Abdominal Muscle Training - The Most Effective Exercises
And the groundhog greets you every day ... a few tips to get you started
Important: make sure that you do not overexert yourself. Your body requires breaks for effective muscle building and targeted abdominal muscle training - it is better to train three to four times a week in small units than to get the most out of yourself once a week. It is also important to get enough sleep and a balanced diet, which can support training. You will find that you can do a few more exercises every week - slowly increase. In general, no more than three sets of twelve to 15 repetitions per unit are recommended.
The 5 best exercises for a flat and well-trained stomach!
With these five exercises you can effectively and easily train all parts of your abdominal muscles at home without additional equipment!
The crunch - for the straight abdominal muscles
You lie on your back on a sleeping mat. The knee joints are at a 90 ° angle. The feet are on the ground. From this position the upper body is lifted off the floor. The legs are not fixed. When the upper body is lifted, vertebrae from vertebrae are released from the floor.
Tip: If there is tension in the neck muscles, upper body and head, place them on a towel and grasp the ends with both hands.
The crunch to the side - for the oblique abdominal muscles
In this form, the upper body is lifted and rotated to the side at the same time. The elbow is moved towards the opposite knee joint. Both sides have to be trained equally.
This exercise is also primarily about the straight abdominal muscles and not, as is often assumed, the oblique abdominal muscles.
The plank - an exercise for the entire core muscles
This is a good core stabilization exercise. You support yourself on your forearms, which is why the exercise is also called forearm support in German-speaking countries. The whole body forms a line. To increase the intensity, the sub-names can be added before.
More on this: Forearm support
The Site Plank - for the lateral abdominal muscles
You support yourself on your forearm. The entire body is lying on the side with tension throughout the entire trunk. Don't forget the other side.
One-legged leg raises - for straight abdominal muscles
You lie on your back. The spine is in permanent contact with the ground (avoid hollow back as far as possible). One leg remains at a right angle, the working leg is moved up and down about 30 cm.
Additional exercises for the upper straight abdominal muscles
The full plank
Same as with the plank, but here you are in a push-up. The further forward the arms support, the more strenuous the exercise becomes.
The leg-plank with the Pezzi ball
A very effective exercise for all of the straight abdominal muscles. You are doing a push-up. The legs are on a pezzi ball. The knees are brought to the chest, the Pezziball rolls forward to the chest. The further the hands are in front of the body, the more intense the exercise.
The Spiderman crunch
From the push-up, the left and right leg are alternately moved towards the elbow. The trunk remains under tension throughout the movement.
Dumbbell floor rollers
You are on your knees. From the push-ups, slowly roll forward and back again. The trunk remains under tension throughout the movement. Alternatively, this exercise can also be performed with a barbell.
Crunch on the pezzi ball
In this modification of the classic crunch, the athlete is lying on his back on a Pezzi ball. The feet are on the ground. From this position the upper body is raised. The movement amplitude is approx. 30 °.
Comment: The further the upper body is shifted back, the more intense the exercise becomes.
Tip: By adapting the ball to the spine, this exercise is a particularly back-friendly variant of the abdominal crunch.
Crunch on the Pezzi ball on the cable pull
In this form of crunch, the athlete is supine on a (half) Pezzi ball. The feet are on the ground. From this position the upper body is raised. The movement amplitude is approx. 30 °.
Comment: By increasing the resistance with the help of the cable pull, the intensity can be increased significantly.
By overstretching the upper body, the abdominal muscles are trained in an overstretched structure. This is visually more appealing.
Toe Touches (Crunch with legs raised)
From the supine position try to touch the extended legs with your fingers. The execution of the movement is very short. The lower straight abdominal muscles are also used.
By lifting the legs, the hollow back is reduced and is therefore back-friendly.
Crunch kneeling on the cable pulley
Here the athlete is kneeling on the sleeping mat and holds the (rope) of the cable in both hands above his head. Against the resistance of the cable pull, the upper body is now bent forward / down. This form of crunch is a very back-friendly option for abdominal muscle training
Additional exercises for the lower straight abdominal muscles
Leg raises on both legs
See one-legged leg raises. In this version, both legs are alternately moved up and down. Important: tension in the lower back muscles too.
Hip Thurst - The hip lift
also executable as reverse crunch. From the supine position, the hips are slowly raised. This exercise should be avoided if you have back problems.
Additional exercises for the lateral abdominal muscles
The Site - Plank with Leg Raised (Static / Holding)
See Site Plank. You also lift the upper leg. The body then forms an X.
Ukraine's twist
The starting position is like a crunch / sit'up.
You slowly rotate your upper body alternately to the left and right side. This exercise is more for advanced users. Beginners can quickly injure their spine when doing this exercise. Increase the weight slowly.
The wiper
You lie on your back with your legs straight. The arms are stretched out to the side of the body and stabilize the movement.
The straight legs are alternately lowered to the left and right towards the floor. The knee joints can be bent to decrease the intensity.
Side bends with dumbbells
You stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart. The weight is in one hand. The upper body is now slowly bent to the opposite side and held briefly.
Side bends on the cable pull
See side bends with a Kurtz dumbbell. You replace the dumbbell with a cable puller. The handle of the cable pull is attached close to the ground.
Useful information for a good workout
1. What counts to the abdominal muscles - the different parts of the abdominal muscles require isolated training
In the case of abdominal muscle training, between training the straight abdominal muscles (Rectus abdominis muscle) and training of the lateral abdominal muscles.
Since the straight abdominal muscles are divided into "eight" individually contractible elements, a distinction must also be made between the upper and lower parts when training the straight abdominal muscles. This results in a training:
- the upper straight abdominal muscles
- the lower straight abdominal muscles
- the lateral abdominal muscles
2. No training of the abdominal muscles without training the opponents (deep back muscles)
A washboard abs can only be achieved if the anatagonist of the abdominal muscles is also strengthened and the strength of the abdominal muscles can "counteract".
The straight abdominal muscles as the antagonist (opponent) of the deep, long back muscles / autochthonous back muscles (M. erector spinae) are considered to be flexors of the spine.
This muscle group is responsible for bending the upper body forward.
For a healthy posture, well-developed abdominal muscles are just as important as a strong back. Both muscle groups should be trained equally during strength training.
The ideal force ratio between the back muscles and the abdominal muscles is approx. 1.3 - 1.5 to 1.
3. The subject of body fat - the washboard is not a huge muscle, it just likes to hide
One often reads that the training of the abdominal muscles itself only accounts for 30% of the total effort. Diet is much more important. Good point. In fact, the washboard only becomes visible from a certain body fat percentage. Incidentally, this is individual, as everyone stores their fat in different places.
In addition to the buttocks and hips, the stomach serves as a fat depot. In order to be able to externally recognize the abdominal muscles as such, a low percentage of body fat is also required. Athletes with a genetic disposition to store body fat have a significant disadvantage in abdominal muscle training.
Excessive training of the abdominal muscles can also injure them. An abdominal muscle strain can develop, in extreme cases even a torn muscle fiber can occur in the abdomen. Therefore it is important to increase the training slowly and not to overload the muscles.
Small note on the side
Did you know?
The washboard is not only formed from the abdominal muscles and the "non-existent body fat", but is very much dependent on the tendons (intersection tendinea). Only this forms the structure of the abdominal muscles. In some people these tendons are barely developed - then the sixpack won't work
Training the abdominal muscles while standing
For many, classic abdominal muscle training generally takes place lying down. But that exercises that are performed while standing are often at least as effective, if not even better, is "yet" unknown to many exercisers.
One exercise is standing torso turning with a medicine ball. Instead of a medicine ball, other sufficiently heavy objects can be used.
This exercise focuses on the upper and side abdominal muscles.
It is important that the upper body is kept straight in an upright position. The weight is held away from the body with outstretched arms at shoulder level.
Now turn the upper body sideways to the right and left. But you shouldn't turn the rotation too far and take a break of one minute after 30 seconds. The exercise is completed after three rounds. Two to three units per week are enough to achieve your goals.
A training exercise for the oblique and transverse abdominal muscles is alternating tilting of the upper body to the side with or without weights.
To do this, you should stand upright with your legs shoulder-width apart. The arms lie on the sides of the body and a weight can be held in each hand depending on the desired intensity.
Now you begin to lean your upper body sideways to the right. The right arm goes down the right thigh and the left arm goes up the left trunk.
The legs remain permanently on the floor and you tilt your upper body until you feel a pull in the left side. Then move the upper body back to the starting position and start with the other half of the body.
In the next exercise, the dumbbell twist, the knees are slightly bent and the feet are shoulder-width apart. A dumbbell is gripped by both hands, the torso is twisted in and the dumbbell is brought with both hands next to the left thigh.
Keep your arms straight, your spine straight and your head facing the dumbbell. Then the dumbbell is swung up over the right shoulder, stretching the legs. Then the movement is reversed. The dumbbell is now brought next to the right thigh and the legs are bent. Then swing the barbell over your left shoulder and stretch your legs again.
