Oh, how many girls have been seduced by sculpted male abs! That’s why every guy considers it his duty to include abdominal exercises in his training program. However, pumping up the abs has its own secrets!
“Well, why don’t you want to pump up, abs?” - athletes exclaim in despair, spending hours training this stubborn muscle and not knowing how to properly pump up the abs to get the desired result.
In fact, training the abs haunts many athletes, since these insidious muscles adapt well to the load and are often hidden behind a layer of fat. In the article we will offer as many as 3 training plans that will keep your core muscles in the right tone constantly, so that your abdominal muscles become “rosy buns” like the magnificent Dmitry Yashankin.
Let’s make a reservation right away: it’s almost impossible to pump up your abs in a month, as “magic” training programs promise, since this requires an integrated and comprehensive approach.
We are only interested in the training method, so let’s figure out how to effectively pump up the press.
How best to pump up your abdominal muscles
To pump your abs effectively, you can forget about a thousand crunches. Better pay attention to more important conditions: TIME, FREQUENCY and VOLUME. What does it mean?
Time for a core workout
Some people believe that abdominal exercises are best performed at the end of a workout, and that only this method will effectively pump up your core muscles. You will be surprised, but the abs are also actively involved in exercises for other muscle groups, for example, in the deadlift or leg press.
If you leave your abs until the end of your workout, you will have a harder time maintaining your strength and doing a good set. In this case, it is better to transfer the exercises to the beginning of the workout: with a good warm-up, you will focus the best minutes and a charge of motivation on this obstinate part of the body.
Moreover, by participating in other exercises, the abs will be in good shape throughout the entire training and the result of the training will be much better in total.
What if you don’t have enough time to do a full workout or you have to skip it? These 10 exercises for the press from Ekaterina Mityaeva will help you get out of the situation and do it at home or even in the office.
Training frequency
How often should you do your abs?
Many training programs include a separate training day for the abdominal muscles. If you are involved in fitness or bodybuilding, do no more than one abdominal workout per week in a recovery format. This will be enough, again, because the abdominal muscles are involved in work almost constantly, which means they need more time to recover.
But if you do not receive additional physical activity, but want to pump up good abs, the right solution would be to do 3-5 workouts per week on the abdominal muscles according to the following scheme. 3 rounds of this “warm-up” will create the desired stress for the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles.
Exercises
This set of abdominal exercises is ideal for beginners - reasonable bodyweight exercises are the place to start. When performing exercises, focus on the correct technique and the feeling of the target muscles working.
Spend an average of 30 seconds on each element; the execution itself should be smooth and controlled.
1 Medium crunches
The most popular exercise.
Starting position: lie on the mat, legs bent at the knees and brought together, emphasis on the feet, hands behind the head.
Technique:
- Lift your shoulder blades off the mat, lifting your body. The head should move in the direction of the hips, the lower back should be fixed and pressed to the floor surface.
- Pause while exhaling at the peak point and return to the original position.
2 Side crunches with heels touching
The rectus and transverse muscles are involved. The oblique muscles are involved.
Starting position: lie down on the mat, lower back pressed tightly against it, legs bent at the knees, emphasis on the heels, arms extended along the body, palms turned down.
Technique:
- Lift your shoulder blades off the mat, lifting your body.
- Try to touch your heels with your hands one at a time, remaining in a twisted state.
3 Lateral middle crunches
Starting position: lie on your side, legs one on top of the other, knees bent. Rotate your upper body so that both shoulder blades are touching the mat, with your hands behind your head.
Crunches are performed similarly to the previous exercise. The head moves towards the hips. At the peak point, pause and return to the starting position.
If your training goal is aesthetics, it is better not to do this exercise every workout. Hypertrophy of the oblique muscles will affect the increase in waist circumference.
4 Delay of legs in rise
Starting position: lie down on the mat, raise your legs and hold them at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the floor surface, lift your shoulder blades off the mat, extend your arm along your body.
Maintain this position for approximately 30 seconds. The abs should be tense.
5 Russian crunches
Complex exercise for the abs and oblique muscles. Experienced athletes perform it with weight (dumbbell, plate or kettlebell).
Starting position: sit on the floor, bend your knees at an angle of approximately 90 degrees, feet parallel to each other.
Technique:
- Tilt your body back a little to tighten your abs.
- Perform side crunches, touching your hands to the floor next to your buttocks, either to your left or to your right.
6 Plank
Take the starting position, as in the “Mountaineer” exercise, only with emphasis on your forearms. The elbows are located under the shoulders, the pelvis does not sag, the lower back does not bend down.
To begin, hold the pose for at least 30 seconds.
7 Delay in position: back laid back
Starting position: sit on the floor, bend your knees slightly, rest on your heels, fold your arms across your chest and slightly tilt your body back to tighten your abs.
Maintain this pose for 14 seconds, then straighten your arms, extend them forward and lower them slightly down. The palms should be turned up and at knee level. Hold this position for another 16 seconds.
8 Climber at a relaxed pace
An excellent exercise for developing endurance and burning calories.
Starting position: take an emphasis lying on straight arms. The pelvis does not sag, the abdominal muscles are tense. The hands and palms are located under the shoulders, the gaze is directed downward.
Technique:
- Bend your left leg at the knee and pull it towards your left elbow.
- Return to the original position.
- Perform for the right leg and return to the starting position.
When performing it, it is important to control your breathing. As you exhale, pull your knee towards your elbow, and as you inhale, return to the original position.
9 Touching your toes
The rectus and transverse muscles are involved. The oblique muscles are involved.
Starting position: lie down on the mat, lower back pressed tightly against it, legs bent at the knees, emphasis on the heels, arms extended along the body, palms turned down.
Technique:
- Lift your shoulder blades off the mat, lifting your body.
- Try to touch your heels with your hands one at a time, remaining in a twisted state.
10 Bicycle
The exercise strengthens the stabilizers, rectus and oblique abdominal muscles.
Starting position: lie down on the mat, hands behind your head. Raise your legs off the floor at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.
Technique:
- Raise your shoulder blades off the floor.
- Perform crunches and bend your knees.
- Bring your left elbow toward your right knee, and then your right elbow toward your left knee.
11 Hip lift
The exercise helps to load all the abdominal muscles.
Starting position: lie down on the mat, your lower back pressed tightly against it. Legs raised up and slightly bent at the knees. Arms along the body, palms facing down.
Technique:
- Begin to lift your pelvis and buttocks off the floor, lifting your legs up. The body and arms are motionless.
- At the top point, pause and return to the original position.
The movement is performed using the abdominal muscles, the legs remain relaxed.
12 Dynamic spider bar
The plank movement works the stabilizer muscles.
Starting position: resting on your palms.
Technique:
- The shoulder girdle remains motionless.
- Lift your legs off the floor one at a time, bend your knees and pull your knee to your elbow through the sides.
- Perform in turn for each leg.
The dynamic plank is considered a good exercise to complete your workout. It helps burn more fat than, say, a ten-minute cool-down on the treadmill.
Video: 10 minute ab workout for beginners
Circular abdominal training (charging)
Circular - 3 rounds
of plank on straight arms
- 30 seconds
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
Attention: you can change the position to an elbow stand at will.
Side plank
- 30 seconds on each side
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
Pulling your legs to your chest on a fitball
- 10, 8, 6 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Fitball
Crunches with legs on a fitball
- 10, 8, 6 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Fitball
Butt lift
- 10, 8, 6 reps
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
Raising legs to arms from a lying position
- 10, 8, 6 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
Pulling your legs to your chest on a horizontal bench
- 10, 8, 6 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
Alternating side crunches
- 10 per side
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
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Volume is important
To effectively pump up your abs, get rid of the habit of performing 20-30 repetitions of each exercise in one set. In the process of creating the perfect terrain, more is not better.
- Firstly, after a certain number of repetitions, the abdominal muscles get tired and transfer the load to other muscles.
- Secondly, after an overly intense workout, you will not be able to exercise for a long time, because you will suffer from unbearable muscle pain.
Stick to the 8-12 rep range, with a maximum of 15. Instead of increasing the number of reps, start using weights that you try to increase each workout.
At the same time, the abdominal muscles quickly recover, so you should not take long breaks between sets. It's better to do a short, high-intensity workout in which you alternate several exercises for all the abdominal muscles in a continuous manner in a circuit training format.
Exercise 7: Crunch + Rotation
Initial position:
lying down, feet on the floor and bent at the knees, hands clasped behind the head.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Round your back. Inhale, as you exhale, lift your torso up, as in a classic twist, and then turn your body to the left, reaching your right elbow towards your left knee. As you inhale, return to the starting position, but do not lower your shoulders to the floor. Repeat on the other side.
How to get perfect abs
Be sure to pay attention to the technique of performing the exercise. It is better to reduce the number of repetitions or the load, but in no case allow the load to be noticeably transferred to the back or legs while training the abdominal muscles.
Another common mistake when doing abdominal exercises is fixing your legs. To properly pump your abs, you should not fix your feet under the support.
Exercise Sitap (Raising the torso from a lying position)
This way you transfer the main load to the lower back, and this will not only reduce the effectiveness of training the target muscles, but can also cause injury to the spine, which, when the lower back muscles contract, contracts more than usual.
An alternative to sitaps can be all kinds of leg lifts and reverse crunches:
Raising legs to arms from a lying position
Torso twisting (hands to toes)
Take short breaks at the top of the exercise. However, if you do not feel tension in the abdominal muscles, reconsider your technique.
Reverse crunches (reverse crunches)
Reverse crunches with legs suspended
And also bicycles and “Russian crunches”:
Exercise "Bicycle"
Russian crunches
If it is difficult to perform the exercise without fixing your legs, switch to other abdominal exercises, since there are plenty of them. For example, static or stato-dynamic exercises:
Plank with alternate arms
Lateral leg extensions in the elbow plank
You can always return to a complex exercise later, when you have increased your level of preparedness and are able to perform the movement without fixing your feet.
Summarizing all that has been said, let's move on to the main training program.
Is it possible to pump up abs at home?
You can pump up your abs either at home or on the street. Another question is if a person is completely devoid of willpower and performs technical exercises incorrectly. If you have no sense of the body and no understanding of exactly how to work your muscles, it is better to hire a trainer for at least a few lessons. Many people have been working out their neck muscles for years, doing crunches on the mat, and the iliacus muscles and quadriceps of the thighs when they raise their legs while hanging, and then complain that training at home is complete nonsense, and if they had the money for the gym, they would definitely do it. The point here is not about finances, but about the fact that if a person cannot cope on his own and there is no one to help him, his path will be three times longer.
But, fortunately, if the nervous system is working normally, the Internet has not yet been turned off for non-payment and the person does not have spinal injuries, he can do leg crunches and lifts at home. Yes, and standing in the plank too.
By the way, most trainees will have enough of the most basic equipment - a regular rubber mat and some kind of weight, kettlebell, dumbbell, sandbag or mini-barbell. There is absolutely no need to set strength records here; it will be enough to simply provide the muscles with a progressive load.
How to Build Abs in 5 Minutes (WITHOUT REST!)
Workout - build perfect abs
Hanging Knee Raises
- 3 sets of 15-20 reps with straight legs
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
Raising your legs in front of you
- 3 sets of 15-20 reps
- Body part: Abs Equipment: Exercise machine
Oblique crunches on an incline bench (sitap)
- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
Attention: on each side
Crunches on a fitball
- 3 sets of 15-20 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Fitball
Kipping foot lifts to the bar
- 3 sets of 15 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
Raising your legs in front of you
- 3 sets of 15 reps
- Body part: Abs Equipment: Exercise machine
Body Twist - Russian Twist
- 4 sets of 15-20 reps
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
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How to pump up your abs effectively for beginners
Perhaps only the plank can claim the title of “ideal exercise for the abs,” but you need to consider the following:
Firstly, each person’s body is individual, and it reacts differently to the same load.
Secondly, your abdominal muscles quickly adapt to the exercises you perform.
Therefore, to achieve maximum results, it is recommended to change the abdominal pumping program every month. This muscle group consists of several individual muscles (upper, middle, lower, oblique and lateral muscles), each of which requires its own exercises. If you want to build perfect abs in 3-4 months, include exercises for all components of the abdominal muscles in your program.
Exercise 10: Slow Bike
Initial position:
lying on your back, head and shoulders off the floor, hands clasped behind your head.
Lift your legs off the floor by about 10-20 cm. Bend one leg at the knee and pull it to your chest, trying to touch the elbow of the opposite arm. Briefly fix your body in this position, feel the tension in your abs. Repeat on the other side. During execution, the stomach should be pulled in and the lower back should be pressed tightly to the floor.
You can watch how to do the rest of the exercises correctly in the video on the blogger’s YouTube channel.
You can do this workout both in the gym and at home. Exercise regularly, and the results will not take long to arrive!
Abs workout for beginners in the gym
Torso twisting (hands to toes)
- 3 sets of 15-20 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
Side bends with dumbbells
- 2 sets of 30 bends in each direction
- Body part: Press Equipment: Dumbbells
Note: Any decent weight will do.
Hanging Knee Raises
- 3 sets of 15 reps
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
Oblique crunches on an incline bench (sitap)
- 3 sets of 15 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
Reverse crunches (reverse crunches)
- 3 sets of 15 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
Exercise "Bicycle"
- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Body Part: Press Equipment: No
Kicks while sitting on a bench
- 3 sets of 15-20 reps
- Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight
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and add cardio...
To see the long-awaited relief, it’s not enough just to pump up your abs correctly; take care of a sufficient amount of cardio. Otherwise, it will hide behind the fat layer on the stomach and sides, even if you perfectly pump up your abdominal muscles. It is important to understand that burning fat is not the main goal of strength training; this requires cardio training.
Include 2-3 cardio workouts for 15-20 minutes a week in your program, for example, interval training, this will be enough to show everyone your perfect abs in a few months.
... and proper nutrition
In addition to training, do not forget about proper nutrition for athletes.
To create perfectly pumped up abs, your diet should not contain sweets, smoked foods, fried or excessively fatty foods.
Be sure to monitor your pre- and post-workout meals, which should contain a minimum amount of fat and a moderate amount of protein and carbohydrates.
Try to adhere to the principles of a balanced diet, take vitamin-mineral complexes and sports supplements that will help build muscle mass.
Sports supplements for a successful ab workout
Taking sports supplements - proteins, vitamins, fat burners, collagen, amino acids, BCAA and pre-workout complexes - will help you increase your endurance during training.
These sports nutrition products are specifically formulated to improve performance in sports and fitness for men and women. Just add it to your diet and go ahead to conquer new heights.
| Protein isolate | It features a deep degree of purification from impurities. Contains less lactose and fat, but more pure protein. Taking isolate is recommended for those who want to lose weight. |
| Pre-workout complex | Increases productivity during sports, strength, endurance, recovery speed between approaches. |
| Vitamin-mineral complex | During intense physical activity, vitamins and minerals are consumed by the body faster. They are also responsible for protein synthesis and are the engine of metabolic processes. |
| BCAAs | Allows muscle fibers to recover faster and provides building material for the growth of lean muscle mass. |
| Fat burner | Created to reduce excess fat deposits. Accelerates the breakdown of fat molecules and converts fat into free energy, increasing its consumption. |
Ab workout supplements for men
Syntrax | Nectar?
- Self-dissolving serum of the third generation of instant absorption without fat and carbohydrates.
- Category: Whey Protein Isolate Category details
Mix one scoop of powder in 300 ml of cold water. Reception is recommended in the morning after waking up, within 30-40 minutes after training and before bedtime.
Serum of the third generation PROMINA - has today the maximum coefficient of biological value and the degree of absorption by the human body. Syntrax Nectar is a highly purified whey protein isolate with zero fat and carbohydrate content. An effective nutrient for building high-quality muscle mass.
SciTec Nutrition | Hot Blood 3.0?
- The product is distinguished by unprecedented effectiveness; you can be convinced after the first sting that this drug was created for people who love sports not only for the results, but also for the incredible sensations in the gym.
- Category: Pre-workout supplements
1 scoop per 250-300 ml of water and 30 minutes before training
Moreover, you can buy Hot Blood both for weight training and for cardio training, including high-intensity training. Considering the optimally thought-out composition, the drug is recommended without fear even for those types of training in which the pulse rises to serious levels.
FIT-Rx | Multi Man?
- Stimulates the synthesis of immune system cells, prevents stress, improves well-being and performance
- Category: Vitamin-mineral complex More about the category
1 tablet 1-3 times a day with meals. Duration of treatment is 3 months.
Multi Man is a balanced, highly effective vitamin and mineral complex that includes a full range of vitamins and minerals needed by the male body, plus enzymes that promote better absorption of nutrients. Multi Man is an all-natural formula containing chelated minerals. Most vitamins are not synthesized in the human body, so they must be regularly and in sufficient quantities supplied to the body through food or in the form of vitamin-mineral complexes and nutritional supplements. Without a sufficient amount of minerals and vitamins in the body, health deteriorates, there is a loss of strength, performance decreases, and the flow of biological processes is disrupted. It is especially important to take vitamin-mineral complexes during an active lifestyle and sports, since the load increases and often the vitamins and minerals that enter the body with regular food are sorely lacking to maintain the immune system in a healthy state. — Activates the body’s antiviral defense — Normalizes biological processes in the body — Activates physical and mental activity — Reduces blood cholesterol levels — Accelerates energy and lipid metabolism in the body — Stimulates the central nervous system, cardiovascular and immune systems.
Geneticlab Nutrition | BCAA Pro?
- Geneticlab “BCAA Pro” is a modern sports supplement based on the essential amino acids BCAA, glutamine and a specially selected amino acid matrix, in an optimal ratio of 4:1:1.
- Category: BCAA More about the category
mix 1 scoop per 350-400 ml of water or other drink and take 30 minutes before and immediately after training
BCAA Pro will provide energy, improve metabolism, protect muscles from catabolism and help get rid of excess fat. Your workouts will become more intense and effective.
Optimum Nutrition | Daily Fit?
- Fat burner Daily Fit is a drug to speed up your metabolism.
- Category: Fat burners More about the category
Take 2 capsules 30-60 minutes before morning and afternoon meals
A new development from Optimum Nutrition provides a safe fat burning process with high results due to the presence of red and black pepper extracts. Research conducted by the company made it possible to determine the most accurate and working dosages of ingredients. This gentle fat burner contains no stimulants or questionable additives. Daily Fit contains thermogenic supplements containing green tea extract, red pepper extract, black pepper extract to speed up metabolism and carnitine for effective fat burning. Supports metabolism in the body, helps burn fat. Fat burner for weight loss Daily Fit is great for both men and women.
Sports nutrition recommendations are indicative only. Before purchasing, we recommend that you consult with a specialist in the store.
