How to pump up your abs in 2 weeks? Practical advice

Technical nuances

At some point, it became fashionable to pump the abs daily for 100-200 repetitions. However, how does the abdominal muscle tissue differ from the same biceps? That's right - nothing. Therefore, it needs to be trained in the same way as all other muscles. You don’t pump your back with hundreds of repetitions every day!

For the abs there will also be a standard 2-3 workouts per week. In a strength style, you need to do 12-15 repetitions; for fat burning, a range of 20 to 25 repetitions is suitable. Moreover, what the abs will look like is determined genetically. For example, some may have 6 cubes, while others may have 8.

Useful video on how to pump up a girl’s abs in a week

Author

Oksana Belokur

Pediatrician

In 2012 she graduated from the Medical Institute of Sumy State University. She received a higher education in the specialty “Pediatrics” and qualified as a doctor. In 2012-2013, there were treatment and preventive activities at the Sumy Regional Children's Hospital. In 2013-2015 worked as a local pediatrician at Children's Clinic No. 2. I am currently on maternity leave. In my free time I do embroidery and knitting, and study English.

Share

Useful tips

The abdominal and back muscles are the core muscles, i.e. they stabilize the body. These are actually the only muscle groups that can be trained without participating in dynamic contraction. Accordingly, they need to be given such a load. Do not wear belts during such workouts. This is especially true for beginners. Do not do the exercises while sitting, as this position is quite dangerous.

The core muscles begin to work as stabilizers when you do, for example, a barbell/dumbbell overhead press.

It all starts with general loads

Any man should understand for himself that pumping up the press is not carried out only locally.

This is a completely wrong approach that will produce very little results. If the task is to pump up your abs in a short time (for example, 2 weeks), then you should start with general physical exercises, which not only put stress on most of the muscles of the body, but also directly affect the muscles of the notorious abs. All this must be applied in combination. You need to work hard, because the famous cubes and longitudinal lines are worth it!

The closest attention should be paid to this type of physical activity such as running. It works well not only with the leg muscles, as many people think, but also with the abs. The abdominal muscles tighten significantly when jogging. You shouldn’t torment yourself with training, everything should be in moderation. By the way, it is recommended to run either in the morning or before bed. This way you can kill two birds with one stone. Running in the morning sets the mood for the whole day, the body responds well to morning workouts, and digestion noticeably improves from this. Running before bed is no less useful. It normalizes the functioning of all systems (from cardiovascular to nervous), and your abs from evening sports will be like iron.

Another helper in achieving toned abs is swimming. When exercising in the pool, a lot of muscles also tense. The stomach is again no exception. A person who regularly swims in the pool will never have problems with the abs; the stomach will not become large, flabby or saggy. Swimming is also good for general physical tone. It increases a man’s endurance, which will allow him to bear local loads on the abs much easier.

Cycling is no less useful, although it cannot be said that it is the abs that are pumped up in the best way. And yet there is some influence on him. But no man would give up beautiful and toned legs, would he? Therefore, cycling can also be adopted.

Best exercises

What are the abdominal muscles made of?

Before listing the exercises, you need to understand what the abdominal muscles are made of. The most important thing is the rectus abdominis muscle. She is responsible for twisting the spine. The second is the external oblique, which is responsible for lateral bending or bending, as well as for twisting the pelvis back. The third is the internal oblique. It helps a person during exhalation. Finally, the fourth is the transverse abdominal muscle, which can only contract statically. It stabilizes intra-abdominal pressure and maintains the spine and pelvic muscles in a straight position.

Straight crunches

This exercise is considered the most important and most effective. The abdominal muscles work great when crunching up to about 30 degrees. This is done in a lying position. The lower back cannot be lifted off the floor. Otherwise, you risk transferring the load to your quadriceps.

Under no circumstances should you pull yourself by the neck, as beginners like to do. First of all, this is cheating. Secondly, this can damage the spine. Therefore, you need to cross your arms over your chest or bring them slightly towards your face. At the end point, do not relax the muscles.

If you are doing this exercise with a partner, ask him to hold your legs not on top, but by your heels. Moreover, they should be slightly pulled back if possible.

Crunches with cable handles on knees

The advantage of this exercise is that there is no load on the lower back.

Technique:

• kneel in front of the machine and grab the handle;
• round your back slightly;
• curl your shoulder joints toward your abs.

The amplitude in the exercise is quite small.

Reverse crunches

An effective exercise, but technically difficult to perform. Perhaps beginners will not be able to do such crunches right away.

Technique:

• lie down on the bench and grab the handle with your hands;
• lift your pelvis off the bench and lift it;
• Bend your knees and gently lift them.

Reverse parallel bars crunches

When you see that a beginner rests his hands on the bars and raises his knees to the press, then you know that he is doing it wrong. In this way, the future athlete can slightly pump up his legs, but nothing more. In this exercise they do not need to be lowered below parallel. This is technically difficult, and such crunches should only be performed under the supervision of a trainer.

Exercises for the abs and arms

Bike

1. Lie down on the mat with your hands behind your head.
2. Legs raised and knees bent.
3. Raise your upper body (head, neck, shoulders).
4. At the same time, straighten your right leg, twisting your body, and turn to the left.
5. Then, straighten your left leg, turning to the right.

3-4 sets, 10-15 reps. When both legs perform the same movements (right - turn to the left, left - turn to the right), this is one repetition.

To develop the correct technique, we recommend watching the video:

Bench push-ups (abs + triceps)

1. Place your palms on a bench (chair, sofa), fingers together, gaze in front of you.
2. Tighten your abdominal muscles, this will remove excess stress from your back, keep your body straight.
3. Bend over, bending your elbows, and touch your chest to the bench.
4. Straighten your elbows.

3 sets, 12-15 reps.

Bent over arm extension

You will need dumbbells, if you don't have them, water bottles work great.

1. Take the weight and bend your elbows.
2. Place your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees slightly.
3. The body is tilted forward, bend your lower back.
4. From this position we extend our arms, the shoulder joint does not move, only the elbow joint moves.
5. The back and abs are tense.

3 sets, 20-25 repetitions, dumbbell weight 1 kg (or 0.5-1.5 liter water bottle).

Worst Exercises

What exercises should you avoid? The most common thing: when girls want to lose weight at the waist, they pick up a dumbbell and bend to the side with it. The only thing you will achieve is hypertrophy of the oblique abdominal muscles. The waist will only visually increase.

The second harmful exercise is lifting your legs on a bench without twisting.

Third - twisting on a Roman chair with a separation of the lower back. If you are still a beginner, then avoid this machine altogether. I believe that he stands in the hall only to distract from the base.

Another useless exercise is raising your legs to parallel while hanging on a horizontal bar. At the same time, many still manage to swing.

Finally, it makes no sense to simply lie on the floor and raise your legs to your stomach. In this case, only the quadriceps work; the press is out of the question.

How to quickly pump up your abs. Cubes in 14 days

A short and clear strategy for developing abdominal muscles and creating six-pack abs. Everything you need to know about how to pump up your abs correctly.

Let’s say right away that you won’t be able to achieve your goal without effort. To get “iron” abs, you have to work hard. Literally and figuratively. The speed of obtaining results will directly depend on the intensity of training. The more often you practice and the longer each session is, the faster the result will be achieved.

You can exercise both in the gym and at home: you don’t need any special equipment for training. A mat, a horizontal bar (if available) and a bench will come in handy. We will provide an approximate list of exercises that are suitable for both men and women.

Exercises for pumping up the upper abs

To pump up your upper abs, you need to focus on exercises with lifting the body, as well as crunches.

• Lifting the body 90°
  . Starting position: lying on the floor on your back, legs bent at the knees, feet shoulder-width apart, parallel to each other. Hands behind your head. Inhale and exhale, lift your body (back straight) to your knees. Fix your body for two counts at a control point perpendicular to the floor, while inhaling, slowly lower to the floor without relaxing your muscles. Perform 2-3 sets of 15 repetitions.
• Straight crunches .
  The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise. Perform partial lifts (30°) of the upper body, keeping the lower back and feet pressed to the floor. Try to keep your abdominal muscles tense at all times. Perform 3 sets of 15–20–10 reps. When performing this exercise, it is not necessary to clasp your hands behind your head; if it is difficult, you can slightly pull them forward. After a month or two, when you get used to the load, you can complicate the exercise.
• Crunches with legs raised.
  Starting position: lying on your back, pelvis raised perpendicular to the floor, legs bent at the knees (calves parallel to the floor). Hands behind your head. As you exhale, lift your upper body (similar to the previous exercise). Make sure your legs don't drop. This exercise puts a parallel load on the gluteal and thigh muscles. Perform 3 sets 15–15–10 times.

Exercises for pumping up the lower abs

To train the lower rectus abdominal muscles, you need to perform exercises with leg raises.

• Reverse crunches
  . Starting position: lying on your back, arms extended along the body, palms facing down, legs raised perpendicular to the floor and bent at the knees. Raise your lower body by pulling your knees toward your chin. Do not lift your shoulder blades and palms off the floor. Perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions. This exercise can be made more difficult by performing it while hanging on a horizontal bar.
• "Pop-up float"
  . Starting position: lying on the floor, legs raised up and slightly bent, back pressed to the floor, arms too. Tightening your abs, “push” your lower body up, lifting your pelvis. Try not to relax your abdominal muscles. Perform 3-4 sets of 15 reps.
• "Scissors"
  . Starting position: lying on your back, raise your straight legs 30°. Tightening the muscles of your legs and abs, make short, strong swings of your legs and “run” through the air. You need to perform at least 3 sets of 35–50 repetitions.
• V-lifts (pocket knife exercise)
  . Starting position: lying down, arms extended behind the head, palms up. As you exhale, simultaneously lift your body and legs, maintaining balance on your buttocks. Ideally, your fingers should touch your toes. This exercise strains all parts of the abs. Perform 2-3 sets of 15 repetitions.

On the subject: Who pumps abs at home

Don't forget about warming up and cooling down: warming up your muscles before training and stretching exercises afterwards will make your muscles more elastic and avoid injuries.

Don’t forget about proper nutrition: what do pumped up abs mean if they are hidden by a layer of fat? A balanced diet is always useful, especially when you need to get into perfect shape.

In addition to weight control, aerobic exercise is also important. Beautiful cubes are wonderful, but it will be better if they look harmonious on the athlete’s pumped up body, and do not stand out among the flabby muscles.

Be aware of a few pitfalls of abdominal exercises:

• The abdominal muscle fibers adapt very quickly to the load, so you need to constantly increase the load without, however, crossing the line of overtraining. Once a month you need to change the set of exercises;
• without anaerobic exercises, it is unlikely that you will be able to achieve “bulging” cubes;
• When performing upper abdominal exercises, many beginners and even experienced athletes make the mistake of starting to use the psoas muscle. This is fraught with serious spinal injuries.

Thank you for watching! Subscribe and like! Together we will achieve only the best!

Source