The abdominal muscles is an area that all athletes and bodybuilding fans seek to develop, to bring out, to dry out, with one and only goal: to have well protruding abs and a flat stomach. Only, seeing the number of people who spend half of their bodybuilding sessions slaughtering their abs without getting any results, we thought it would be useful to give you an update on the most effective exercises to strengthen the abs, in order to give you a chance to see them finally! Follow the guide.
The abdominals are a muscle group that unites: the rectus abdominis, the obliques and the transverse. Each muscle has its own functionality, and it is important to know how to exercise each of them in order to obtain a homogeneous strengthening of the entire abdominal strap. You should know that the abdominals are muscles that are recruited in everyday life, for example to flex, turn or tilt the bust, get up from a lying position, or simply to keep the bust in alignment with the legs. in the standing position. Without our abs, we couldn't walk on our legs without the help of our arms or even breathe properly. These muscles are therefore of fundamental importance, and not just from an aesthetic point of view.
Abdominal Exercises
Working out your abs is often seen as tedious, sometimes even painful, and most weight lifters put them on at the end of their workout and devote whatever little energy they have left to them. Yet, you should recruit abs like any other muscle group, with the right intensity, the right exercises, and adequate recovery time. It is useless to work the abs every day like a madman, by chaining the very long series, hoping to burn a maximum of fat. Like all muscles, the abdominals need to be properly stimulated in order to progress, with the right exercises.
Crunch
The crunch is nothing more than a tilt from the torso to the legs, which mainly targets the upper part of the abdominals. It can be done on the ground, at body weight, on a machine or on a pulley. To properly recruit the abs with the crunches, you must remember to roll up and unwind your lower back throughout the exercise.
The "traditional" crunch is performed on the floor or on a bench. Lift the shoulder blades off the bench by placing the hands under the back of the neck and keeping the lower back against the floor or bench. Above all, do not use your legs.
This variant of the traditional crunch allows you to force the contraction, by bringing the arms forward, between the knees. Lift off the shoulder blades, keeping the lower back against the mat.
The high pulley crunch is ideal for building the rectus abdominis. Help yourself with your lower back, which must be unrolled and rolled up throughout the movement.
Leg Raises
This exercise is often referred to as the "leg raise", but in reality it is the pelvis that needs to be mobilized to properly target the abdominals, especially the lower part. By raising the legs without taking care to tilt the pelvis forward, we solicit the psoas and hip flexors while stretching the abdominals, with the risks that this implies: inflammation of the lumbar area, relaxation of the transverse (the muscle that allows you to keep the stomach flat!), risks of stretching the rectus abdominis, etc. Remember to roll up the pelvis well during this exercise.
Hang from a fixed bar and roll the pelvis forward. During the descent, use your lower back to reinforce the eccentric phase and avoid swaying.
On the Roman chair, the pelvic lift allows the lower back to be fixed against the backrest. Keep the legs slightly bent and curl the pelvis. Do not go all the way down during the eccentric phase: go down until your knees are at right angles to the ground.
On a flat or inclined bench, this exercise allows you to recruit the lower part of the abs without putting pressure on the lower back. In maximum contraction, the feet should be pointed towards the ceiling.
The Combined Crunch
The combined crunch involves the upper and lower abdominals simultaneously. So it's a complete exercise, which is often done on the floor.
During the combined floor crunch, flex your legs and place your hands behind your neck. Raise the torso and curl the pelvis simultaneously, taking care not to stretch the legs when performing the movement.
During this movement, the arms and legs remain stretched towards the ceiling. This exercise is ideal for people with low back pain, as the back remains still and flat against the floor.
Ab Wheel
Adding a core exercise to your abdominal workout helps strengthen the transverse muscle, the one that holds the viscera and keeps the stomach flat. This is because most men and women who cannot tighten their belts or tuck their stomachs in have a relaxed transverse muscle, which needs to be strengthened to reverse the process.
The use of roulette helps to strengthen the stabilizing muscles. To perform this movement properly, support yourself on your knees and do back and forth movements without bending your arms.
Support yourself on your elbows. Your body must stay straight: do not lift your glutes!
TRX Abs Exercise
The TRX is an extremely practical bodybuilding accessory, which allows you to build muscles at body weight, thanks to a system of straps which distributes the weight of the body on the muscles at a chosen angle. For the abdominals, the TRX has the great advantage of recruiting both the superficial muscles (the rectus abdominis and the obliques) and the transverse muscle. Doing your TRX abs is therefore a quick and efficient way to build your abs while strengthening your abdominal core.
In the starting position, stand on a plank, resting on the palms of your hands, your feet locked in the straps of the TRX. Bring the knees back to the bust, bilaterally or unilaterally, and return to the starting position.
0 Comments