At first glance, it seems logical to say that in order to get ripped abdominal muscles, you need to perform appropriate physical exercises several times a day. However, if you study in more detail the question of whether it is even possible to train your abs every day, the likelihood of getting an unpredictable answer is extremely high.
The need to follow certain rules related to the frequency and timing of exercises to work out the muscles in the abdominal area is determined by the physiological characteristics of the human body. We are talking about the importance of the period of recovery of muscle fibers after physical activity for the general condition of the athlete, as well as its local transformation.
The article below contains detailed information about how many times a week you should train your abdominal muscles, what time of day is best to do this, and also when it is better, at the beginning of a workout or at the end of it, to devote time to such “pumping.”
Is the frequency of abdominal muscle training important?
The frequency of abdominal muscle training is extremely important to achieve results.
With a competent approach to building a training system, paying special attention to the question of how often you can do abdominal exercises, an athlete will be able to achieve a visible transformation of his figure after 2-3 months of regular work on his own body.
Important! You should not expose yourself to complex physical activity more than once a day. Neglecting this recommendation will most likely lead to muscle exhaustion and psychological discomfort for a person who ultimately strives to obtain pumped abdominal muscles.
The frequency and frequency of training are directly related to the physical preparation of the athlete, his initial data, as well as the specific results he wants to achieve (“drawing” cubes on the stomach, flat surface, eliminating sagging, tightening the muscle corset, and so on).
In accordance with similar criteria, the “working” number of repetitions is determined, or how many times a person needs to pump the abs in one approach in order not only to strengthen the muscles, but also to transform the stomach, giving it the desired appearance.
Be sure to watch: Making a slim waist and tightening your abs: exercises and tips A set of exercises for the abs and legs: a set of workouts for muscles, buttocks, thighs Details on how to properly pump up your abs to remove belly fat How to pump up your oblique abdominal muscles: basic exercises
Is it possible to train every day and what will happen if you do it often?
Qualified specialists, whose line of work is inextricably linked with “pumping up” the human body through physical activity and proper nutrition, spent a lot of time analyzing reliable information on the question of whether it is necessary to pump up the abs every day in order to speed up the process of its transformation.
As a result of research in the field of physiology and characteristics of the human psyche, they came to the consensus that this is absolutely impossible to do.
Important! This conclusion is based not only on the ineffectiveness of such an approach to giving relief to the abdominal muscle corset, but also on the existence of a risk of causing irreparable damage to the health of one’s “ward.”
By not allowing the muscles to recover, the athlete creates a greater likelihood of uneven growth of muscle fibers on the stomach and back.
Due to the rapidly increasing load, the muscles that hold the spine become thinner and provoke the occurrence of stoop, protrusions of intervertebral discs, hernias and even displacement of the vertebrae themselves in a person who neglects the recommendations of specialists on how often to pump up the abs.
Moreover, by exercising more often than the situation requires, the athlete increases muscle mass without getting rid of subcutaneous fat. It is for this reason that after such training the stomach visually appears even larger.
If arguments proving to a person why it is impossible to pump up the press every day, from a physiological point of view, are not enough, it is worth mentioning the psychological component of this issue. By exercising several times a day every day, the athlete does not allow himself to rest mentally, which directly affects his drive in achieving the final result.
You may also be interested in: How many times a week to exercise
How often can you exercise your abdominal muscles?
If you don't want to overtrain your muscles, you need to know: how much is too much?
Some people advise working out your abs every day in order to quickly get the coveted 6-pack.
As you probably already guessed, I disagree with this statement. The abdominal muscles need to be given sufficient time to recover before being stressed again with grueling workouts.
There is another important fact to consider: the abdominal muscles recover faster than other muscle groups, simply because they work every day. They support your spine during any movement you make.
Even those who lead a sedentary lifestyle use their abdominal muscles on a regular basis. After all, these muscles not only give definition to the abdomen, but also work to keep a person upright and maintain balance and mobility in almost any human activity.
This means that the abs can be worked more often than any other muscle group.
But training every day is too often.
We are all different, and that is why it is difficult to answer the question of how often to train your abdominal muscles. There are many individual factors that will influence the answer, such as diet, lifestyle, fitness level and training style. All of them affect the speed of recovery.
I usually recommend at least 2 rest days per week. How to distribute these recovery days is a personal matter for everyone.
The most common training option includes classes every other day.
How often can you exercise per day and week?
Having figured out for yourself whether it is worth exposing your body to such physical activity every day, and also what will happen if you neglect the rule and vigorously pump your abs every day, it is advisable to understand another topic. We are talking about exactly how many times you need to work your abdominal muscles per day or week to achieve a quick effect.
You can pump up your abs every day once for the maximum number of repetitions, only if there is a need to urgently strengthen the muscle corset in the shortest possible time, without getting rid of excess fat (an option for professional athletes who have a minimum amount of subcutaneous fat).
Important! To avoid harm to human health, it is permissible to use such a technique only periodically, and not on an ongoing basis.
The safest and most effective method is considered to be performing a comprehensive abdominal workout 3-4 times a week. It is this amount that can be considered optimal for thoroughly working out the abdominal muscles with the possibility of natural restoration of the muscle corset.
Local fat burning - myth or reality
From time to time, in sports circles, debates flare up about local fat burning (scientifically, spot reduction).
The essence of the phenomenon is to reduce its amount in a particular part of the body without changing the overall percentage of fat! For example, only in the abdominal area.
On the one hand, the laws of physiology say that this is impossible. If the percentage of body fat decreases, then it decreases everywhere! And all parts of the body lose weight.
On the other hand, there is a lot of scientific evidence that body parts may lose weight unevenly! That is, the arms lost 2%, and the abs – 5% (over the same period of time).
It is on this fact that local fat burning techniques are based.
And one of the key factors of such techniques is daily training of the problem area!
For example, you urgently need relief abs. Then, according to the local fat burning method, you will need to pump up your abs every day! And according to some of the methods, 3-5 times a day!
They say that history develops in a spiral. So we're back in the 60s?
In a spiral - yes, but this is a qualitatively new round of development one level higher.
Unlike the 60s, there is an understanding of the fat burning process. And even with local fat burning, the key factor is the CORRECT DIET! Methodology comes second!
The performing athletes have closed this question for themselves long ago. Practice shows that when there is a high percentage of fat in the body, local fat burning is not effective. The basic laws of physiology triumph.
If the body has already reached a low percentage of fat, then local fat burning is possible. Supporters of point reduction are triumphant.
When is it better to work the abdominal muscles at the beginning or end of a workout?
In addition to figuring out how often it's appropriate for men and women to engage in targeted ab training, it's important to understand the best time to do it: at the beginning or end of a workout.
Despite the widespread opinion that it is impossible to properly work out the abdominal muscles after intense training, the vast majority of professionals are confident in the opposite.
Experienced fitness trainers build a training program for their “trainees” in such a way that they need to pump up their abs after completing the main stage of the complex.
In their opinion, it is impossible to work with the abdominal muscles at the beginning of training for two reasons:
- the intensity and quality of strength training decreases significantly;
- During the main part of the workout, the risk of injury to the back increases, in particular to the lower back, which is often overstrained during abdominal exercises.
What time of day is best to do exercises: morning or evening, before bed
In order to minimize negative interference in the body's biological rhythms when working on the abdominal muscles, the athlete should also consider when it is better to do such exercises: in the morning or in the evening.
Whether it is possible to pump up the press at night, or as soon as a person wakes up, depends solely on his daily routine and the surge of vigor and strength. For example, if an athlete is a “night owl” (wakes up and falls asleep late), it would be optimal for him to work on his body in the evening, during the peak of his activity.
Important! When asked whether it is possible to exercise before bed, professionals unanimously answer in the negative. Such physical activity can overstimulate the body, resulting in insomnia, fatigue, lack of sleep, and so on.
Expert advice
To form a complete understanding of the basic rules of effective “pumping” of the press, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the opinions of experienced professionals on this issue.
Andrey Reznikov, fitness trainer
Andrey considers the work on transforming the abdominal muscles to be inseparable from the process of observing the principles of proper nutrition. Before starting a regular set of exercises aimed at working out the muscular corset of the abdominal region, your “wards” should review their diet. Only after making sure that there are no “forbidden” products in it can the athlete begin intensive training.
Anna Zimovkina, fitness model
Anna advises beginners to pump up their abs in the traditional way 3 times a week. Based on her own experience, she is confident that it is the gradual giving of relief to the abdominal muscles that can most safely and for a long time provide the athlete with a beautiful body. “Emergency” measures (daily work on the abs) not only bring short-term visibility of the presence of relief, but can also significantly undermine a person’s health.
Mikhail Andreev, bodybuilder
Mikhail encourages those who want to pump up their abs, first of all, to “dry out.” By starting to build up a muscle corset without first getting rid of the fat layer, the athlete’s body will rapidly increase in size, rather than strengthen or become more prominent. Once you are convinced that there is no need to lose weight in the abdominal area, you can begin to work it out, following basic recommendations about the time, frequency and duration of training of this kind.
Tips and tricks
- Perform crunches slowly, keeping your core tense throughout.
- Work for quality, not quantity. Many people performing classic crunches try to raise their heads, constantly helping themselves with their hands. Don’t do this, because it reduces the load and, accordingly, efficiency.
- Don't forget about breathing technique. When raising your body, always exhale. Scientists believe that proper breathing helps strengthen the cardiovascular system and reduce fatigue during exercise.
- Start training 2 hours after eating. It is acceptable to do abs exercises on an empty stomach if you do not suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself. Fitness experts strongly advise exercising until you feel a strong burning sensation.
- Take breaks during class. Of course, you can follow the example of athletes who pump up their abs for 20-40 minutes, but still there should be proper rest between sets. Moreover, it makes no difference for the muscles: you do 4 sets of 25 times or 2 sets of 50.
- Exercises aimed at working out the abs can be included in the warm-up complex. But only if you haven’t planned strength training with squats and back exercises. Abdominal muscles are inherently stabilizers.
- Force yourself to exercise regularly - 3 times a week.
During critical days, you cannot perform active abdominal exercises. Many girls complain of increased bleeding and pain.
Those who want to lose weight
Of course, it is easier for a person without excess fat to get a sculpted belly. An example of this is Keira Knightley, who is not distinguished by well-developed muscles, but can boast of a toned tummy on the beach. It is more difficult for overweight people to get into shape. To do this you need:
- Don't forget about cardio. There is no such thing as local weight loss: to speed up the process, experts advise alternating workouts aimed at strengthening the abdominal muscles and cardio.
- Be sure to control your diet. It's no secret that 80% of body quality depends on a proper diet. Therefore, if you are aiming to lose weight, training for the abdominal muscles alone, alas, will not be enough: the fat will not go away so easily, and the cubes will not appear.
- Do exercises to strengthen your back. Often a protruding tummy is a consequence of underdeveloped muscles.
Main conclusions
- To avoid negative effects on health, you should train your abdominal muscles no more than 4 times a week as part of a comprehensive workout.
- To achieve results in the shortest possible time, you should follow the basic recommendations of professionals: do not pump your abs before bed and after meals, and also perform similar exercises at the very end of your workout.
Strengthening the abdominal muscles is a long process that requires an integrated approach. Only with the proper preparation of a program of this kind is it possible to achieve sculpted abs and their overall strengthening in the shortest possible time without harm to health.
Relaxation exercise
To find out how effective practices are for relaxing the abdominal muscles and how much pleasant sensations they bring, let’s do a basic breathing exercise from women’s Taoist practices together.
- Sit on a chair or cushions, straighten your back, cross your legs. Place your palm on the area of your lower abdomen.
- Inhale as if you are inhaling under your palm: the stomach expands as you inhale, deflates as you exhale.
- As you inhale, ask yourself: How can I inhale even more relaxed? Then observe how your body responds to this request. A signal that you are performing the exercise correctly will be a feeling of warmth in the lower abdomen. It will, of course, not appear immediately: breathe steadily and freely for 3-5 minutes. Perhaps after doing this practice several times, you will feel a warmth filling your lower abdomen.
