At first glance, it may seem that this is a workout for the lazy. After all, you will spend almost the entire time of the lesson lying on the mat. However, do not delude yourself, after completing the first circle the press will begin to clog, and by the end of the last it will burn. We promise, a sculpted belly won’t take long to appear.
Tanya Fedorishcheva
blogger, author of two books about home workouts, host of fitness marathons
A fairly short, but at the same time intense workout for the abdominal muscles lasting 16 minutes awaits you. We will perform all exercises lying on the mat.
The workout consists of three circuits, each of which contains three rounds of three exercises, each lasting 30 seconds. Rest between circles - a minute, between exercises - 10 seconds. Press your lower back tightly against the mat, inhale through your mouth as you contract your abdominal muscles, and exhale through your nose as you relax.
How to achieve perfect abs and a thin waist? 13 exercises for your dream figure
5 effective exercises for beautiful and sculpted abs
How to properly build abs for a man?
As with pumping up other muscle groups, the abs need an integrated approach. This means that in addition to exercises with a structured load and execution technique, it is important to follow the principles of proper nutrition. The latter may be even more important than exercise: you can pump up your abs for as long and as much as you like, but if the treasured abs are covered with a layer of fat, then the meaning of training is lost. And as a result, you will get growing and strengthening abdominal muscles along with a growing belly.
Let's make a small list of principles of an integrated approach:
- It is important to distribute the load evenly (increasingly).
- Consider the frequency of training and its frequency. Remember that 2-3 times a week is enough to get sculpted abs; it is important not to overwork the muscles, resulting in the opposite effect.
- For the entire training period, develop a special nutrition program that reduces the consumption of carbohydrates (especially fast ones).
- To increase the fat-burning effect, add cardio to strength training, aimed at increasing the overall endurance of the body.
Foods are the enemies of a slim waist
You will have to exclude the following foods from your diet for a long time:
- flour products;
- any dishes and products that contain sugar;
- any confectionery, chocolate, sweets;
- fruits with a high glycemic index.
It is better to avoid bread altogether. Occasionally you can allow yourself a couple of slices of Borodino bread. So that the body does not lack carbohydrates, you need to eat oatmeal in the morning, and buckwheat, pearl barley, and barley for lunch. You can also eat any vegetables except potatoes. Potatoes are rich in starch, and their frequent consumption in food provokes bloating in many people (at the same time, it looks like a girl is pregnant).
You don't have to limit yourself to eating protein foods. Meat, seafood, protein shakes, dairy products - all this can be eaten without fear for your figure.
Abdominal pumping exercise at home
Pumping the upper press.
1. Standard crunches.
A universal exercise that is always included in a set of exercises for men who want to pump up their abs. And its versatility lies in the fact that you can perform crunches both at home and in the gym. You can perform the exercise on the floor, on a special bench for the press, or even on a fitball.
As for the number of approaches, do not strive to immediately perform 100,500 repetitions. You will achieve nothing but overworked muscles and a long recovery. Adequately assess your initial physical fitness by performing 30 crunches using the correct technique. If the abdominal muscles begin to ache already from the middle, then start small - 20 repetitions for 3 sets. If you already have preparation - 30-50 repetitions for 3 approaches. Increase the number of repetitions gradually (for example, once a week).
Let's look at the correct technique for performing crunches on the floor:
- Lie on the floor, bend your knees, hands on the back of your head.
- Slowly lift your upper body, keeping your back rounded (do not straighten all the way).
- Hold for 1-2 seconds in the raised position and just as slowly lower back to the starting position.
If you use an incline bench for crunches, the technique will be as follows:
- Secure your knees on the bench bolsters, press your buttocks into the bench, hands behind your head.
- As you exhale, rise up on the bench (do not straighten all the way).
- Stay in this position for 1-2 seconds and slowly lower yourself back onto the bench.
From the point of view of the effectiveness of performing crunches, it is better to use an incline bench. In this case, the load on the upper abdominal muscles is higher: you are not rising from a straight position, and the trajectory of movement is longer. By the way, if you decide to use a bench to pump up your abs at home, we suggest choosing one from our catalog:
Choose an ab bench
2. Exercise “bicycle”.
To effectively pump up the abdominal muscles for both men and women, the “bicycle” exercise is suitable. It is performed lying on a flat surface, hands behind the head. Start pulling your knees towards your chest (alternately). You can add twists - each time you pull your knee up, try to touch it with the elbow of your opposite hand. For example, pull up your right knee and reach towards it with the elbow of your left hand and vice versa. This complex not only pumps up the abs, but also effectively tightens the oblique abdominal muscles.
3. Static exercises.
In order to get beautiful abs, you can perform both a standard plank and, for example, a static leg raise at an angle, lying on your back. In the first case, you will, without exaggeration, pump up all muscle groups, in the second, you will place the main emphasis on increasing the strength and endurance of the muscles of the upper and lower abs. How to do the exercise:
- Lie down on the floor and rest your elbows on the floor.
- Raise your legs off the floor at a slight angle (up to 30-45 degrees) and stay in this position for 30-40 seconds. It is important to feel the tension in your abdominal muscles at this moment.
- Slowly lower your feet to the floor.
- Rest for 60 seconds and repeat the exercise twice more.
Increase the duration of the lift gradually: as soon as you feel a burning sensation in your abdominal muscles, count 10 seconds and lower your legs. Over time, you will be able to keep your legs in this position for more than one minute and beautiful abs will not keep you waiting.
We pump up the lower press.
1. Raising the legs from a lying position.
A basic exercise for pumping up lower abs for men, especially if a beer belly has already begun to appear. Correct execution technique:
- Lie on the floor, arms along your body, legs together.
- Slowly raise your slightly bent legs so that your hips and body form a 90-degree angle.
- Almost without pausing, slowly lower your legs down, but not all the way.
- Begin the next leg lift without touching the floor.
In this case (when the legs do not touch the floor during the exercise), the abdominal muscles remain tense until the end and are pumped as quickly and efficiently as possible. Perform 20-30 reps in 3 sets (resting 60 seconds between sets).
2. Raising legs while hanging on the horizontal bar.
If you have a horizontal bar at home (if not, you can purchase it in our store ), then an effective exercise for the abs (both upper and lower) is hanging leg raises. During this exercise, all abdominal muscles receive load. How to do the exercise:
- Hang from the horizontal bar.
- Raise your legs straight to a 90-degree angle (with your body).
- Stay in this position for 3-4 seconds.
- Slowly lower your legs.
Perform 3 sets of 10-15 leg raises. Next, as you pump up your abdominal muscles, you can use leg weights.
We work the oblique abdominal muscles.
We all understand that beautiful six-pack abs don’t look beautiful without toned obliques. There are also a lot of exercises for working them out, and we have already named one of them - this is a “bicycle” with twists (we touch the knee with the elbow). However, if you have a horizontal bar at home, you can do crunches while hanging on it. What is needed for this:
- secure yourself on the horizontal bar;
- hang and straighten;
- raise your straight legs to an angle of 90 degrees;
- make a rise to the right and left.
The higher your legs are raised, the greater the load placed on the abs. For a good result, 10-15 repetitions are enough.
How to do a plank to give your stomach definition
The plank is a simple exercise, but very effective. If you do it regularly, you will get a sculpted belly (provided you follow simple nutritional rules). The plank belongs to the group of static exercises. How to do it is described below:
- Starting position: rest your palms and toes on the floor. The spine is straight, the pelvis does not sag or rise. The gaze is directed strictly forward, we do not “drop” our heads and do not “nod our noses.”
- That's it: stay in this position for as long as possible. Experienced athletes can stay in the plank for 5-10 minutes, beginners cannot stand even 10 seconds.
- It is very important not to change positions. No matter how tense the muscles are, make sure that the pelvis does not sag and the head does not droop. If you do the exercise incorrectly, the load on the rectus abdominis muscle is significantly reduced.
Tips for those who want to pump up their abs at home.
So, we looked at a set of quite simple, but with the right technique, very effective exercises for pumping up abs for men at home. Let's finally say a few words about nutrition, because as we found out, without it, the desired cubes will remain hidden under a layer of subcutaneous fat.
- Eliminate fast carbohydrates from your diet (baked goods, cakes, fast food, etc.).
- Leave long lasting carbohydrates (cereals), but focus on proteins.
- Add white meat (chicken, turkey), legumes, vegetables, and sour fruits to your diet.
- Fats should also be present in the diet (cold pressed oils, for example), but not more than 15-20%.
Read further:
- How to pump up your abs on the horizontal bar? Exercise program
- How to pump up your legs at home: simple and effective exercises
Was it useful? Share with your friends:
How to eat so that you don’t get fat on your stomach?
The secret to proper nutrition: reduce carbohydrate intake to a minimum. If possible, switch to protein-carbohydrate alternation. This is a simple and satisfying nutrition system, thanks to which belly fat will disappear literally before your eyes.
What are carbohydrates? This is one of the main nutritional nutrients, and if there is an excess of it in the diet, subcutaneous and visceral fat is formed. If the goal is to become the owner of a slender, toned and sculpted abdomen, then you will have to forget about consuming carbohydrates, especially simple ones, for a long time. It is still impossible to completely exclude carbohydrates from the diet, but more on that below.
Tip #4: Protect yourself from stress as much as possible
Disturbances in the endocrine system can negatively affect your shape. First of all, this concerns the stress hormone cortisol.
The body needs cortisol to use fat as energy, but elevated cortisol levels lead to the growth of fatty tissue in the abdominal area and catabolism (the breakdown of muscle tissue).
None of this compares to a flat and attractive belly. Cortisol levels increase due to many factors, most of which are the consequences of stress. But this can also happen due to training and various situations in our lives.
Research confirms the negative impact of cortisol on total testosterone levels. An increase in cortisol levels leads to a decrease in total testosterone levels, making it difficult to lose excess weight. In order to maintain optimal testosterone and cortisol levels, you need to monitor the amount of stress in your life. The less stress, the lower the level of cortisol in the body, and then fat burning will be more productive.
Useful article: “How to increase testosterone levels with nutrition”
Crunches with an expander
Technique:
- We fix the elastic band on the floor. We sit down on a sloping bench.
- We fix the legs under the bolster.
- We take both handles in our hands and hold them on the sides of our neck.
- We twist forward.
- Then we go back down.
We do three sets of 20 times.
Photo: instagram.com/dmitryaev_aleksey
Tip #2: Reduce Fat Levels by Doing the Most Effective Exercises
Strength training in the gym is important for fat loss, even more important than cardio. They should be an integral part of your training program.
The best weight-loss exercises are heavy, compound, compound movements like squats, deadlifts, clean and jerks, bench presses, bent-over rows, pull-ups, military presses, and dips.
Because these exercises work more muscle groups, it becomes harder for the body to do the work, resulting in a much more productive workout.
If you're going to do cardio to lose weight, do high-intensity cardio instead of monotonous, low-intensity exercise. This way, more fats are oxidized, metabolism accelerates, and the entire fat burning process is faster and more fun.
Cardio training to give your stomach definition
To use lipolysis as energy exchange (that is, directly melt fat), there is no more effective type of exercise than so-called cardio exercise (or aerobic exercise). This is running, jumping, crossfit.
Cardio training is effective for burning fat because, unlike, say, strength training, which uses energy from anaerobic glycolysis, the duration of the load can be quite significant in time. For example, if this is a jog, it should not be shorter than 40 minutes (you can use the interval running technique), if aerobics - at least 45-50 minutes. Such training should be alternated every day with regular strength training.
Tip #7: Eat 5-6 small meals every 2-3 hours
Three meals a day will not be enough to burn fat. To maintain your metabolic rate, you need to eat more often. For this reason, all competitive fitness and bodybuilding athletes distribute their daily calorie intake over 5-6 meals and eat them at intervals of 2-3 hours.
When you rev up your metabolism, it's easier for your body to burn fat and expend the resulting energy.
Frequent meals not only speed up your metabolism, but also help maintain your current muscle mass levels.
Woodcutter
A dynamic exercise that, in addition to the abs, involves the whole body. To do this effectively, you'll need a weight (if you don't have a dumbbell, use a water bottle).
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a weight with both hands. Squat down, keeping your back straight, and turn your body to the side, moving your hands behind your hips. Then exhale and lift the weight up in the opposite direction, moving diagonally. Then do the same in the other direction. The repetitions should be at least 16. It is extremely important to perform this exercise slowly and clearly controlling each movement.
Tip #1: Stick to a diet to reduce body fat
In order to finally see the abs you dream of, you first need to reduce your body fat level, for men - to 8-10% or lower, for women - to 12-15%.
Fat burning is impossible without proper nutrition. Many people pay too much attention to little things like counting calories or macronutrient ratios.
For fat burning, only one condition is important: that the daily calorie intake be less than the required number of calories to maintain weight.
Everyone has a different response to a particular nutrition plan, everyone needs to find their sweet spot with enough protein to maintain muscle mass (at least 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight) and low carbohydrate content for successful fat burning (the body requires at least 50-100 grams of carbohydrates per day, fat burning will be more productive).
