Fitness and BodybuildingTips and Tricks
In the gym, you spend hours working on your abs, but there is still no result? Most likely, an error has crept into your calculations! Here are six reasons why your abs are hidden from view.
Author:
Alex Carneiro
The ancient Greeks and Romans considered visible abdominal muscles to be a sign of health, strength and physical endurance. The statues of Zeus, Poseidon and Hercules are decorated with flawless six packs - a symbol of the immortal perfection and power of the gods.
In modern Internet culture, a magnificent torso, although it does not seem like something supernatural, evokes no less respect. Who didn't run to the gym immediately after watching 300? Personally, that’s what I did.
It's cool to have six packs, but they come with hard work. If you're curling up hundreds of times after every workout and still not seeing results, you're likely making one or more of these mistakes. Next, I will list six reasons why you cannot see the abdominal muscles cutting into the skin, and I will tell you how to deal with these mistakes!
Fat hides your muscles
Strong abdominal muscles are not the key factor in creating a visible six pack, the main thing is a low percentage of body fat. If your subcutaneous fatty tissue is too developed, and it covers the area of the anterior abdominal wall with a thick layer, it doesn’t matter how many hours you devote to crunches or leg lifts - you still won’t see a six-pack like your own ears.
The most effective method for creating sculpted abdominals is a radical revision of your diet. When it comes to abs, intense workouts are only half the battle. You should also develop a competent nutrition program and remove subcutaneous fat covering the abdominal muscles; Otherwise, all the sweat you spill in the gym won't matter. So forget about McDonald's and hamburgers and make better choices - switch to tasty and healthy food!
You should develop a competent nutrition program and remove subcutaneous fat covering the abdominal muscles
We pump up the upper muscles
For the upper abdominal muscles, the most effective exercise is considered to be crunching.
From the classic press press, which we all did in school, the twist differs in that only the shoulder blades and the upper part of the back, the lower back and the pelvic part remain tightly pressed to the floor.
Straight crunches
This exercise is perfect for beginners. The starting position is lying straight on the floor, legs bent at the knees, feet pressed tightly to the floor, hands clasped behind the head. To make the exercise a little easier, you can cling your feet to stable furniture, for example, put them under a closet or a small sofa.
So the overload of the abdominal muscles is partly distributed to the legs.
We begin to raise the upper back, but then make sure that the lower back remains on the floor.
It is best to start with 15-20 repetitions in 2-3 sets.
Leg Raise Crunch
If the previous exercise seems very ordinary, you can complicate it by raising your legs. The exercise is done in the same order, only the legs, bent at the knees, must be raised above the floor by 15-20 cm and fixed in a stationary position.
An even more difficult training option is to do twisting while simultaneously lifting your legs with your knees bent. In this upright position, the feet should be pressed to the floor, and when twisting, the knees should be pulled as close to the head as possible.
Bike
This exercise will allow you to pump not only the straight, but oblique abdominal muscles.
Starting position: lying on your back, knees bent and slightly raised above the floor, arms clasped above your head. Raising your upper back, alternately rotate to the side with your left and right sides, lifting the opposite knee. The goal of the exercise is to pull your elbows as close to your knees as possible and hold this position for one or two seconds.
Any of the listed exercises can be improved with the help of a vertical training bench - it is comfortable and functional.
It is better to purchase a special sports bench for home exercises in order to be able to adjust the angle of inclination.
Your workouts lack variety
In the minds of most, the abdominal muscles are small compact cubes in the center of the body, but in fact, our muscular system is much more complex. The abdominal group consists of the rectus abdominis (six pack), the internal and external obliques, which lie on either side of the rectus abdominis, and the transverse abdominis, located below the internal obliques. I would also include the serratus anterior here, because if you can see the muscles covering the ribs, you look like a real bodybuilder.
These muscles help to flex the torso, extend it and rotate it along its axis. More importantly, the abdominal muscles are involved in stabilizing the trunk during flexion, extension, and rotation. Therefore, by training them only to “bend” with endless crunches, you are not stimulating each muscle group in the directions in which it could grow. Like any other muscle in the body, the abdominal muscles need to be trained from different angles in all planes to stimulate truly explosive growth!
To focus on working out the abdominal muscles, include a variety of exercises in your workout so that the abdominal press performs all its inherent activities. Try planks, one-arm deadlifts, and plate twists.
Myth No. 1: division of the press into upper and lower
This division is conditional. In reality, there are only rectus and oblique abdominal muscles. When pumping the abs, only one rectus muscle works. To get cubes, you need to achieve its hypertrophy and build up additional fibers.
When performing any abdominal exercise, the entire muscle will work. An athlete can only shift the emphasis to the upper or lower abdomen, but it is impossible to isolate them due to the fact that the abs are one solid muscle. The fact that it is much more difficult to achieve cubes in the lower abdomen speaks more about the thickness of the fat layer. And even the most effective abdominal exercises will not help fight it.
https://youtu.be/Q9JbXHrsu3o
You train half-heartedly
Lately there has been a strange belief that the abdominal muscles need to be trained with an absurdly high number of repetitions. Some people go too far and do more than 500 crunches in one workout. Of course, if you are training your abdominal muscles for super-endurance, which is needed in some highly specialized sports, then go ahead. But if you want to make your muscles grow, you need to stimulate them like any other muscle group in your body. Would you do 500 barbell curls in one workout to generate maximum growth? I think no.
Start training your abdominal muscles using weights so they can develop similarly to other muscle groups, and vary the rep range throughout your training sessions. For example, in one workout, do bodyweight exercises with a number of repetitions from 15 to 30. In the next training session, reduce the number of repetitions to 8-12 and add weights - while crunching on the floor, pick up a disc or perform crunches on a block. And add weight as you progress.
You work out your abs in hopes of getting rid of fat.
Let me be clear: you cannot get rid of fatty tissue in a specific anatomical area by training that area more frequently. If someone told you that abdominal exercises will help you melt away belly fat, spit in their face and explain that it is impossible to control the distribution of fat in the body. The only way to remove belly fat is to systematically remove it from the entire body through cardio training, diet and strength training.
Unfortunately, belly fat is usually the last to go and the first to come back. The tenacity with which he clings to your waist can cause you to become frustrated with both your diet and your workout routine. The key to success will be systematicity, consistency and gradualism. It may take months or even years to reveal your abdominal muscles to the world, but if you strictly adhere to a smart nutrition program, you will definitely see results.
The only way to remove belly fat is to systematically remove it from the entire body through cardio training, diet and strength training.
Strong abs and a flat stomach: 7 simple ways without sports and diets
Pump up your abs without leaving your chair
Pump up your abs on the subway, in the office or in the store? Easily! And you don’t need to carry a training mat with you. We pump up the abs practically with the power of thought: as soon as you remember this, pull in your stomach. So, while inhaling, we draw in our stomach as much as possible, count to 30, and exhale. Repeat 20-30 times. If you remember to do this simple manipulation at least 5-7 times a day, then this will already be enough to tone your muscles and give yourself a little workout. This type of physical activity without movement is called isometric gymnastics, explains fitness trainer Elena Titova. Muscles work by systematically repeating contractions and remaining in a contracted state for some time. Of course, this cannot be compared to a real “rocking chair,” but it’s just the thing for daily maintenance of tone.
Stop slouching
It is because of your slumped shoulders and hunched back that your tummy looks even more flabby and protruding than it actually is. But this is not only a visual effect - poor posture weakens the back muscles and oblique abdominal muscles. Stooped people always look older than their age and less athletic compared to those who walk with their heads held high. So here's another exercise for every day: every time you see a mirror, straighten your shoulders, lift your chin, stretch your neck up. Do you like yourself better this way? Well, of course. Just don’t “deflate”, but always carry your back straight and proud, reminds orthopedist-traumatologist Sergei Goryachev. And weakened back muscles can be easily pumped up using a regular office desk. Stand with your back to it, lean your hands on the edge and slowly squat 10 times.
Make fun of calories
No matter how much you repeat it, everyone quickly forgets about this most pleasant way of losing weight - laughter. It has been calculated that five minutes of laughter burns as many calories as a fifteen-minute run. With sincere, real, uncontrollable laughter, 70 muscles work, including the muscles of the diaphragm and the press. Decide for yourself how to cheer yourself up. The main thing is not to be overly serious where you can laugh heartily.
Don't eat second-fresh foods
It has been proven that sagging and loose skin is caused by an excess of simple carbohydrates in the diet. Try to minimize the consumption of white bread, baked goods, polished white rice, and pasta. But fiber (oatmeal, prunes, apples) and proteins (lean meat - turkey, rabbit, chicken breasts, boiled beef) maintain skin tone. But, in addition to the composition of the diet, the elasticity of the press is also affected by the freshness of the food. This is confirmed by a study by scientists from Stockholm. Several hundred volunteer girls were divided into three groups. The first ate exclusively fresh food - only from a trusted supermarket. The second group was fed food with the same calorie content and composition, which was left in the refrigerator for several hours. The diet of the third group of girls consisted of dishes that “hung” on refrigerated shelves for several days before reaching the table.
After a year of the experiment, it was even visually noticeable that almost all the participants had lost weight, but in the first and second groups the girls were very fit, but in the participants of the third group, the muscles became less elastic and the stomach was flabby.
As experts explain, this trouble is caused by consuming products in which the fermentation process has begun. Fermentation products impair the production of collagen, a substance responsible for the elasticity of tissues, including abdominal muscles. In addition, foods that have been sitting for a long time are digested worse and release more toxins, which also spoils the appearance of the skin.
Drink green tea
Green tea has long been considered a true ally for a flat stomach because it contains catechin, an antioxidant that helps burn fat, especially at the abdominal level (that is, in the abdominal area). The fat that accumulates around the waist differs in composition from what, say, is deposited on the hips, says endocrinologist Natalya Gridasova . This fat is very dense and its cells are not easily “broken.” But the active substances of green tea, catechins, adjust metabolism so that it targets maximum processing of fats, including abdominal fat. In addition, this drink is a mild diuretic, which means it helps remove excess fluid from the body, which “dries out” the tissues and makes the stomach look less loose. In addition, in summer, green tea is an excellent way to quench your thirst.
Throw away low-waisted items
Judge for yourself how terrible an overhanging belly looks in clothes with a low waist. Great news: high waists are coming back into fashion, which allows you to disguise figure flaws.
Cheat a little
And if suddenly your friend’s wedding is in a week, and you urgently need to fit into a dress that you bought out of great love, but is a size smaller than yours, then it is sometimes useful to resort to deceptive maneuvers and remember about shapewear. The stores are full of slimming shorts and waistbands. Even Hollywood stars do not disdain them, for example, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria and Kim Kardashian admit that they often resort to such “helpers.”
BY THE WAY
The weight is gone, but where is the slimness?
Why does it often happen that despite regularly losing extra pounds, we still can’t fit into jeans or a dress one size smaller, experts say
Size does matter, unfortunately.
The device will show changes in weight, but will not say anything about clothing size. Trust centimeters, not kilograms. If during the process of losing weight your weight hasn’t changed much, but your clothes are fastened one size smaller, it means that your body has gotten rid of excess fluid that stagnated in the subcutaneous tissue. And that's good. But if the kilos are gone, but the size is still the same, then most likely you have problems with water-salt metabolism, warns nephrologist Natalya Bespalova, you need to pay attention to the kidneys. Water stagnates in the body and quickly replenishes volumes.
Are you sure it's fat you're losing?
Muscle is denser than fat and weighs more. Muscle glycogen needs water, so the body stores it, and this makes a person heavier. The more muscle mass a person has, the more water he needs. So losing weight doesn't always mean losing excess fat. If you push yourself too hard in the gym, your muscles will start to “burn”, and then you will lose a lot of fluid (and this is bad). The fat will remain where it was. As a result, you step on the scale and see that your weight has become a kilo or two less, while your stomach still looks flabby. In order to lose fat, you need measured, moderate-intensity workouts. The main thing is that they are regular. And keep an eye on your pulse: if it is above 120-130 during training, it means that “muscles are burning,” and not fat, explains a doctor of the highest category, physiologist Elena Simonova.
Those sneaky carbohydrates
It has now been proven that it is simple carbohydrates (from white bread, pastries, sweets, sugar) that are most dangerous in terms of the rapid appearance of excess weight. A common mistake when losing weight is to exercise regularly for a week, go on a diet, and on the weekend eat a piece of cake or half a kilo of chocolates. And the weight sharply returns to its previous limits. No need to shake the scales in a fit of rage: the carbohydrates have done their job. They, dear simple carbohydrates, are often to blame for the fact that even when losing weight, we do not look fit. Baked goods, yeast baked goods, and sugar make the subcutaneous tissues loose and the stomach flabby.
You train your abdominal muscles every day
This is a burning question, as many fitness and strength sports professionals actually train their abdominal muscles every day at the end of their training session. However, they've been building their abs over many years, and what works for fitness professionals won't always be the best choice for you.
Since you already use your abdominal muscles during many exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, military presses, etc., it is best to give them short breaks throughout the week. After all, even if you don't work them directly, the abdominal muscles receive stimulation during compound exercises.
For maximum results, train your abdominal muscles no more than 2-3 times a week. As your muscles grow and become stronger, you can reduce the duration of the ab routine and incorporate it into your workouts daily.
You are inconsistent with your diet
Many, many people have gone through extreme diets and pre-contest nutrition programs in order to develop abdominal muscles. However, as soon as they finished the competitive season or finished their diet, they pounced on junk food, gave up on cardio exercises and said goodbye to their six-pack. Instead, I suggest saying goodbye to extreme diets, “dirty” mass work and inconsistency in your diet.
As I said before, consistency is the most important piece of our puzzle. Fitness should become your lifestyle. If you eat right all the time and work hard in the gym, you can enjoy engraved abs for much longer than a few weeks. And by staying dry all year round, you can take whatever selfies you want at any time - even if competition season is far behind you!
