Exercises for abs in the gym: for men, women

fitness trainer

“Many people strive to pump abs because it is beautiful, sporty and very relevant in our time, when sports and proper nutrition are becoming a cult. Who does not dream of a beautiful relief, of the cherished six cubes? Besides, the stronger the abdominal muscles are developed, the easier it is to perform daily routine movements, keep your posture straight and much more.”

What we’ll tell you about

What kind of abs exercises are there?

There are two types of exercises – vertical and horizontal. The first type are those movements that we perform sitting or standing. The most popular of them: vertical twists to the leg and “Russian twist”, the technique of execution will be discussed below.

Horizontal exercises are performed lying down. For example, straight and reverse twists on the upper and lower parts of the press, as well as the plank, bicycle and rock climbing.

Advantages of pumping the abs in the gym

Oksana Trofimchuk: “Strength training for abs in the gym strengthens the straight and oblique abdominal muscles at all levels, intercostal muscles, extensors of the spine. It also contributes to the formation of the muscular corset of the back. When training in the gym, the weight of the weights can be increased or decreased depending on the progression of the muscle group, as any weight is available to you. At home, however, the weight is usually limited to a minimum amount of equipment.”

Press exercises engage all of the abdominal muscles, as well as indirectly the buttocks, outer and inner thighs. In total, up to 20 muscles are engaged. Strength training helps to increase muscle strength and flexibility, improve the mobility of the spine due to its increased supply of nutrients, and correct posture.

Let’s find out what muscles are working during abs exercises. The press is usually called a set of all the muscles of the abdomen, namely:

rectus – creates abs and maintains the balance of the body;
transverse – responsible for the stability of the spine and aligns posture;
pyramidal – makes the abdomen flat;
oblique – responsible for body mobility.

To achieve relief abs, it is necessary to comprehensively affect all of the above muscles. A balanced training program that includes exercises for each group will help.

How to correctly combine exercises for abs?

Horizontal and vertical exercises, if desired, can be divided into different training days, and can be combined. Let’s say you exercise two or three times a week, you should not do more impact training, because the muscles need 1-2 days of recovery.

Then, for example, on Tuesday you can emphasize horizontal exercises and add some vertical and equipment exercises. On the remaining days, the situation is similar. Establish a general rule for rest so you can always stick to it. For example, take breaks of 15 seconds between approaches and 1-2 minutes between exercises.

Oksana Trofimchuk: “The program should be based on the number of workouts per week. Experts, including myself, advise to work each muscle group twice a week for visible results after three months of training. To work each muscle group, you can train twice a week on a Full Body program, or you can train 3-4 times a week and work individual muscle groups on different training days.”

Vertical abs exercises

Vertical leg curls

Technique

Place your hands on the back of your head, elbows apart.
Place your feet shoulder-width apart.
As you exhale, pull your right knee to the center of your chest.
Do not tilt the body, but round the waist.

“Russian Twist”

Technique

Sit on the mat, legs slightly bent at the knees.
Bend your hands slightly and hold them in front of you in a lock.
As you exhale, twist the body to the right, directing the hands towards the floor.
Make sure that only the upper torso moves and the lower torso remains stationary.
Inhale and return to the starting position, then repeat the same to the left side.
To increase the load, you can perform the exercise with a pancake or dumbbell.

Horizontal abs exercises

Straight twists

Technique

Lie on your back, bend your legs at the knees, place your feet on the floor.
Put your hands behind your head and lock them together.
As you exhale, perform a twist, lift your shoulders off the floor and tense your abs.
As you inhale, return to the starting position.

Reverse twists

Technique

Lie on your back with your arms along your torso.
Bend your legs at the knees and pull your thighs off the floor, they should be perpendicular to the floor.
As you inhale, pull your knees up to your chest.
At the top point, the pelvis should not touch the floor.
On exhalation, return to the starting position.

“Bicycle”

Technique

Lie on your back, arms bent at the elbows and put behind your head, legs extended.
Take your shoulders off the floor, pull up the knee of your right leg and try to touch it with the elbow of your left hand.
Do the same, but change your arm and leg.
Do the exercise quickly, without pauses.

“Rock Climber”

Technique

Stand in a supine position, straighten your back.
Pull the knee of your right leg to your chest.
Return to the starting position and repeat the same element with the other leg.
Perform the exercise, constantly changing legs. Breathe evenly.

Pumping abs in the gym

Twists in block crossover

Technique

On one of the blocks put the pigtails, on the second – a belt for weights;
lie on your back between the blocks with your head facing the pigtails;
take the pigtails in both hands and put the belt on your knees;
on each of the blocks, place a suitable weight on each block;
twist, pulling your arms and legs to the center;
you can twist not only in a straight line, but also sideways, engaging the oblique muscles.

Twisting with a medball

Technique

Sit on the mat, straight legs slightly raised above the floor, torso upright;
hold the medball at your side with both hands;
by turning the torso move the medball to the other side, but do not lower it to the floor;
repeat these twists with the ball in front of you.

Lifting legs in hanging

Technique

Grab the rings or the bar with your hands, hang on straight arms;
from this position raise legs to a right angle; they can be fully straightened, or, if the level does not yet allow, slightly bent;
if the level allows, you can complicate the exercise by lifting the legs and turning the pelvis slightly sideways.

Leg raises on the bars

Technique

Rest your hands on the bars and keep your body weighted on straight arms;
lift the legs hanging in the air, while pulling the pelvis back;
try to retract the abdomen while performing the exercise;
you can complicate the task by twisting the pelvis sideways while lifting the legs.

“Prayer”

Technique

Kneel in front of the block in the crossover, put the pigtails at the tip;
take the pigtails in our hands and bring them close to our head, set the weight suitable for our level of training;
tense the abs and make deep twists to the floor, the pelvis remains in place, only the back and abs are twisted;
when going up, we straighten up not to the end, so that the back muscles are not involved in the work.

How to improve the effect of training?

In addition to strength training at home or in the gym, in weight loss, in the development of flexibility, in improving overall health will help us stretching, massages, swimming, bathing procedures, as well as proper nutrition.

Oksana Trofimchuk: “Massages, saunas allow our muscles to relax, disperse lactic acid. It is formed in muscles when working in conditions of lack of oxygen. This is a natural process, it occurs during intensive sports, when the metabolism switches to anaerobic, glycolytic version”.

Regular stretching exercises are important for developing body flexibility. You don’t have to do long workouts – you can devote a few minutes a day to stretching and get good results. Do morning exercises – do a small set of dynamic exercises for 5-10 minutes after waking up. Exercise will increase joint mobility and improve your health.

And, most importantly, support all physical activity with proper nutrition. You do not need to immediately cut the diet and eat the minimum allowed calories in a day. You will notice a great result if you will be more on proteins and complex carbohydrates in the diet, and fast carbohydrates and fats will enter the diet on the residual principle.

Oksana Trofimchuk: “For the growth of muscle mass you need a daily intake of protein products at a rate of 1.5-2 g of protein per 1 kg of mass. But do not deny yourself a piece of your favorite chocolate bar. Remember: eating and training should be a pleasure, then the result will not be long in coming”.