
Practical recommendations
So, to build beautiful abs, exercise alone is not enough. There are still many nuances that need to be paid attention to. Let's look at them in more detail. So, the first is additional training that will be aimed at burning fat. As mentioned above, if you have belly fat, no matter how you train your abdominal muscles, it simply won’t be visible. Therefore, the first step is to include cardio training in the process. Fat cannot be burned locally, so proper nutrition must be added to your workouts. All this will help you lose weight, which means it will also help you see beautiful abs on your stomach. The nutrition process must also be given special attention. Even if you are not overweight and you don’t need to lose weight. In order for muscles to grow, you need to consume protein, because protein is the basis of muscles. Therefore, it is necessary to include in your diet a large amount of protein, which the body needs. If you don't get protein from regular foods, you can include protein in your diet, which contains a large amount of protein and helps muscles grow better. It is also worth reducing the consumption of fast carbohydrates, since they have a very negative effect on the abdominal muscles.
Relief
To make your belly attractive in the shortest possible time, this is especially true before the beach season, you need to follow the following scheme:
- Build muscle fibers;
- Strengthen them;
- Get rid of unnecessary things.
The most effective way to gain muscle mass is to train with additional weights. They engage a supercompensation mechanism that makes muscles stronger and larger after injury.
In addition, regular work with weights has a beneficial effect on hormonal levels, and over time the body tries to adapt by increasing the number of fibers.
Training program
If you haven't trained for a long time, or this is completely new to you, you need to prepare.
The first week you can study at home by doing:
- Crunches 30X4;
- Leg lift 30X4;
- Bicycle 20X2;
- Lateral tilts 40X3.
You need to exercise every other day. After the first workout, muscle pain caused by the accumulation of lactic acid may torment you for 2 or 3 days.
Don't worry, it's better to wait until everything returns to normal and only then continue with classes. This is an isolated incident that will most likely not happen again.
When you perform this complex for the abdominal muscles, and the next day you feel as if nothing had happened, you can move on to heavy approaches.
Training the abdominal muscles correctly
So, in order for training to bring results and not cause any health problems, you need to train correctly. Let's look at what you need to pay attention to during training. 1. The first and most important thing is the execution technique. A lot depends on it. If you are not sure that you are doing the exercise correctly, then you should not do it. Because incorrect technique will not only not bring positive results, but can also seriously harm your health. This must be taken very seriously. 2. Don't overexert yourself during the training process. You should not do a huge number of approaches, this will not bring the desired result. This way you will simply exploit your body, 3-4 sets of 10-15 repetitions are enough, but at the same time they must be performed correctly and with maximum efficiency. Only this will bring a positive result. 3. No more than 3 workouts per week for the abdominal muscles. It is very important. During training, the muscles are torn, and in order to see the result, it is necessary for them to grow together. And for this, the muscles need rest. This is at least 24 hours, and if the training was intense, then it will take 48 hours to restore the abdominal muscles. Therefore, you need to train your abdominal muscles at least every other day, only in this case the training will be beneficial.
Progression
Movements that do not cause you much difficulty and are not accompanied by a period of fatigue will not bring any result except the calories burned.
In some cases this is useful, but our goal is to create a beautiful relief and strengthen the abdominal muscles.
Increasing the load is the only way to constantly progress. This can be achieved if:
- Use additional weight;
- Perform new movements;
- Work longer and faster.
The first option suits us best, because short but heavy approaches tire the nervous system less.
To work, we need something quite weighty; a barbell or dumbbell would be ideal.
Of course, you can even use an anvil, but it is not so convenient. You need to select weights so that you can perform 20 repetitions in compliance with the technique.
When you are tired, making movements similar to the spasms of a dying heron, it is worth stopping, since you are pumping the hernia rather than the abs.
To work with your legs, you can resort to tourniquets and elastic bands that create resistance.
Considering the functions of the abdominals, you need to choose exercises that require the work of the upper and lower body.
Classic complex:
- Twisting with weight 20X4;
- Leg raises with resistance 20X4;
- Lateral bends with a dumbbell 20X4 on each side;
- Slopes with a vertical block 20X3;
- Rivet 10X4.
This program has the following goals:
- Load your abs as much as possible with the first two approaches. When performing them, it is important to maintain smooth movement and not to involve the muscles of the back and buttocks in the work.
- Side bends with a dumbbell are not a difficult exercise, but they are not an area that needs to be worked to the maximum. Therefore, you should not take too much weight.
- Vertical block, the ideal exercise machine for the abdominal muscles. Working with it is quite simple and it allows you to slightly relax the nervous system and finish off already tired muscles.
- The rivet allows all tissues to be saturated with blood, which will contribute to the complete breakdown of lactic acid. As counterintuitive as it may be, by doing it at the end, you will recover faster and will not experience pain, or it will be minimized.
Exercises for medium abs
Bench crunches
The exercise can be performed both on the floor and on a bench. Lie down on the bench. Place your hands behind your head, bend your legs at the knees and make a right angle - this will be our starting position. Now twist slowly (knees towards your head and head towards your knees), then return to the starting position.
Do 8-12 reps. The most important thing is to watch the traffic. The back is pressed tightly to the knees, only the shoulder blades come off. If a burning sensation appears in the abdominal area, then you are doing everything right.
To increase the load, I recommend wearing 1-2 kg bracelets on your feet, and also holding a weight plate of a suitable weight behind your head. Do 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Increase the load with each approach.
You can read more detailed information by clicking on the link for crunches on a bench.
Crunches on a block machine
To perform this mid-abs exercise, you will need a pulley machine with a piece of rope or a V-shaped handle. Get on your knees. Grasp a piece of rope or a V-shaped handle with your hands and lean forward a little - this is our starting position.
Slowly, without jerking, curl down, thereby pulling your elbows towards your knees. Hold this position for a second and return to the starting position. Do 6-12 reps. Control your movements, do not jerk.
I consider cable crunches to be the most effective exercise for mid-abs. For additional load, increase the weight of the blocks, moving the key lower and lower with each approach.
Perform 2-3 sets with 6-12 repetitions. The more weight you take, the faster cubes will appear on your stomach. The most important thing to remember is that the abs are the same muscles as, for example, the chest muscles, which respond to load in the same way.
For more information, see the cable curls link.
Well, we looked at the two most effective exercises for medium abs.
Diet
Anyone who wants to make their stomach beautiful must take into account where the abdominal muscles are located. Often, even after several months of hard and exhausting training, there is no result.
It’s not even like that, it’s there, but it’s not visible. This is due to the fact that the fat fold hides the entire picture.
To get rid of it, it is advisable to perform high-repetition exercises that burn energy reserves.
But if the energy entering the body with food covers all costs, alas, there will be no result. Therefore, in the process of working on the relief, it is advisable to reduce the calorie content of the diet.
You shouldn’t torture yourself with fasting; it’s enough to cut down as much as possible on the most harmful foods that contain a lot of sugar and empty calories.
By eating natural foods, a person speeds up his metabolism, which means that consuming the same number of calories will lead to an energy deficit.
After a week of such a diet, the body will begin to use fat reserves for nutrition. If you do aerobic exercise at the same time, progress will accelerate.
Features of the abdominal muscles
So, first you need to find out which abdominal muscles are responsible for those very desired cubes? This is the same rectus abdominis muscle that is responsible for the 6-pack. So, the rectus muscle is pumped up quite easily, with the most classic exercises being classic flexion and extension of the torso, leg lifts, and lateral twists. These exercises are responsible for the rectus abdominis muscle. However, the abs have a specific feature; if you have belly fat, then of course you can pump up the abs, but this is pointless, since it simply will not be visible. Therefore, if you want beautiful abs, then first you need to get rid of belly fat. And this can only be done with the help of proper nutrition and training, which will be aimed at burning fat.
Electronic gadgets
Many have seen the video of the abdominal muscles of a young athlete who advertises a butterfly electrical stimulator. The advertisement proves to us that this athlete achieved results only through a magic device.
You shouldn't fall for it. The thesis in such videos is simple: muscles contract when the brain sends them a command in the form of an electrical impulse through the nerves.
This means that if you send an electrical impulse, causing contractions, you can cause tissue growth and strengthening.
Sure, muscles contract, but doing actual exercise causes more than just muscle contraction.
All body systems are involved in training. This is blood, which in a rapid flow carries nutritional amino acids and glucose to the working area. This is also the endocrine system, which, through complex manipulation of microelements, makes tissues stronger.
Therefore, you should not look for easy paths, which turn out to be even more difficult because they lead nowhere.
V-shaped crunches
This exercise will perfectly pump up the middle part. Perform on a rug or mat - your choice. IP: lie on your back. Stretch your arms up above your head. Stretch your legs. Begin to slowly lift your legs and torso at the same time so that your body forms the letter V. Many people call this exercise a “pocket knife” because you have to literally fold in half when performing the movement. At the peak, linger for a second, tensing your abdominal muscles as much as possible, after which you return to the IP. You cannot lower your body and legs completely in order to maintain tension in the abdominal area. The exercise is not performed in jerks or at a fast pace so that the body does not sway.
