It is not without reason that many athletes pay so much attention to the abdominal muscles: after all, they form the flat stomach that is characteristic of a sportsman’s body. In addition, the famous “cubes” on the stomach let everyone know who will look at them, that in front of them is a person who is watching himself. Finally, it’s just very aesthetic.
In addition, the front muscle of the abdomen supports all the internal organs of the “falling out”. It both has a beneficial effect on the general health of a person involved in sports, and saves him from the ugly “belly”.
Abdominal muscles
There are several abdominal muscles, but there are two main ones:
- rectus abdominis muscle. It keeps the internal organs, protects them from mechanical damage, and also takes part in flexing and unbending the torso back and forth and in tightening the legs to the stomach;
- obliques. They serve to tilt the body in different directions and turns.
Training program for abdominal muscles
There are many exercises for the development of the press. Of course, do not need to do them all. Beginners will only need one exercise per workout. More advanced athletes can perform 2-3 exercises, combining them into networks or supersets.
Here are examples of ready-made programs for training the abdominal muscles.
The rise of straight legs from hanging on the bar. It is better to perform this exercise on the wall of the Swedish, so that there is no temptation to make an approach by swinging the legs:
- 1-2 weeks – 2-3 sets of 7-10 repetitions;
- 3-4 weeks – 4-5 sets of 10-15 repetitions.
Raise legs from a prone position horizontally:
- 1-2 weeks – 3-4 sets of 20-25 repetitions;
- 3-4 weeks – 3-4 sets of 40-45 repetitions;
Raising the torso from a horizontal position:
- 1-2 weeks – 3 sets of 45-50 repetitions;
- 3-4 weeks – 3 sets of 50 repetitions.
Raising legs from a prone position on a horizontal bench:
- 1-2 weeks – 4-5 sets of 20-25 repetitions;
- 3-4 weeks – 3-4 sets of 45 repetitions.
Raising the body from a prone position on a horizontal bench:
- 1-2 weeks – 3-4 sets of 30-35 repetitions;
- 3-4 weeks – 3 sets of 45 repetitions.
Hyperextensions for the development of the oblique abdominal muscles:
- 1-2 weeks – 4 sets of 40 repetitions;
- 3-4 weeks – 3-4 sets of 50 repetitions.
At the same time, the rest between sets should not exceed one and a half minutes.
Features of training abdominal muscles
- At first, training with only its own weight is still possible. However, further it is necessary to carry out exercises exclusively with burdens. It can be both dumbbells and pancakes of small sizes.
- In order to show well-defined abdominal muscles, it is not enough to pump them. Oddly enough, a developed press is even in men with a rather large belly. And the point here is that every person has a certain amount of both subcutaneous and visceral fat. To show the cherished “cubes” – it is enough to burn the “subcutaneous”. And it burns out pretty quickly. But with visceral fat deposits, which, like a pillow, envelop all the internal organs – to cope much more difficult. And the key to success here is not so much an exercise as a cruel diet.
- At the same time, the upper part of the press is quite easily manifested even after not so long workouts and diets. But the bottom – where reluctant. Here it is just the opposite: you need to give preference to training.
The so-called interval training works very well. Its essence lies in the fact that periods of high intensity training alternate with less intense. For example, you can take the above programs as a basis and alternate them like this:
Raising the torso from a horizontal position:
- 1-2 weeks – 3 sets of 40-50 repetitions;
- 3-4 weeks – 3 sets of 50 repetitions;
- 5-6 weeks – 3 sets of 40-50 repetitions;
- 7-8 weeks – 3 sets of 50 repetitions.
Especially intense fat loss occurs during periods of intensive training, and the rest of the time the body is restored. An additional advantage can be considered as the fact that in high-intensity periods the appetite significantly decreases. And it allows you to avoid new fat deposits.
However, there is a contradiction: if an athlete trains “to the ground”, he will in any case have a high-calorie diet. It would seem that this will lead to the formation of a new fat. This is not true if training is really intense. After all, all the calories will go exactly to ensure muscle growth.
If the athlete is faced with the task of only burning off excess fat, then, naturally, the caloric content should be lower than usual. The main principle at the same time – to consume less calories than you burn.
In addition, there is the principle of “one hundred for one.” However, it is suitable only for trained athletes. Its essence is that the athlete must perform a hundred repetitions in five exercises in 100 seconds, performing them without stopping “in a circle.”
Regarding the training of obliques, opinions differ. Some argue that they should not be trained at all, because they expand the waist. Others, on the contrary, devote a great deal of time to the oblique muscles. It is thought, the truth, as always, in the middle. Harmoniously developed oblique muscles, like the rectus muscle, give the athlete characteristic aesthetic forms.
Various types of twisting with twists and turns of the body – these are exercises for the development of oblique muscles. Some girls turn the body and sometimes even with the burden, hoping to get a thin waist. But in practice, this leads to the development of just the oblique muscles, and they only expand the waist.
Relief abdominal muscles can be obtained only if the fat layer between them and the skin – no more than 1 centimeter. But to get rid of fat “only on the stomach” is impossible: the burning of fat occurs throughout the body evenly. If a kilogram of fat is gone, then it is gone simultaneously from everywhere. That is why at first, newcomers do not see any noticeable progress, expecting that fat will leave only from the abdomen.
The abdominal muscle during exercise is strained entirely, and not some of its individual areas. Therefore, it is not possible to separately pump the “upper left” cube or “only two lower ones”.