How to pump up a girl’s abs: the best exercises for home

The stereotype that it is impossible to pump up a girl’s abs at home has become the most popular excuse. It is what is used when there are no results, although the main reason for the lack of powerful and sculpted abs is the incorrect methodology and training scheme. Abdominal exercises for women that are performed at home are no different in effectiveness from movements in the gym. Except that some exercises will have to be adapted to suit the conditions at home. With the right approach and systematic training, the rate of progression from home exercises will be high.

How to quickly pump up abs for a girl

In fitness, a myth has formed that men need powerful and effective movements to pump up their abdominal muscles, and abdominal exercises for girls should be more aerobic in nature (emphasis on high-repetition performance). This is the wrong approach, which makes abdominal training for girls ineffective and leads to a lack of pronounced results. Women's gymnastics for the abs and abdomen is good, but only as an addition to powerful strength movements, and not the basis of training.

It is important to remember that muscle development can only be carried out in two directions - endurance training, as well as increasing volume and strength. It is heavy approaches with slow and controlled execution (as well as with weights) that make the muscle stronger and more voluminous. Therefore, all effective abdominal exercises for girls should be strength-based, not aerobic, in nature, regardless of the purpose of the training (narrowing the waist, six-pack, and so on).

Dietary recommendations

The second element in achieving the goal is nutrition. You can pump up a girl’s abs without carefully controlling her diet, but the muscles hidden under a layer of fat are unlikely to help create an aesthetic physique. Therefore it is necessary:

Create a calorie deficit.
Eliminate fast carbohydrates as much as possible.
Limit your consumption of fatty meats (only healthy sources of fat: avocados, fatty fish, nuts).
Reduce consumption of sugar-containing and starchy foods.

Together with performing abdominal exercises for girls, these nutritional rules will allow you to achieve incredible success.

How to train abs for girls at home

In addition to physical activity and nutrition, the training program plays an important role. Contrary to popular misconception, even at home, abdominal exercises for girls should not be done too often. Rare, but powerful and voluminous workouts will be much more effective. The optimal training regimen for a weekly cycle by day:

Heavy training – 4-5 exercises of 3-5 approaches (possibly with weights).
Rest.
A short, high-intensity workout – 10-15 minutes (for women, a set of abdominal exercises is performed in a circular style or with a minimum rest of 15-20 seconds).
Rest.
Light maintenance workout.
Rest.
Rest.

It is extremely important that a long day of rest is preceded by a long rest.

On an easy day, women can do aerobic abdominal exercises. This scheme is optimal from the point of view of effective pumping of the target group and the rest that muscles need for recovery. Otherwise, there will be no growth and the most you can count on is a slight increase in endurance.

heavy exercises in 4-5 working sets of 10-12 repetitions.
Light ones – up to 17-25 repetitions per set.

Muscle anatomy

It is worth knowing that the abdominal muscles are not limited to 4 pack abs. There can be 6 or 8 of them. The lower and upper press are also missing - there is no difference here. Cubes are the visible part of the muscles; underneath them lie the deep layers. The press belongs to a special category of muscles. The core muscle complex is responsible for both the health of the spine and the stabilization of the hips and pelvis. If these muscles are strong, this will guarantee you a flat tummy , beautiful posture, coupled with a healthy spine.

The anatomy of the core muscles consists of:

oblique and transverse abdominal muscles;
rectus abdominis muscles;
gluteus medius and minimus muscles;
adductor muscles;
infraspinatus and posterior surface of the thigh;
as well as the coracobrachial.

The best abdominal exercises for women at home

When creating a training program, it is recommended to include only the most effective abdominal exercises for women. Their number is large enough, so there is no need to do all the movements in one workout. It is optimal to alternate the load using different exercises, techniques and styles of execution to avoid muscle adaptation.

Crunches

The most universal and very effective movement to pump up a girl’s abs at home. To perform this you need a free area of the floor and a small rug (can be done without it). Works the upper part of the abs perfectly.

Technique:

Lie on the floor, bring your legs together and bend your knees, focusing on your feet. Place your hands behind your head or crossed over your chest.
Begin to lift your shoulder blades off the floor, lifting your body. Try to twist so that your head moves towards your hips.
Pause at the peak point (as you exhale) and slowly return to the starting position.

Key points: in order for girls to properly pump their abs with crunches, it is necessary to constantly maintain tension in the muscles.

Crunches with legs raised

To additionally activate the lower press, you need to change the starting position. Instead of resting your feet on the floor, you need to raise them (shin parallel to the floor, thigh perpendicular to the floor).

Lying leg raise

There is not always a horizontal bar in the house to perform hanging leg raises. In this case, leg raises are the best abdominal exercise for women to work the lower part.

Technique:

Lie on the floor, arms along your body, palms need to rest on the floor (for additional stabilization) or hold on to any support.
As you exhale, begin to lift your legs together at a slow pace until they are perpendicular to the floor.
Take a short break and return to the starting position without lowering your feet to the floor.

Key points:

The lower back should be pressed tightly to the floor.
You also need to avoid jerking when lifting your legs (at the expense of your hips).

Russian twist

A very rare, but incredibly effective exercise that provides a powerful load on the abs (with a focus on the oblique abdominal muscles). Performed in any conditions, with dumbbells, kettlebells or any other weight (even with a water bottle).

Technique:

Sit on the floor, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Tilt the body back slightly. At the starting point, there should be a right angle between the hips and the body (a straight V).
Keep the weight on straight arms (slightly bent at the elbows).
Move your arms to the side, trying to touch the object in your hands to the floor on the right.
Without pausing, return your hands to the starting position and repeat the movement to the left side.
Continue alternating body rotations throughout the exercise.

Key points:

When working with heavy weights, your arms should be bent at the elbows; when working with minimal weights, you can straighten them (with a slight bend in the joint).
This is a strength exercise and does not need to be performed in multiple repetitions. It is optimal to do the Russian twist in the mode of 8-12 leads on each side.

Standing rotation with kettlebell

The most powerful movement for the abdominal muscles. Ideal for strength training at home for abs for girls. Effectively works all core muscles.

Technique:

Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, back straight. Hold a kettlebell in your free hand at hip level.
Begin to rotate your arm, moving it clockwise behind your back.
Grab the handle of the kettlebell with your other hand and perform the same rotational movement, with the interception in front of you.

Although the technique is unusual, this is a fairly simple movement that requires a front and back interception. Also try to rotate the weight equally clockwise and counterclockwise. Choose the optimal weight (instead of a kettlebell, you can even use a regular bottle with water and a handle).

Straight leg rotation

We take a horizontal position. Place the palms of your hands under your buttocks.
Raise your straightened legs 30 degrees.
We tear the shoulders off the surface. We raise our heads. The gaze should be directed forward. We make sure that the lower back does not bend during the process.
After taking a deep breath, as you exhale, we begin to make circular movements with our legs.
The lower the legs, the more difficult and effective the exercise.

Abs training program

To effectively and quickly pump up a girl’s abs, use this training program as a basis:

Warm-up – 3-4 minutes.
Crunches – 4 sets of 10-12 reps.
Lying leg raises – 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions.
Standing kettlebell rotation – 3*15 rotations on each side.
A set of aerobic movements (bicycle, sit-ups) – 3-4 minutes with a minimum break between exercises (10-15 seconds).

Exercise bike Exercise situp

Basic Rules

Many exercises are applicable for both girls and boys. It is not difficult to perform them; each time, without much effort, the pace of the exercises increases. You just need to take into account some nuances and recommendations .

To practice at home, you do not need special sports equipment. You can do it on your own.
When exercises involve a starting position “lying on the floor,” always use a rigid base for this. Buy a yoga mat.
Start your exercises with a warm-up. Dancing, gymnastics, and muscle stretching are suitable. If you don’t warm up your abdominal muscles, you won’t be able to quickly build up your six-pack.
Start exercising a couple of hours after eating, and after that there should be at least three hours left before bed.

How long does it take to pump up a girl’s abs?

The question largely depends on three factors (in order of importance, from the most significant):

Nutrition.
Workout.
Genetics.

With regular training and normalization of the diet, visible improvements in physical capabilities and relief can be noticed by 4-5 weeks. It is unlikely that a woman will be able to pump up her abs and get significant results in less than 10 weeks. In some cases it will take 12-14 weeks. Therefore, debates about how many days it takes to pump up a girl’s abs are incorrect, since the result depends on individual characteristics and efforts.

And also read how to pump up a girl’s buttocks at home → All exercises to pump up your abs →

Diet

Diet is equally important. To get perfect abs, you need to get used to frequent meals - 5-6 times a day.

The emphasis should be on protein nutrition, reducing flour, sweets, fast food, including sugar-rich soda, to a minimum.

The main products for those who want to pump up their abs:

nuts;
legumes;
complex carbohydrates – a variety of cereals;
greenery;
dairy products;
eggs;
white dietary meat;
vegetables and berries.

It is equally important to eat at the same time.

An ideal diet should look like this:

8:00-8:30 – breakfast;
11:00 – second breakfast;
13:00-13:30 – lunch;
16:00 – afternoon snack;
18:00 – dinner;
20:00 – light snack.

You need to drink at least 2.5 liters of water per day if you exercise.

Crunches with a fitball

We lie down on the surface. We hold a gymnastic ball between our legs.
Raise your head up, while simultaneously bringing the shoulder girdle forward.
Having taken the starting position, we simultaneously raise our arms and legs with the ball to a perpendicular position with respect to the floor - pull it as high as possible.
When we reach the maximum point, we take the ball in our hands.
We lower the straightened arms and legs to the floor, but without placing them on it. We hold it in a hanging position.
While performing the exercise, do not raise your lower back or place your head on the floor.

Plank

We take a horizontal position - lying on our stomach. We rest on our hands or elbows. The legs are on their toes.
The body should form a straight line. No curvature, especially in the lumbar region.
We strain the woman's abs as much as possible.
We fix ourselves in this position, concentrating on high-quality execution of the plank, for 30 seconds - 2 minutes.

Possible mistakes

There are two main mistakes when girls pump up their abs. Firstly, this is the inclusion of exercises with weights, and secondly, increasing the load through numerous repetitions.

The training room usually offers several strength machines suitable for working the abs. But not all of them are good, because they will not give a positive effect to the female body. Strength training equipment that allows you to perform weighted crunches will not help reduce your waist, but, on the contrary, will make it wider. The figure will be shaped like a man. Therefore, women should not get carried away with weight training equipment, at least at first; learn to get by with other activities, without weights.

Each exercise is usually done in 3 sets, 20-25 times. There is no need to increase the load due to the number of repeated repetitions of the same exercises. It is better to make progress by doing these exercises faster each time. But we must not forget that:

starting your workout with light exercises, finish with heavier ones;
As the difficulty of the activity increases, reduce the speed of execution.