The lower abs are considered the most problematic area of the body. When a person pumps up his abs from time to time, he probably notices that it is more difficult to pump up his abs than his upper abdomen. This is due to the fact that in this area there is a much thicker layer of fat and fewer nerve endings. In addition, the main load in the process of life and during training goes to the upper abs. But, if special training is carried out for this area, over time the relief will be improved.
Anatomical features
Your abdominal muscles have two main functions:
- The first task is that they are involved in everyday activities and movement of the torso (when you bend, turn to the sides, etc.)
- The other side is the representation of the abdominal muscles as regulators of the size and volume of the abdominal cavity. If your abdominal muscles are strong and well-developed, they will reliably protect your internal organs from shock and damage.
We can conclude that pumped up abs have not only the function of seducing and attracting the opposite sex, but also the need for internal organs to be protected from blows, beauty and benefit.
Very important
: In bodybuilding, it is customary to distinguish between the lower and upper abs.
Therefore, to work out one or another part of the body, there are special exercises that affect the target muscle group. Therefore, in order to find out how to pump up the lower abdominal muscles
, what
methods and exercises to use
, you need to know
how the muscles
that make up the abdominal muscles are structured.
Deep muscles
Transverse Abdominis: The transverse abdominis muscle is the most hidden under a layer of fat. When it contracts, it participates in the process of flexion and extension of the back and the entire region. Due to its deep location, it has no influence on the cubes and terrain. But it provides the prerequisite for the development of other muscles. When it is flabby and not in good shape, and this happens often, your belly will hang down.
That is why we are faced with such a phenomenon when a thin girl seems to have no fat, her legs are thin, but the fat hangs down. This is all due to weak physical activity aimed at strengthening this particular transverse muscle, which is hidden deeply and does not hold it.
Internal
, as it is commonly called, the oblique muscle comes after the previous one. This layer of muscles maintains posture and keeps the entire corset in good shape. It is important not to forget about them.
External muscles
These muscles, and directly the rectus and external oblique
are responsible for drawing. These are the abs themselves, which are so clearly visible in athletes who practice.
Oblique muscle function
– this is the control of our motor activity during turns, bends, and twists. Well-developed oblique muscles are characteristic of boxers, martial arts fighters who often come into contact with each other.
Rectus muscle
– This is the most voluminous and energy-consuming area of the abdomen. It is located from the bottom of the chest all the way to the pubis. These are those treasured abs that most guys and girls dream of.
From this we can conclude that the division of muscles into the lower abdominal, lateral and upper abdominals is arbitrary. It’s just that in certain exercises the lion’s load goes to the bottom or top of the same muscle (rectus, for example).
Pelvic muscle health
We will begin to analyze exercises for the lower abs with movements aimed at strengthening the pelvic floor, which is especially important for girls. You should not have problems with the pelvic muscles, which can arise either because you have a sedentary job and do not have time to train, or after the birth of children. Here are some of the common complaints that mommies suffer from:
- Backache;
- Poor posture;
- Incontinence;
- Tension in the neck and shoulders;
- “Bloated” tummy;
- Drawing sensations in the pelvic area;
- Haemorrhoids;
- Constipation.
Dysfunction of the pelvic diaphragm muscles occurs due to a combination of many factors: obesity; trauma occurring during hysterectomy or other surgical intervention; natural childbirth; aging; lifting heavy objects, etc.
Pregnancy or natural childbirth can stretch or weaken some of the supporting muscles in your pelvis. The more children a woman has, the weaker her muscles become.
Features of pumping the press
In fitness, it is common to consider the abdominal muscles to be conflicting and incorrect. How to understand this? Most of the exercises performed by athletes harm the abs, and pumping up the six-pack itself is not compatible with other exercises. Lower abs love high reps,
and working it out is a test of endurance, but this approach cannot be applied to other muscles of the body.
The conflict is also observed during the training stages. If you start doing the lower press at the beginning of the “pumping”, then in the future you will not be able to perform other exercises with the same intensity, because your stabilizer will be clogged and not so mobile.
The maximum result in pumping the lower abdomen is achieved by a repetition range of 20-30 times.
. You need to time your strength so that it goes away in this rep range.
As already mentioned above, the division of the press into top and bottom is conditional. You can pump up your lower abs and upper abdomen with one exercise, which will put the load equally on both sides. But you can complicate the task and give the target load to the lower abdomen in a ratio of 80% to 20% of the upper abdomen.
A minute of physical education
Not only women, but also men are interested in what exercises can be done to lose weight in the lower abdomen. The definition of “lower abs” is a colloquial concept, since the abdominal muscle tissue is represented by one rectus muscle, when carefully worked out, the notorious six-pack appears.
Conventional crunches are considered a classic of any abdominal exercise, but in this case a large load falls only on the upper segment, while the lower part remains unworked. This is why the fat layer does not disappear, and the tummy still sticks out.
If you do effective exercises for the lower abdomen, then after a while you can notice a positive result. But at the same time, you should definitely adhere to the principles of proper nutrition.
On a note! Professional trainers say that cubes will not appear if the percentage of body fat is more than 10 units. This is the norm for athletes, but in everyday life, the lack of subcutaneous fat can cause the development of serious pathologies. For example, women of reproductive age stop menstrual bleeding.
Proper nutrition - 70% success
You have heard more than once from bodybuilders and fitness trainers that it is not training that makes your lower abs, but your behavior in the kitchen, how you eat and what you prefer. If you want results, follow the rules
. Otherwise, pump your lower abdomen at least 3 times a day - you won’t see traced cubes. You can work out great abs, but why if they are hidden under a layer of fat?
In order for the lower abs to be visible, it is necessary to achieve 10% body fat
.
You need to adjust your diet, reduce calories, calculate the ratio of BZHU and constantly maintain regular training. How to pump up your lower abdominal muscles?
– it’s simple, stick to these
basic nutritional rules
:
- Calculate your daily calories
- Up to 40% of food should be proteins (chicken, protein, lean fish, low-fat cottage cheese)
- 50% are slow and healthy carbohydrates (porridge, vegetables, cereals)
- Fats should only be of plant origin
- Minimum 2 liters of water per day to maintain hydration
Above, we found out what the press consists of and what its lower part is responsible for. Now knowing the anatomy, we can choose exercises that will give maximum effectiveness in pumping the lower abdomen. Drawing cubes will not be easy, because there is more fat at the bottom, fewer nerves, and most of the stress that we receive in ordinary life falls on the top.
What else will help make your stomach flat?
Proper nutrition is very important to increase muscle strength. Eat healthy fats, proteins, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Rev up your metabolism by eating 5 to 6 small meals a day. Add HIIT to your workout plan. This will increase the fat burning process. You can also start doing gymnastics. But always remember that without strength training you will never achieve a flat stomach.
All of the above exercises definitely guarantee excellent results. Try to focus on activating your core muscles. Research from the University of Hull states that if you mentally focus on your muscles and their movement, you can generate more muscle activity.
Source: https://www.positivehealthwellness.com/fitness/5-lower-ab-exercises-women/
A complex that will maximally involve the lower abdomen in the work
Reverse crunches
In the starting position, we take a place on the floor and extend our arms along the body. Next, we raise our legs without bending upward, to a position of 90 degrees relative to the body. Then we tense the abdominal muscles, while simultaneously lifting the pelvis. The hands remain in place. Work in the range of 15-20 repetitions in 3 sets.
Leg raises
We lie down on the floor in the same way. Then the legs go up until they are vertical, hold for 1 second and lower. If you have a weak brace and are a beginner, start with your knees bent first. This will ease the load on your lower back. We do 15-20 times for 3 sets.
Scissors
We lie down on the floor and stretch our arms lengthwise, hiding them under the lower back. Next, we raise our legs 30 degrees from the floor and make cross movements, swinging one leg at a time, then from above, then from below. You need to do it quickly and for as long as possible. 3 approaches to the maximum.
Hanging Leg Raise
The exercise is performed on a horizontal bar. You hang on the bar and begin to sharply bend your legs and pull them towards your chest. The main thing is not to swing or use inertia. The next level will be raising straight legs to parallel with the horizon, well, this is when you have already trained. 3 sets of 15-20 times.
Changing your diet
When tightening the abdomen, diet and drinking regimen are important:
- You need to drink up to 2 liters of water per day. The elasticity and firmness of the skin depends on the water balance.
- Forget about salt and soy sauce.
- High-calorie foods and vegetable fats should be replaced with vegetables, fish, fruits, and dairy products.
- No more than 3 hours should pass between meals. In this case, food must be chewed thoroughly.
- Fast food is excluded.
- Bran should replace bread and buns.
- Forget about sugar.
A set of exercises for the lower abs for girls
To pump up the lower abdominal muscles, girls need to perform slightly different exercises, which help to create a six-pack, give a beautiful appearance to the tummy, deprive it of subcutaneous fat and strengthen posture. This will include the exercises already mentioned above, but with special amendments and nuances. We perform all exercises in 3 approaches.
Keep your legs hanging
We lie down on the floor. Raise your legs to a level of 30 degrees from the surface and hold for 15 seconds to start. Then we return again to the outcome. Make 10 such circles for the first time, then you can increase to 15.
Crunches
The original is just on the floor. We slowly raise our legs up, and then the pelvis itself to the maximum. The difference between what is described above is the number of exercises in the set. 8-10 repetitions will be enough.
Bicycle “classic execution”
This is all clear and a simple exercise that was done in elementary school - imitation of riding a bike while lying on the floor. The legs should make circular movements. You can put your hands behind your head and slightly raise your torso. The lower your feet are to the floor, the harder it is to ride. We are on the road for at least 20 seconds.
Causes of fat around the waist
Why does the lower abdomen become bulging? The appearance of fat in the lower abdomen is associated with several reasons. But the root cause of our health misfortunes is always an incorrect lifestyle. This manifests itself in the following:
- Stressful situations. Some people, experiencing stress, find solace in tasty and unhealthy food, which begins to accumulate in the form of subcutaneous fat in the waist area.
- Incorrect posture. It would seem, what could be the relationship between a bulging belly and stoop? The fact is that due to incorrect posture, the body leans forward and, as a result, the stomach looks larger.
- Heredity or genetic predisposition.
- Hormonal disorders. In this case, you should first make an appointment with a specialist. Exercise will not fix this problem.
- Menopause. The restructuring of the body in women after 45 years is accompanied by the fact that fat cells are redistributed throughout the body. Most of them tend to the waist area.
How to pump up the lower abdominal press for men
It is more difficult for a man to work out his six-pack abs compared to women in the sense that fat deposits are completely concentrated in the lower abdomen. Some of the girls' thighs, sides, and hips are taken away. For beginners, the female complex is also suitable, but in the future the lower abdomen will require greater load and intensity with the use of weights.
Crunches
What are we doing. We lie down on the floor and fix our feet with the help of a partner. We tear the torso off the floor without helping with our hands. Round your back a little so that it is straight. In no case bent, so the lower back will take the entire load.
To properly engage the lower abdominal press, pick up a weight plate or dumbbells and lift yourself up with them. 3 sets of 15-20 times is enough.
Reverse crunches
Press your lower back firmly to the floor. We strain our lower abdomen and, with a swinging movement, raise our legs up to the perpendicular. Then we lift the pelvis up to the maximum and hold it for 5 seconds. Then we slowly return to the starting position. First, we do 15-20 times and increase the number to 30 repetitions.
Belly fat
With age, muscle mass slowly decreases, and the fat component increases. You may notice an increase in belly fat even if you are not gaining weight. This is due to a decrease in estrogen levels, which affects the distribution of fat in your body.
Research shows that if the greatest accumulation of fat is in your lower abdomen, the so-called “lifeline,” then the risk of heart disease increases significantly. These people have a significant increase in metabolic risk factors: high blood sugar, high triglycerides and cholesterol.
Another study found that premenopausal women with significant amounts of belly fat have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than women with less abdominal fat. Therefore, it is imperative to fight excess fat and prevent it from accumulating in the body through proper nutrition and physical activity.
Exercises for the upper and lower abs
Dividing the press into bottom and top is a convention. There are sets of exercises that involve two departments.
Double crunches
We bend our legs and place our hands behind our heads. We pull the body towards the legs or vice versa, bringing the forehead closer to the knees. We gradually unbend to the original state. First we do 15 times, then up to 30 in 3 sets.
Diagonal twists
The starting position is the same, however, when bending the knees, we spread them slightly to the sides. When raising the body, the right elbow goes to the left leg, and in correspondence the left to the right, thereby engaging the oblique muscles. We do 10-15 repetitions in 3 sets.
folded book
We lie down on the floor and stretch our arms behind our heads. At the same time we raise our legs and arms, reaching our foreheads towards our knees. If it’s hard, then help with your hands, lightly grabbing your legs and pulling them towards your forehead. Perform 10-15 reps in 3 approaches.
The main rule
– I am a combination of two components: a balanced diet and regular exercise in the gym. To see your abs you need to work both in the gym and in the kitchen. Don’t rush to get upset and give up if something doesn’t work out. Polishing your body is a very labor-intensive and complex process that requires endurance, patience and a lot of work.
Circle with two feet
The starting position for this exercise is as follows: you need to lie on your back, legs closed together, you need to lift up. Make sure they are straight. Hands should be located along the body. The back should also remain straight.
Now you can proceed directly to the exercise. With your legs outstretched, you need to draw a small circle. The number of repetitions is at your discretion. Counting them is quite easy. One repetition is one circle. You can diversify the exercise by describing circles first clockwise and then counterclockwise. Once you are able to make small circles, you can start making larger ones.
Exercise "Climber"
It can also be found under another name: “Mountaineer”. For this:
- Place your hands on the floor as if you were going to do push-ups.
- Start by taking turns pulling one or the other knee towards your chest.
- You can make the exercise more difficult by pulling your knee toward the opposite shoulder. You can straighten your leg to the side.
The greatest effect for a toned stomach will be obtained by performing the exercise at a fast pace. Do ten repetitions in three to four sets.
Breathing exercises
The indisputable advantage of such activities is that they can be performed at a convenient time and anywhere. The core of lower belly breathing exercises for men and women is learning to “belly breathe” using the diaphragm. You can try the following set of classes:
- Exhale through your mouth. Round your lips and extend them forward. Take a deep breath. Exhale the air from your lungs slowly and calmly.
- Inhale through your nose. Close your lips tightly. Take a deep breath. Fill your lungs completely. Hold your breath for eight to ten seconds. Exhale loudly.
- Another interesting breathing exercise. Exhale the air from your lungs forcefully, while tensing your stomach as much as possible. As you exhale, say the following sounds: “Pa-ah.”
- Tighten your abdominal muscles. Take deep breaths and exhales for five minutes. Make sure that your abdominal muscles are tense throughout the exercise.
Exercise "Fold"
And finally, an equally effective activity with which you can achieve no less good results. To perform the exercise, sit on your buttocks and straighten your legs. Keep your hands in front of you. Tilt the body back slightly. As you exhale, bend your legs and pull your body toward your knees. Perform the exercise every day for ten repetitions, and at the end of the week you will feel a visible effect from it.
