And an individual plan drawn up by a specialist will take into account the characteristics of your body and health status. For example, if you are prone to anemia, a nutritionist will help you include enough iron-containing foods in your diet. And if there are problems with the gastrointestinal tract, he will offer more dietary dishes rich in healthy fibers.
A personalized approach is especially important if you have food allergies or intolerances. With its help, you can not only avoid trigger foods, but also replace them with those that will allow you to get the required amount of vitamins and minerals.
Where to pump up your abs - in the gym or at home
Muscles don't care where you train them. But doing abdominal exercises in the gym is more convenient for several reasons:
- a large number of different exercise machines, as well as mats, rollers and other equipment;
- motivating atmosphere - everyone around is tensely pumping their muscles;
- a lot of free space - no need to try to squeeze between the sofa and the TV;
- the opportunity to seek advice from a trainer or “spy” on the correct execution of exercises;
- large mirrors - you can always evaluate your equipment from the outside and correct mistakes.
Abdominal training in the gym is more productive, because there you can use several machines at once, working your muscles in different ways, and do energetic leg swings without the fear of hitting furniture or your beloved cat. If you can do all this at home, then the gym is not so necessary - after all, you can train online with a trainer.
View trainer profiles
Straight crunches
How to do abdominal crunches correctly?
- Lie on the floor on your back and bend your legs. Pay attention to your lower back - when performing the exercise, it should always be pressed to the floor.
- Keep your hands near your chest or behind your head, but do not use them to lift yourself.
- Rise up slowly, feeling the tension in all your abdominal muscles. It is important not just to rise, but to twist without lifting your lower back off the floor.
- Smoothly lower yourself to the starting position and repeat the exercise.
Important! Crunches can be dangerous for your back health if done incorrectly. The main rule: do not lift your lower back off the floor!
How long should you do abdominal exercises?
When training your abs, you don’t need to be fancy with the number of repetitions and vary it according to complex schemes. The recipe is simple: work until your muscles fail, but within 15-20 times per approach. Approaches from 3 to 5. This is the average figure recommended by many sources. If necessary, use weights or do the exercises more slowly, “drawn out”. We won’t write a list of references, just take my word for it.
For endurance sports (running, cross-country skiing, swimming, cycling, etc.), it is not so much muscle hypertrophy that is important, but endurance. Therefore, it is important to keep the press under load for as long as possible. To do this, do the repetitions slowly and fix the extreme position under load.
What clothes are suitable for abdominal training?
Comfortable sportswear that does not restrict movement is sufficient: a T-shirt, shorts or sweatpants. You can exercise in socks, but sneakers are more comfortable and safer - there is no risk of slipping. If you plan to do leg raises on parallel bars or a horizontal bar, do not forget to wear gloves to avoid slipping of your palms and the appearance of calluses.
What you definitely shouldn’t do is dress too warmly to “drive away the water.” Along with sweat, salts necessary for the body are also lost, and the state of health may worsen due to dehydration. If you want to work up a nice sweat, you can relax in the sauna or bathhouse after your workout.
What equipment is needed for abdominal exercises?
You can pump up your abs without equipment, but with it you have much more options. In addition, the equipment makes training more varied and interesting.
| Training apparatus | Training method |
| Horizontal bar | Lifting legs straight or bent at the knees while hanging. |
| Bars or support | A more effective way to pump up your abs is with hanging leg raises. |
| Incline bench | Pumping different abdominal muscles depending on the angle of inclination. |
| Ab roller | Working the same muscles as during the plank, but with a more serious load. |
| Rug | Any abdominal exercises without equipment. |
It is not necessary to buy a roller, horizontal bar and emphasis - they can be found in almost any gym. But it’s better to buy your own rug. If the one in the fitness club turns out to be too thin, then your knees and tailbone will hurt. And if, on the contrary, it is super soft, it will spring and slide under you.
Leg raises on the horizontal bar
Abdominal training on the horizontal bar allows you to work all the abdominal muscles without endangering your spine.
- Frog on the horizontal bar
While hanging on the bar, bend your knees and lift them to the level of your stomach. In this case, the lifting is carried out only using the abdominal muscles, without swinging or anything else. Hold the position until it burns. In the following sets, raise your knees to chest level and chin level.
- Hanging leg raises on the bar
This is a basic exercise for those who want to pump up their abs on the horizontal bar. Slowly raise your legs to a 90-degree angle and lower them just as slowly.
- Corner on the crossbar
It is performed as a hanging leg lift on a horizontal bar, but with the extreme position being fixed to failure. To perform this exercise, you first need to master lifting your legs while hanging on the bar.
- Side crunches
Engages the oblique abdominal muscles. It is performed as a hanging leg lift on a horizontal bar, but not in front of you, but to the left and right.
How quickly can you pump up your abs?
There can be no simple answer here. It all depends on your initial data: age, weight, health, lifestyle, diet, availability of free time and, of course, motivation.
Gelena Kovpak athletics and fitness coach
5,0 23
Open profile
The body reacts to stress very individually. Everyone has a different metabolism, a different composition of muscle tissue: some have more white fibers, some have more red fibers. And since it is the white fibers that are responsible for the relief, the result appears at different speeds.
If you once already had a sculpted stomach, but you took a break from training, it will be enough to dry yourself well. This should take six weeks. But it is more likely to see results after three months. And six months later, work on the stomach until serious visual changes, that is, cubes.
How to properly pump up your abdominal muscles?
Everyone has abs, absolutely everyone. But in order for the abdominal muscles to appear, you need to reduce the thickness of subcutaneous fat to 1 cm or less. It is important to remember that you won’t be able to burn fat locally on your stomach, and even more so, you won’t burn anything with abdominal exercises. This is a long-standing and very common misconception. Fat is burned throughout the body and exercise is not enough for this; there must be a comprehensive approach to losing weight.
So, to get beautiful abs and beautiful posture, you need to complete 2 points:
- get rid of fat
- pump up (in this case, abs)
That is, diet combined with training. To all this it is advisable to add proper sports nutrition.
Important! The rectus abdominis muscle (which we call the abs) runs from the pelvic bone and is attached to the sternum, and the abs are the intersection of the muscle with the connecting fibers. It is one and the same, so effective exercises for the lower abs or exercises for the upper abs simply do not exist. Tension runs throughout the muscle; there is a slight difference only in the degree of load.
How long does it take to pump up your abs?
The answer will depend on your body weight and body fat. The process can take from 1 month to 1 year, sometimes longer.
Workout Part 1: Warm Up
Before you start training, try to remember when you last ate: at least 2-3 hours should have passed since your last meal. If lunch was a long time ago, then you can start warming up. It must be done before any physical activity, as its absence can lead to unpleasant pulling sensations or even serious injuries.
But it’s also important to remember that this is just a warm-up, which means it shouldn’t be too exhausting. “The abs are the stabilizer of the entire body. If you tire him out at the very beginning of training, the risk of injury in subsequent exercises increases,” explains coach Gelena Kovpak. It is enough to do a few simple exercises within 10 minutes:
- careful rotations and tilts of the head;
- rotation of the arms in the shoulder joints;
- bringing and spreading the arms to open the thoracic region;
- rotational movements in the thoracic region without the participation of the lower back;
- hip rotation;
- alternately abducting the legs bent at the knees in a standing position with support;
- tilting to the toes with a straight back and legs;
- foot rotations and toe raises.
Each movement must be repeated at least 10 times. If you feel that your body is not yet ready for the load, increase the number of repetitions.
Abdominal muscle training[edit | edit code]
Abs workout - workout No. 1 (video)
Bodybuilders pay special attention to the abdominal muscles, since they largely characterize the athlete’s physique. In addition, a strong muscle corset that supports the abdominal cavity has a beneficial effect on the location and functioning of internal organs, which, of course, has a positive effect on human health.
Beginner bodybuilders should primarily take care of the development of this muscle group. Exercises with heavy weights involve holding your breath and straining, which greatly increases intra-abdominal pressure. With insufficient development of the abdominal press, this can lead to the appearance of a hernia and perforation of the abdominal wall.
To work the muscles of the anterior wall
There are two main types of abdominal exercises you can use:
- raising the legs with a fixed upper body. This exercise allows you to load most of the lower part of the rectus abdominis muscle;
- raising the torso with fixed lower limbs. In this option, the upper segments of the rectus abdominis muscle receive a greater load.
Oblique muscles
are worked out using various rotations of the body (using weights and special devices).
Abdominal muscles
you need to train at least 2-3 times a week, without using approaches with a large number of repetitions. The best results are obtained by performing 2-3 sets of each exercise with a weight that allows you to do 8-12 repetitions.
Additional information[edit | edit code]
- Press exercises and training features
- How to pump up powerful abs
- An effective abdominal training technique
- Abdominal exercises for girls
Workout Part 3: Cool Down or Cardio
Cardio training is also very beneficial for the abs, especially if you use it as a cool-down or add it to your main workouts.
Svetlana Pavlotskaya, nutritionist
4,91 43
Open profile
If you want to lose weight and reduce body fat, I recommend doing at least 45-60 minutes of aerobic activity every day. This could be running, swimming, water aerobics, dancing, step, or even a simple walk in the park.
You can remove belly fat even with active and long walks with your dog or climbing stairs. Any activity that raises your heart rate and quickens your breathing is suitable.
Crunches
Don't forget about regular crunches. They help to remove fat and gain relief very quickly, since all muscle groups of the abdominal region are involved during the work.
How to properly pump up your abdominal muscles using crunches:
- take a position lying on your back, legs at right angles, arms behind your head, elbows to the sides;
- now you need to pull your upper body towards your knees without straining your lower back;
- repeat several times (10-15 times, 4 sets).
During execution, you need to not just lift your back off the floor, but slowly stretch, rounding your spine and twisting your stomach like an accordion.
Before starting the movement, take a breath, and exhale during the process. There is no need to stretch your neck; your chin does not touch your chest.
