Add these exercises to your workouts and become the owner of a steel press.
Six or eight pack abs is the cherished dream of many men, but not everyone knows how to achieve this cherished ideal. You can achieve a steel press not only with endless twists, there are many other equally effective exercises; By the way, too many twists can negatively affect the lower back. It's time to expand your arsenal of dream ab exercises.
The most effective exercises for the press
It doesn't matter if you choose one exercise and build endurance or do five exercises at a time - the listed workouts are what you need to achieve your goal. Good luck!
Exercise "Poloter" with a barbell
Lie on your back, hold the barbell at outstretched arms at chest level. Without bending, lift your legs up. Lower your legs to the right, while not touching the floor. Return to starting position and repeat on the left side.
Advice: When the legs are lowered as close to the floor as possible, stay in this position for a couple of seconds. This will not only work the oblique muscles more effectively, but also strengthen the core muscles, which in this position are actively tensed to maintain balance.
Hang pancakes of 5 kilograms on the neck of the bar. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, with your hands shoulder-width apart. Stand with your shoulders directly over the bar and slowly roll the bar away from you, then back to the starting position.
Advice: The farther you take the barbell, the harder it is. Do not try to jump over your head and make sure that your hips do not sag. One short rep with correct posture is much more effective than a barbell pulled as far as possible with a hunched back.
Turns of the body with the thrust of the upper block ("Lumberjack")
Stand at a short distance to the side of the simulator, feet shoulder-width apart, grasp the cable handle with both hands. Without bending your arms, pull the cable down towards the opposite knee, while turning the body. Slightly bend your knees and lean on the far leg. Slowly return to the starting position.
Advice: Make sure that the cable does not “pull” you to the starting position, otherwise the effectiveness of the exercise will be halved. Return to the starting position slowly and with resistance. As you move backwards, slowly count to three.
Turns of the body on the block
Grasp the cable handle with both hands so that the left arm is fully extended and crosses the body. Moving only your arms, pull the cable in the opposite direction until your right arm is fully extended. Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise.
Advice: Fix the position of the arms and shoulders, suppress the urge to strain these muscles to help yourself. The better you can isolate your core muscles, the faster you'll be able to boast six pack abs.
dragon flag
Lie on your back, grab the bench above your head with your hands. Bend your knees and push your legs up towards the ceiling, thus lifting your back off the bench. Slowly lower your legs and return to the starting position, then repeat.
Advice: Although this makes the exercise easier, do not swing your legs at the top. Instead, slowly extend your legs until they crunch before pushing them up.
Leg raises lying on a bench
Lie on a bench, on your back with your legs hanging over the edge. Hold onto the edge of the bench with your hands to keep your balance. Keep your legs as straight as possible. As you exhale, raise your legs perpendicular to the floor. Then slowly return to the starting position.
Advice: Pressing your lower back against the bench will not only allow you to purposefully work on your abdominal muscles, but will also protect your spine from injury.
Throwing a medicine ball on the floor
Stand with your legs slightly bent, hold the medicine ball in straightened arms above your head. Lean forward slightly and, using your core muscles, hit the ball with all your might on the floor about 30 centimeters in front of you. Let your arms follow the ball so you don't fall forward. Catch the ball and repeat the exercise.
Advice: Make sure you do this exercise as an exercise for the abs and not for the shoulders. Focus on twisting your abs as you hit the ball on the floor. You will be surprised how much stronger you will become. The ball will bounce so high that you will have to avoid rooms with low ceilings.
V-twists with medicine ball
Lie on your back, hold the ball over your head. Stretch your arms and legs, lift your palms and feet slightly above the floor. Raise your torso and legs at the same time. Try to touch the medicine ball to your legs. Then slowly lower yourself back to the floor.
Advice: Don't let the weight of the ball pull you back to the floor. Watch your technique and ensure that your shoulders do not touch the floor. Thus, the abdominal muscles will work throughout the exercise.
Leg and body lifts
Lie on your side, put your right foot on your left. Place your right hand behind your head, take your elbow to the side, and put your left hand in front of you for balance. Perform twisting, while trying to touch your right elbow with your right foot. Do the required number of repetitions on the left side, then on the right.
Advice: If this exercise is new to you, you will feel more tension in your hip flexors than in your obliques. Stretch after each set to loosen your tendons and increase your reps.
Side crunches
Lie on your back, bend your knees, put your feet on the floor. Put your right hand behind your head, take your elbow to the side, place your left hand, palm down, perpendicular to the body. Tighten your abs, lift your shoulders off the field and reach with your right elbow towards your left knee. Slowly lower yourself to the starting position. First complete the required number of repetitions on one side and only then move on to the other.
Advice: Do this exercise at the end of every ab workout. This exercise is best for building a steel press.
Two point plank
Stand in a classic plank position: legs and arms are straightened, shoulders are above the palms, the abdominal muscles are tense, the whole body is in a straight line. Tighten your abs and, resisting the urge to lift your hips, raise your right arm and left leg parallel to the floor. Slowly return to the starting position, repeat for the opposite side.
Advice: Raising two limbs turns the standard plank into a dynamic exercise for high-quality study of the abdominal muscles. Unless of course you follow the execution technique. If you find it difficult to maintain balance, lift one limb at a time.
body lift
Get into a plank position on your forearms, hands shoulder-width apart. Rest your palms on the floor and stretch your body up, while the torso remains straight. Slowly lower yourself to the starting position and repeat.
Advice: Your goal is not only pumped abs, but also big and strong shoulders and arms? This exercise combines the work of the upper body with the plank - 3 sets of 20 times from any plank.
Crab
Sit on the floor, hands behind your back, legs bent at the knees in front of you. Raise your hips up, relying only on your hands and feet. Start walking using both arms and legs.
Advice: Rising just a couple of centimeters above the floor, you will only put a load on your shoulders. Keep your hips as high as possible. Try to walk about 25 meters and ignore the chuckles behind you.
spider movement
Starting position: emphasis lying. Lift one leg off the floor and bring it up to your elbow. Hold this position for a short while, then return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.
Advice: To add complexity to the exercise and work more effectively on the oblique muscles of the abdomen, after pulling the knee to the elbow, take the leg back a little, then pull the knee to the elbow again and only then return to the starting position.
Leg raise crunches
Lie on your back, stretch your arms up over your head. Pull your knees to your chest and at the same time lift your back off the floor and, helping yourself with your hands, twist. Return to starting position and then repeat.
Advice: Stretch your arms above you throughout the exercise. This will increase the range of motion, which positively affects the work of the abdominal muscles.
Mahi legs
Lie on the floor, lift your heels 10-15 centimeters from the floor, while straining your core muscles. Alternately raise one leg and lower the other, as if you were swimming in a pool.
Advice: Cross your legs right and left, not just up and down. Then your abs will work in different directions, also involving the oblique muscles of the abdomen.
Hanging leg raise
Grasp the bar, make sure that you do not touch the floor with your feet while hanging. Let the straight legs pull the pelvis back a little. Tighten your abs and lift your legs until they are perpendicular to your torso. Hold this position for a short while, then slowly return to the starting position.
Advice: Let your legs dangle freely after each rep. This will force you to tighten your abs harder to avoid excessive rocking. If you hang out, then you will not succeed.
Twisting on the upper block "Prayer"
Kneel in front of the machine, hold the cable handles on either side of the neck. Without moving your hips, using only the abdominal muscles, try to reach your hips with your elbows. Hold at the bottom for a few seconds and then return to the starting position.
Advice: Don't be afraid of aggravation. This is one exercise that is independent of your body weight and you don't need to do 20 reps to figure it out. Keep a steady pace and don't make sudden jerks.
Torso raise with sandbag
Lie on your back, bend your legs at the knees, hold a sandbag (sand bag) with your arms outstretched in front of you. Tighten your abs and lift your torso up so that your upper body forms a V with your hips. Slowly return to the starting position.
Advice: To make the exercise easier, place your feet on something. In another situation, we would call it cheating, but you are doing the exercise with extra weight, so it's forgivable.
Russian twists with weight
Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, holding a sandbag with your arms outstretched in front of you. Quickly turn the body to the right and left, while shifting the sandbag in different directions.
Advice: Do not move your shoulders and gluteal muscles to isolate the abdominal muscles as much as possible. Thus, the core muscles will work even harder to dampen the impulse from shifting the bag.
The secret to perfect abs
Developing the abdominal muscles is not as difficult a task as it seems to many beginners. However, in order to pump up the relief abdominal muscles, it is not enough just to perform the most effective exercises for the press. More details about how, Fitseven already told. Successful abdominal training involves the ability to keep the abs in conscious tension during exercise.
Since the abdominal muscles are closely connected not only with the muscles of the body, but also with the muscles of the back, if the exercises are performed incorrectly, a load on the lower back is created, which provokes the development of chronic pain. Before moving on to "advanced" exercises, it is important to learn how to pump the press correctly with the help of a set of exercises for beginners, presented below.
Abs Workout for Beginners
It must be remembered that the purpose of the home set of exercises for the press presented below is, first of all, to develop the correct technique for beginners, and not at all to set records for the number of repetitions. It will be more effective not at all one hundred quick ones, performed “somehow” and with poor technique, but ten technical ones, perfect with a full feeling of involvement of the abdominal muscles in the work.
It is also recommended to include in your workout - it is useful not only for strengthening the internal muscles of the press, but also for reducing the waist circumference. Ultimately, the development of abdominal muscles should be based on both hypertrophy training and static exercises (for example, planks).
Exercises to burn belly fat
Let us remind you once again that you can see the press cubes and a flat stomach only after you achieve general thinness with a diet and special ones. It is important to understand that abdominal exercises help rather to improve the shape of the abdominal muscles, and not at all to get rid of the existing fat layer.
Not a single abdominal exercise, even the most difficult and performed in the most advanced simulator, can lead to fat burning. To get rid of a kilo of fat, you will need to perform 500,000 crunches in a row - and belly fat will be the last to burn due to metabolic and genetic features.
Press pumping scheme
When performing the training complex proposed below for the press, you must constantly remember that the meaning of any exercise is to involve the abdominal muscles in the work - for example,. When twisting, you should feel the muscles of the abdomen, and not the back, legs, or any other parts of the body. Only in this case you will be able to achieve cubes on the press.
To train various types of muscle fibers of the abdominal muscles, the program includes both dynamic exercises with movement and repetitions, and motionless exercises, in which it is necessary to linger in a certain position for a few seconds, creating a static load on the muscles of the body (various variations of the Planck exercise).
A set of exercises for the press
| Press exercise | Type of exercise | Recommendations for implementation |
| Static // Obliques of the abs and torso | 20-30 seconds on the left and 20-30 seconds on the right side of the body. In total 2-3 approaches. | |
| Dynamic // Oblique Abs | 10-15 reps on the left side of the body, then a 30 second break and 10-15 reps on the right side of the body. A total of 2-3 sets on each side. | |
| 5-7 repetitions on each side of the body with a delay of 5-10 seconds at the top point. A total of 2-3 sets on each side. | ||
| 4. Plank (elbowstand) | Static // Rectus Abs and Core | Hold the plank position for 20-40 seconds, then take a 30 second break. In total 2-3 approaches. |
| 5. Exercise "Scissors" | Dynamic // Rectus and Oblique Abs | 10-12 slow reps followed by a 30 second break. In total 2-3 approaches. |
| Dynamic + Static // Oblique Abs | 7-10 repetitions on each side of the body with a delay of 5-10 seconds at the final point. A total of 1-2 sets on each side. | |
| Dynamic + static // Rectus abdominis | 10-20 seconds at the top of the exercise, then rest 20-30 seconds. Only 3-4 approaches. | |
| Dynamic // Rectus abdominis, lower abs | 3 sets of 10-12 reps | |
| Dynamic // Rectus abdominis | 3 sets of 7-12 reps | |
| 10. Stretching your arms forward | Static // Core muscles | 10-20 seconds with each arm extension, 3-4 total on each side of the body. |
Home set of exercises for the press
Leaning on the elbow, keep the body stretched in a straight line from the head to the tips of the toes, consciously keeping the abdominal muscles in tension. During the exercise, maintain a normal breathing rhythm and make sure that the pelvis does not drop too low. 
Lying on your back, left foot on the floor, right on the knee of the left. As you exhale, tensing the muscles of the lateral press, slightly raise the left shoulder from the floor, directing the elbow towards the right knee. Keep your right shoulder firmly pressed to the floor and make sure that the neck muscles are not tense. 
With the strength of the lateral abdominal muscles, lift the body up, as if trying to reach the tips of the toes with your elbow, but do not push off the floor with your right elbow and make sure that there is no excessive deflection of the neck. Hold at the top of the exercise for 5-10 seconds. 4. Plank (elbowstand)
Keep your body as straight as possible, keeping your abs lightly contracted while looking down to keep your spine in a natural position. It is important not to raise the buttocks too high - for this you need to slightly “twist” the pelvis inward. 5. Exercise "Scissors"
Lying on your back, arms crossed and placed under the buttocks. Due to the strength of the abdominal muscles, lift the outstretched legs, then begin to make alternating movements with them. Move your legs slowly and with the feeling that their weight is on the press. Maintain a normal breathing rhythm. 
Slowly move your locked hands to the left, while pulling your right leg towards you. Hold at the extreme point for 5-10 seconds, feeling tension in the abdominal muscles, then return to the center, lower your legs to the floor, rest 10-15 seconds and repeat for the other side. 
Lying on your back, stretch your arms forward and slightly raise your legs. As you exhale, lift your torso off the floor with the strength of your abdominal muscles, stretch your fingertips towards your legs. Hold at the top of the exercise for 10-20 seconds, while straining the press, then take a break of 20-30 seconds. 
At the exit, tensing the abdominal muscles, direct your knees to your chest, trying to slightly tear your lower back off the floor. As you inhale, slowly lower your legs down, but do not put them on the floor. Maintain conscious tension in the abdominal muscles for 10-20 seconds, then repeat the exercise. 
This exercise is performed almost last so that the tired lateral muscles of the press make it possible to fully include the rectus abdominis muscles in the work. Twist as you exhale, as slowly as possible and while looking forward and up. 
Get on your knees, leaning on your hands. As you exhale, tighten your abs and pull your stomach inward as much as possible, then stretch your right arm forward and your left leg back. Hold the position for 10-20 seconds without lowering your leg and constantly reaching forward with your arm. Change sides. ***
The first rule in training abdominal muscles is a low percentage of subcutaneous fat, achieved by fat burning training and diet. The second rule is the conscious involvement of the abdominal and core muscles in the work, which requires the performance of both static and dynamic exercises. The third rule is the slow rhythm of the exercises and control over their technique.
Currently, there are a huge number of workouts focused on training abdominal cubes. This article will tell you everything you need to know about building a beautiful, sculpted body.
You can be strong… you can be big… but all the really tough guys have incredibly tough abs. If you want to build abs like Arnold Schwarzenegger, that's great.
If creating a relief figure is such an easy thing, why does not everyone have a taut and embossed belly? So there is some problem.
You know what happens when millions of people want something in such a way that it forces them to google for what they want late into the night with their wallets ready.
Of course... it's a siren for the savvy marketers hiding in the shadows. Perhaps it would be better to call them eagles, hovering overhead, looking for weakened prey.
Okay, okay, this is going to sound a little dramatic, but my point is this:
- Some will tell you that you only need to do a few exercises a day to get sculpted abs... but that's a mistake.
- Someone will say that it is imperative to perform squats and deadlifts, otherwise you will not be able to form a beautiful torso ... but this is a mistake.
- Someone will say that you need to eat only certain foods, and everything else is by no means impossible ... but this is a mistake.
- Someone will say that you just need to lose weight ... but this is a mistake.
- And someone will say that it's all about nutritional supplements ... but they are not right either.
In fact, you only need to do two things well:
How to build sculpted abs in 2 easy steps
Building six pack abs is easier said than done. Although it is quite simple if you follow certain instructions.
1. Lose weight
I think it's obvious.
The first reason why six cubes are not visible is the presence of a large fat layer covering the muscle layer.
Getting rid of fat, you will be closer to your goal, if not already reached it. However, the next question follows from this: how to lose weight?
First, you cannot directly get rid of belly fat. Losing weight in limited areas of the body is a myth.
Targeted fat loss or "limited reduction" has long been hot buttons for selling fitness books, magazines, DVDs, nutritional supplements and more.
One workout for "slimming" the thighs and another for "sculpting" the midsection. This food is supposed to reduce belly fat and this food can somehow make your hips slimmer.
I wish it was that simple.
Research have shown that muscle training does increase blood flow and lipolysis (the breakdown of fat cells into usable energy) in the area of the muscle being trained, but the effect is so small as to be irrelevant.
Muscle training burns calories and thus promotes muscle growth, fat burning, but does not directly reduce the amount of fat formed on these muscles.
Thus, fat loss is a process in which the entire body is involved.
For effective weight loss you need maintain a calorie deficit, which causes the body to reduce the total amount of its fat reserves. Contractions occur everywhere, however, some areas "dry out" faster than others.
The bottom line is you can train all you want until your abs explode, but you will never see results. until you send body fat percentage to the required ratio.
This ratio should be: 15% or less body fat for men and 25% or less for women.
Here is a visual image that shows what the press looks like with different amounts of subcutaneous fat:
As you can see, the abdominal muscles become visible at 15% and 25% in men and women respectively, and are especially prominent at 10% in men and 20% in women.
It was previously mentioned that some areas of the body lose fat faster than others.
Unfortunately, the fatty layer that covers the muscles of the cortex and, especially, its lower parts, is terribly resistant. And it's not in the individual characteristics of the organism, but in physiology.
The reasons why fat cells in this area of the body are more difficult to burn than others are scientifically proven. And fortunately, there are various strategies to improve this situation.
2. Develop all the abdominal muscles
In other words, you need to pump all the muscles of the core. There is a common misconception that people who do a lot of weight training (squats, deadlifts, weight training, etc.) don't need to train their abs.
One may not agree with this. Let's take a quick look at the muscles that make up the abdominals.
First, this rectus abdominis (rectus abdominis). This is the name of a group of muscles that look like six "cubes":
Then a few other abdominal muscles that complete the look of the torso, these include the obliques and abdominis (or transversus abdominis, as it's commonly called), and the serratus:
Don't discount the need to develop these muscles other than the "pretty" rectus.
Here is an example of a press, with poorly developed lower layers of the core muscles:
Yes, it looks not bad, but there is no relief of the oblique muscles of the press, the serratus muscle is underdeveloped and there is no line of the transverse muscle.
Some people have a different problem: their rectus muscle is weakly expressed, or unevenly expressed, while the rest of the abdominal muscles are pumped:
If the oblique muscles are too strongly swung, then the rectus muscle is insufficient, and the transverse and serratus muscles may be absent.
Now let's take a look at what a good, correct abs should look like:
Of course, the model (Greg Plitt) and the genetic data is much better than those two guys, but he is not thinner than the second guy. He just has the perfect balance of development of all core muscles.
The goal is not just to get beautiful “cubes”, but to have great abs.
I don't look like Plitt, but I have personal experience with working on building the abdominal muscle group. This is me a few years ago:
I was about 7% body fat and, as you can see, fairly good core muscle building. It is worth noting that I have done both squats and deadlifts and some ab exercises, but this is not what I would like to write about in this article.
(If you're wondering why I only have four packs instead of six, it's purely genetic. Some people have better rectus abdominis than others.)
This rather dramatic improvement was the result of not only training the rectus muscles, but also other major abdominal muscles.
The Real Shortcut to Six Pack Abs
It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, a thin person must have developed abdominal muscles.
You can lose weight with proper nutrition and diets, and for the development of the core core muscles, training both isolated muscle groups and all muscles in general is necessary.
Use this workout and flexible diet program to lose up to 5 kg of fat and build beautiful muscles in just 30 days... without exhausting fasting or constant training in the gym.
The best exercises for training abdominal muscles
I have seen and talked to many people who regularly do an incredible amount of different exercises that can plank for an impressive amount of time, but all this does not lead to results - their abs remain underdeveloped.
It is necessary to leave the “comfort zone”, i.e. it is necessary to give an increased load on the muscles for them growth. It is worth paying attention to this, and, in the case of strength training with a weight load, increase the weight from time to time.
One of the biggest mistakes is the lack of strength exercises with weight when working on the muscles of the core.
Before we talk about shaping workouts, let's look at what individual exercises are.
There are an almost endless number of different abdominal exercises and almost as many opinions as to which of these exercises is best. Fortunately, we are only interested in some exercises that will help in the formation of the core.
All the exercises mentioned in this article have been selected based on some research, as well as my personal experience, which was obtained in the course of working with hundreds of people.
I also described several exercises that you can perform, but if you carefully follow the main plan, then most likely they are not needed.
Basic exercises
Squats, deadlift, barbell bench press, classic army press While they are not exercises for building abs on their own, they are effective for building and strengthening core muscles.
They are also the most important exercises for overall building and strengthening the muscles of the body. If you do not do them and do not intend to do, then lose the lion's share of progress.
Twisting not the top block
Crunches on the upper block is one of my favorite exercises, which helps in the formation of the rectus abdominis.
A variant of “wriggling” twists is possible, in which, in addition to the rectus muscle, there is a large load on the oblique muscles of the press. In this case, the sequence of actions is as follows: you need to touch the right elbow to the left knee, then the usual straight twist, and the left elbow touches the right knee, back to the center and so on.
Elbow leg raises
This exercise is considered one of the best, which involves the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles (including their lower parts).
You can start with knee raises, but you should strive to do the exercise with legs extended. After this load is not enough, you can add weight, for example, squeeze a medicine ball between your legs.
Hanging leg raises on the bar
This exercise is similar to the previous one, but requires much more effort.
Similar to the previous one, at first it can also be performed with bent knees, but strive to be performed with outstretched legs. Over time, you can add weight.
Bike
Don't be fooled by this easy exercise - it's a great addition to your workouts. When performing a bicycle, the oblique and transverse abdominal muscles are involved.
press roller
I am not a fan of various gadgets and other gizmos for training, but the ab roller is really effective and cheap.
If you want to include this exercise in your regular training program, then you need to purchase a high-quality video, for example, this one:
Although you can use any 🙂
Weight for this exercise can be added using a weight vest.
How to create an effective training program and pump up the press
The rules for creating a ab workout are very simple:
1. Combine bodyweight and bodyweight exercises into one workout
An abs capable of deep, separate contractions of individual muscles requires much more preparation than many might think. In this case, the approach periodical» Exercise is the most effective way to achieve this goal.
2. Exercise Regularly
Optimal training frequency is the subject of endless debate. However, the main rule can be distinguished: the smaller the muscle group, the faster it recovers.
So after general exercises, such as deadlifts or squats, it takes more time to recover than after isolated exercises, for example, biceps.
Thus, I noticed that, like the calf muscles, the abdominal muscles can make more contractions than large muscle groups.
I have noticed that 2-3 ab workouts per week, and at the same time general strength training is the “golden mean” for getting maximum results and overtraining prevention .
If we consider the question of the required number of workouts for the press per week, then it is worth leaving 1 to 2 days of rest between workouts. If I plan three workouts a week, I prefer to train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, or Tuesday and Thursday if two workouts are planned.
3. Make sure progress is moving forward
As with any other workout, the main goal of training is to become stronger, with beautiful, toned muscles.
The weight that is used during training should gradually increase as the number of times you can do with weight equals the number of repetitions of the same exercise without weight.
Now that we know the "rules", let's take a closer look at how to plan your workouts.
The training scheme is elementary. It is necessary to do exercises cyclically. In one cycle - 3 exercises that must be performed continuously one after another. We do rest only between cycles, we do not rest between exercises within the cycle.
Abdominal workout program
How to build a loop:
- In the first set, it is worth including a strength exercise, such as twisting in the upper block, lifting the legs in an emphasis on the elbows, or lifting the legs in the hang on the bar - only 10-15 repetitions.
If you can not do the exercise at least 10 times, then you need to reduce weight. If you do 15 times, it's time to add a couple of kilos.
- Immediately go to one set of exercises without weight and do it the maximum number of times.
- We move on to another set of exercises without weight and do it also the maximum number of times.
- Rest 2-3 minutes before a new cycle.
For example, here is one of my favorite loops:
- 1 set of twisting in the upper block, 10-12 times
- 1 set of leg raises in an emphasis on the elbows the maximum number of times
- 1 bike set max number of times
Rest 2-3 minutes
I usually insert ab cycles between sets for general muscle groups to save time. For example:
- 1 set of deadlift
- 1 cycle per press
- Rest 60-90 seconds
- 1 set of deadlift
- 1 cycle per press
- Rest 60-90 seconds
It’s better to set yourself a goal of 3 abs cycles in one workout (and 2-3 workouts per week). It's actually not as easy as it seems!
Can sports nutrition supplements help you build abs faster?
No natural substances can "burn fat", no matter how complex or pseudo-scientific the explanations are.
Supplement companies most often talk about increasing fat oxidation levels (while maintaining muscle mass) while supporting the thyroid gland, inducing thermogenesis, blocking enzymes related to fat storage, inducing enzymes that cause fat loss, managing hormone and neurotransmitter levels , reducing water retention, improving nutritional absorption and more.
Okay, let these aspects really affect weight loss, but this type of marketing is nothing more than an attempt to blind us with terminology and scientific half-truths, in the hope that we will believe everything.
When you look at the science of fat loss, you'll find that the right supplements can help, but don't make up for poor nutrition and exercise. If you follow the advice in this article, and don't torture yourself with exhausting diets and workouts, you can reap benefits from supplements that really speed up fat loss.
Let's sum up the training of the press cubes
Almost every fitness guru and training program promises to give you six packs in a very short amount of time, but few can actually deliver on that promise because it's actually not that fast a process.
There is no panacea for creating a beautiful torso. If you want a thin, sexy belly, then you need to be patient, eat right and exercise. If you are ready to wait for months, not days, then you will come to the desired results.
Now you know everything you need to get six pack in the end, get out of your comfort zone and get to work!
How to pump the press correctly is one of the most frequently asked fitness questions.
“Now, 10 minutes of ab work. Any,” our coach said at the end of the workout. Yes, and in the basic training of a beginner, it is also not about specific, but about “any” exercises for the press. We understand how to properly download the press.
And the exercises themselves are usually not given much attention. Meanwhile, studies show that not all of them are good for health and the spine, and not everyone pumps the press.
How to download the press: harmful exercises
An example of a harmful exercise for the press is lifting straight legs with a fixed body. Moreover, whether you lift straight legs from a prone position, or do it from a vertical position with emphasis in the lower back, it harms your spine.
Never do that. Have pity on your spine.
Studies have shown that straight leg raises place a significant compressive load on the intervertebral discs of the lumbar spine. In this case, the maximum force occurs at the moment of separation of the heel from the surface of the plane.
If such a load is carried out regularly, then this can lead to the accumulation of microdamages in normal discs, and in degenerative-changed intervertebral discs, cause damage and an increase in hernial protrusion. Performing this exercise causes the development and progression of osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine. Therefore, if you raise your legs or body with a rigidly fixed lower back, think about the possible consequences.
In this regard, one of the most harmful exercises is the "folding knife" - the simultaneous lifting of the torso and legs from the floor:
LJ user dmitriysh wrote a post on this topic, where he talks about the particular danger of the “jackknife”: “The abdominal muscles are tense, and the muscles of the lower back are relaxed, therefore, all the load during flexion falls on the ligaments of the spine. As a result, this transition point begins to give painful symptoms, and this point is in very good reflex relations with the entire given segment. The lower back starts to hurt. The more you do such exercises, the sooner it will hurt.
How to download the press: what NOT to do and what to do
1. Just completely eliminate exercises where the lower back comes off the surface or rests on a hard surface.
2. If you are doing lying down twists, avoid tearing your lower back off the floor. Do the twists right.
3. You can easily do without twisting at all, because there are some great ab exercises that do not burden the lumbar spine. In , we recommend the “prayer”:
How to pump the press correctly: “Top” and “bottom” of the press do not exist. It loads all at once
The muscles in the abdomen are made up of 4 muscle groups. The transverse muscle lies inside, supporting your internal organs.
The internal obliques run diagonally from the pelvis to the sternum, while the external obliques lie above them to help you flex and rotate your torso.
Finally, on top of the transverse muscle lies the rectus abdominis, which is given so much attention - it is she who is called the "abs". It starts on the pelvic bone and is attached to the sternum.
The press keeps the back straight and allows you to lean forward.
Connective fibers, crossing it across, create those same 6 cubes that serve as proof of good physical shape.
Although different exercises involve the abdominal muscles in different ways, there are no such concepts as "top" and "bottom" of the press. Therefore, if you see somewhere exercises “on the upper part of the press” or “on the lower” - smile indulgently. During the performance of any exercises on the press, the entire rectus abdominis muscle is stimulated at once. It is impossible to strain and force only part of it to work.
How to pump the press correctly: we study anatomy - the core muscle
The press refers to the muscles - stabilizers, called in the American manner the muscles "core" (from the word "core" - the essence, center, core). These are muscles that can be developed while remaining still. Unlike other skeletal muscles, they do not move bones.
Their task is to keep the pelvis, spine and hips in a stable position. Strengthening the core allows you to maintain a healthy posture and a healthy spine, but one hour of training per week cannot compensate for 50 hours of sitting in a defiantly preoccupied posture. If you want a straight back and a stomach in cubes, work on your posture. When sitting at the computer, do not lean forward or cross your legs, but keep your shoulders lowered and slightly laid back.
Any complex movement begins with a contraction of the core muscles. Only after they have joined in the work, the force is transmitted through the arms and legs to the barbell or dumbbells. A weak core gives weak commands, so if your results in bench presses or squats have stopped growing, pay attention to the core muscles.
How to download the press: effective and safe exercises
To properly load all the muscles of the core at once, perform the following set of exercises in a row, without rest.
1. Hanging Leg Raise
For the abdominal muscles, the base is the lifting of the legs in the hang on the crossbar (attention: without emphasis in the lower back!)
2. Side bridge
Tightening the muscles of the abdomen and back, tear the pelvis off the floor, bringing the body in line with the legs, rest your forearm on the floor strictly opposite your shoulder. Hold this position for 15-60 seconds (as long as you can!) and repeat for the other side. In addition, strain the muscles of the abdomen and buttocks in order to keep the body perfectly straight.
3. Plank
Emphasis lying on the forearms. Put your feet either together or shoulder-width apart (the wider, the easier). Raise your right hand diagonally forward and to the right “2 o’clock”, fix this position for 2 seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat with the other hand and you get one rep. Important: in the initial position, the forearms should be perpendicular to the shoulders, and the elbows should be strictly under the projection of the shoulder joints.
4. Twisting on a fitball
Lie down on the fitball: hands behind the back of the head, feet shoulder-width apart, hips and body in a line parallel to the floor. Now do the standard twist. Do 15 reps or as many as you can.
Is it possible to pump up the press at home so that the cubes show through on it? Purposefulness is one of the features of a real man, nothing is impossible for him. Even if you have to work hard to achieve your goal.
In the article you will find a description of effective exercises for losing weight and strengthening the abdominal muscles, which are suitable for both beginners and experienced athletes.
About the training program
for the perfect press, you need to train all groups of abdominal musclesThe abdominal muscles are divided into three groups - upper, lower press, oblique muscles. Each group has its own exercises:
- upper press - twisting;
- lower press - leg raise exercises;
- oblique muscles - twisting with a turn of the body, lateral twisting.
How to quickly pump up the press at home (video training):
How to do twists?
There are many exercises for the press, but the most effective are twisting. Direct
I.P .: lying on the floor, legs bent at the knees (90o), palms under the back of the head.
Smoothly, without jerking, using force, the shoulders are lifted and moved forward to the pelvis, returning to I.P.
With a twist
The same, with the body turning to the sides at the top point.
Reverse
I.P. - too.
On inspiration, the hips are torn off the floor, the legs, without changing the angle of the bend, are trying to pull up to the chest. To complicate the exercise, a ball is placed between the knees.
Side crunches
Exercise narrows the waist.
I.P .: lying on your side, emphasis on the elbow.
The pelvis is raised and lowered, bending at the waist.
Complex for beginners
if there is no horizontal bar, then you can raise your legs on the floor
- Twisting on the press.
- Vertical and horizontal "scissors". Lying on the floor, perform horizontal, vertical movements with legs raised 30 cm from the floor.
- "Bike". Lying on the floor and raising the shoulders, as in straight twists, they try to reach the knee with the elbow from the opposite side, while the leg bent at the knee is pulled to the elbow.
- Exercise climber. Starting position - as with. On inhalation, the knee is pulled to the chest, on exhalation, the leg is straightened. Then repeat the same with the other leg. Perform at a fast pace for 30 seconds or longer.
- Raising the legs on the bar, (if there is no stadium or wall bars nearby, you can lie on the floor).
How to remove the stomach?
exercise "plank" will help to remove the stomach Is it possible to remove the stomach by pumping the press? To answer this question, you need to know one nuance. It is in the internal muscles of the abdomen, which are practically not worked out during training, are relaxed and bulge. Therefore, even thin people can have a stomach. There are other exercises for this part of the muscular skeleton.
I.P .: as when performing horizontal push-ups, the abdominal muscles are tense. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Then they fall to the floor, inhale deeply, return to their original position and perform the exercise again. Over time, the duration increases. Despite the apparent ease, it is not easy for a beginner to perform this exercise.
Perform the same, but rest on the right arm, bent at the elbow, and the right leg. The plane of the body is perpendicular to the floor, the left hand is raised up. Repeat the same for the other side.
Burning belly fat in the sides
exercise should be done slowly To burn fat on the abdomen and sides, twisting is done, but without weights, "to the last strength."
Losing weight in a separate part of the body will not work. Additionally, aerobic exercise is needed or. These include active games - basketball, tennis, etc. They not only help burn fat, but also increase stamina, strengthen the heart and blood vessels.
Press pumping table for 14 days
| Day | Replays | Approaches |
| 1 | 20 | 4–5 |
| 3 | 15 | |
| 5 | 25 | |
| 7 | 20 | |
| 9 | 15 | |
| 11 | 30 | |
| 13 | 20 |
Start with 1-2 sets, their number is gradually increased. On even days - rest.
Intensive video training for advanced:
Mistakes
Here are the mistakes that beginners most often make when trying to improve the shape of the press.
- Ignoring complex exercises. Complex training helps to work out all the muscles of the body. Therefore, the program includes traction, etc.
- Working out the abdominal muscles requires a lot of effort and energy, so they are performed last.
- For cubes, the press is pumped every day, they are practiced several times. This is true, but the same effect is achieved if you train 3-4 times a week, performing 3-4 sets. There is no point in wasting extra energy.
- Incorrect execution. Often, beginners perform movements in the way that is easiest for them to do. Such connivance does not bring results and often ends in injuries.
- You can not neglect - they create a beautiful posture. This is what exercise works for.
- When performing twists, they do not strongly unbend, otherwise the muscles are stretched and the tone of the abdominal wall decreases.
- Long classes according to the old program, without complication and new exercises. Muscles get used to the loads, and at some point, training ceases to bring results. As soon as the exercise has become easy to perform, it is complicated, the number of repetitions is increased or replaced with a new one.
- Hope for devices from TV stores. The products are designed for lazy people who still train later.
Extras - food, water
replace fast food with vegetables So that the layer of fat does not hide spectacular cubes, Proper nutrition is a prerequisite. Fatty, fried, fast food, cream cakes, smoked meats, sweet carbonated drinks are forgotten. The simple carbs found in chips, most desserts, potatoes, and baked goods only make things harder.
To remove fat on the abdomen and sides, the ratio of fats, proteins, carbohydrates in percentage terms should be 20/50/30.
The menu is based on:
- cereals (buckwheat, barley, unpolished rice);
- lean meats (chicken, turkey, beef);
- Fish and seafood;
- raw vegetables and fruits (especially apples, cucumbers, avocados, carrots);
- legumes (peas, lentils, soy).
Accelerate the metabolism of seasonings:
- hot (cayenne) pepper;
- cinnamon;
- ginger;
- mustard.
Testosterone is a male hormone that helps build muscle and burn extra calories.
Raise testosterone levels with the right foods. Carrot sticks with avocado puree sauce contain beta-carotene, which is involved in the synthesis of the hormone.
Water balance is important. In total, they drink up to 2 liters of pure water per day.
Metabolism will accelerate by 30% if you drink a glass of cold water with a temperature of up to 5 ° C.
It is important to remember that an athletic physique requires an integrated approach. The first results appear not earlier than in a month. The task becomes more difficult if a person has a very large weight. They start with minimal physical activity - walking, swimming, then proceed to intense training.
