To have a beautiful abs, you need to have a general idea of the muscles and desire. Find out why strength training includes abdominal exercises. Often a person wants to have a beautiful abs, but does not understand what needs to be done for this. At the same time, it is desirable that the work should be spent as little as possible. But in practice, everything happens the other way around. You should understand that cubes will appear if there is a small fat layer on the stomach. If there is a lot of fat, then first you need to get rid of it.
I would also like to note that in power sports, athletes were divided into two camps. Representatives of the former are actively working on strengthening the press, while others believe that it is not necessary to train him. As often happens in life, the truth is somewhere near. Let's talk about why doing abs in powerlifting.
Anatomy of the press and its functional purpose
You should have already realized that it is still necessary to train the abs, but it is important to do it right. However, first, let's say a few words about the anatomical structure of the press. There are several muscles on the abdomen:
- Internal oblique;
- External oblique;
- Rectus abdominal muscle.
The external oblique muscles are very broad and start at the armpits and end in the lower abdomen. The internal oblique muscles are located in the same area, however, under the first group, while being located perpendicular to it. These muscles are tasked with turning and tilting the upper half of the body, as well as stabilizing.
The rectus abdominis muscle is the very press that we are talking about today. It begins in the area of the pubic bone and ends in the area of the chest. The rectus abdominis muscle is surrounded by a large number of tendons, some of which cross it in the transverse direction. It is for this reason that cubes are outwardly visible.
You must remember that the abs are one muscle, not several. Thus, you will not be able to separately work on the upper or lower abs, as they simply do not exist. Although sometimes there are various techniques for developing the top or bottom of the press. The only thing you can do is change the angle of application of loads, but this will not give much effect. There are two categories of people who want to train the abs:
- Representatives of strength sports disciplines, except bodybuilders.
- Everyone else who cares only about the type of abs (bodybuilders are in this group).
In strength sports, the press plays a big role. This is due to an increase in intra-abdominal pressure at the time of lifting weights, which can lead to a hernia. If you have a strong abs, then it can hold back the pressure and the abdominal membrane will remain intact. But the main purpose of the press is to maintain a stable and even position of the spinal column. The press prevents the body from tilting at those moments when it is not required. That is actually the answer to the question - why do you need to pump the press in powerlifting? With bodybuilders, everything is clear and so.
Now let's talk about people who just want to have six cubes on their stomach. Often they are not responsible enough for sports, and for this reason, many believe that strength sports can be dangerous to health. They rarely pay the necessary attention to technique or the aesthetics of their appearance.
Many people train their abs to reduce belly fat. What they don't understand is that local muscle development is a complex process. In addition, fatty deposits are lost throughout the body and not locally. If you want to have cubes and are overweight, then first you need to get rid of it.
How to pump the press correctly?
Since the abs is a relatively small muscle that works with a small amplitude of motion, it may seem that the process of training it is very simple. All that is needed for this is to perform twisting while lying down. However, few people know that this exercise must be performed correctly, since it poses a danger to the intervertebral cartilage of the lumbar spine.
Also, the choice of exercises for the development of the press is greatly influenced by the fact that the main task of this muscle is to maintain the vertical position of the spinal column. Thus, it is best to train the abs in conditions that will be as close as possible to its real tasks. Simply put, you should do it in a standing position or close to it.
Now you need to figure out how often you should work on the press. There are many opinions here. Someone advocates daily training, while others are sure that one training per week is enough. To answer this question, you need to decide how pumped your abs should be. For example, representatives of powerlifting and weightlifting should do this at every lesson.
If you just want to look athletic by doing less than four times a week, you can work on your abs every session. In this case, you should train hard enough, but not bring the matter to muscle failure. Bodybuilders who train five times a week may be advised not to train their abs more than three times. If you are already an experienced athlete and need to build abdominal muscles, then use weights. For beginners, it is enough to work with their own weight. You shouldn't think long about the number of repetitions and the pace of their execution. Try to complete the set in less than 0.5 minutes. Among the most effective exercises, the following should be noted:
- Flexion of the trunk on the block in a standing position (preferably this way);
- Bends on the block in a standing position;
- Hanging leg raises;
- Crunches with a roller on your knees.
There are other movements, but the above are enough for you. When doing curls on the block while standing, you engage the external obliques and rectus abdominis muscles. To perform the movement, you need to stand with your back to the block and, grasping the handle, lean forward, using only the press for this.
The slopes on the block are similar to the previous exercise, only your location differs - stand sideways to the block. The press roller is a wheel with handles. You need to kneel down, and move the roller to bend as low as possible. Then, use your abdominal muscles to return to the starting position.
More on how to properly pump the press in this video review from Denis Borisov:
