A developed muscle corset - internal and external oblique abdominal muscles - is responsible for a flat stomach, thin waist, and correct posture. Thanks to it, we can bear heavy loads without consequences for the spine and joints. Therefore, working on the oblique abdominal muscles is important and necessary.
You can pump up your abs in the gym or at home. It’s easier to work on yourself in the conditions of a sports complex - in any gym there will definitely be 4-5 exercise machines with the help of which you will form a beautiful relief and develop strength. The main thing is to properly develop a training program and adhere to a healthy diet.
Classes in the gym can be combined with home workouts. One day can be devoted to exercises on machines, and the other to training with your own weight at home.
At home, the range of abdominal exercises is limited. Especially if you don’t have a bench, horizontal bar and other sports equipment and equipment. However, one should not diminish the importance and benefits of training at home - many amateur athletes in such conditions managed to create a more beautiful relief than gym regulars.
What recommendations do fitness trainers give?
Before you start working on your body, you need to remember a few simple tips that you can hear from every second personal trainer and professional athlete. The recommendations are quite simple:
- Before training - 2-4 hours - you need to eat lightly. Many athletes advise giving preference to carbohydrates - muesli, fruits or vegetables. Such food will give you energy and strength and help make your workout as productive as possible. The portion should be small, as during exercise on a full stomach a feeling of discomfort may arise.
- Warm-up is mandatory. Before pumping up your abs, you need to warm up your muscles. Jumping rope for 5–7 minutes, interval training on a treadmill, or walking at a fast pace on an orbit track are suitable warm-ups. Don't forget to do 10-20 bends to the sides and forward, rotations of the pelvis, twists of the body - such exercises will prevent straining the abdominal muscles and spinal injuries.
- Too intense and frequent training is harmful. After a couple of months of daily serious training, fatigue begins to accumulate in the body. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the program taking into account individual characteristics - level of training, goals, health status. You can train every other day or 5-6 times a week. The main thing is not to exhaust yourself to the point of exhaustion.
- During training, your muscles should ache and burn. If you don’t feel tension when working on your oblique abdominal muscles, then the exercise is being performed incorrectly.
- After training, you should not eat for 1–1.5 hours. This rule is often ignored by novice athletes, who can be found in the locker room immediately after training with a chocolate bar in their mouth. With this approach, results can be expected for years.
If you feel hungry after a workout, drink mineral water or eat a sour apple.
The first few weeks of training, the oblique abdominal muscles will hurt constantly. The discomfort will go away when the body gets used to the stress. The main thing is not to give up sports and adjust your training program by introducing more complex exercises.
How to pump up oblique abdominal muscles for men
It is much easier for men to form beautiful sculpted abs than for women - this is due to the anatomical features of the body. Therefore, the set of exercises for the stronger sex will be much wider and more varied:
- Twisting with lateral transfer of legs. Starting position: sitting, arms extended at your sides, knees bent. We lower the body back, while simultaneously raising the legs, the body remains motionless. We perform crunches by moving our legs alternately in diametrically opposite directions.
- Crunches on the horizontal bar. Starting position - hanging on the horizontal bar, arms shoulder-width apart, legs bent at the knees, pulled up to the chest. As you exhale, do twists, moving your legs alternately in opposite directions.
- Side plank. Starting position - lying on your side, legs extended, back straight. We place emphasis on the elbow, raise the body so that the body forms a straight line, and hold the plank for 40–60 seconds.
After a couple of months of training, you should increase the load, as the exercises will become ineffective.
Exercises for advanced athletes
The following exercises can be performed by people who have been working on their abs for several months. The description indicates the minimum number of repetitions. The load can be adjusted according to the level of training.
Intense exercises can be alternated with simple crunches.
Simple bending exercises with weights are suitable for people who do not have lower back problems. Starting position: standing, feet shoulder-width apart. The bar is fixed on the trapezoid, after which the bends are performed, lingering at the end point for 3–5 seconds. The number of repetitions is 15–20 times.
During the exercise, the body should be straight. To increase the load, you can hang weights on the bar.
Turning bars is one of the most difficult but effective exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles. Only well-trained people can do it. Starting position - hanging on the horizontal bar, hands shoulder-width apart. Straight legs are raised parallel to the floor and described in an arc. The amplitude should be maximum. The number of repetitions is 10–15 times.
Exercises
Before moving on to describing effective exercises, I want to instruct you. I did a lot of research and learned that it is important to remember the following before starting classes:
- to avoid injury, you need to start training with minimal weight;
- It is not recommended to exercise on a full stomach. Ideally, your meal should be an hour before training;
- a short warm-up in the form of dancing, jumping rope or running is required;
- All exercises are performed with abdominal tension; if it is absent, then you need to (carefully!) increase the load.
You can train both at home and in a sports complex. Of course, it's best if it's a gym. There is a lot of different sports equipment there.
For girls
Tilts to the side
Let's get up. Feet - shoulder width apart. Keep your back straight, hands on the back of your head. Tilt your body to one side until you feel tension. Then in the other direction. We do 10-15 times in 3-4 approaches.
Sliding slopes along the body
To make it heavier, you can perform this exercise with dumbbells. Starting position: stand up straight. Feet - shoulder width apart.
We hold our hands along the body. We put one hand on the belt. Left - we begin sliding along the body. As soon as you begin to feel the muscles on the other side, we return to the starting position. Then we bend in the other direction.
Repeat 10-15 times for 3 approaches. Choose the dumbbell weight yourself.
Side crunches
You need to lie on your side. We straighten our body and press our legs tightly together. We place the upper hand behind the head.
The bottom one is straight and ahead. Now we slightly raise our head and shoulder girdle up, performing lateral twists. Do 10-15 times. Then to the other side.
Side plank
We lie down on the mat. You need to rest on the palm and side of the foot. The palm should be under the shoulder. Keep the body stretched and tense.
We hold this position for 30 seconds. Over time you need to bring it up to 2-3 minutes. You should always watch your hips - they should not sag.
Seated body rotations
You need to sit on the edge of a chair with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Keep your back straight, hands behind your head. We turn the torso in one direction, while moving only the muscles of the lower back. And we turn right around. Repeat on the other side.
To make it heavier, you can try doing exercises with a gymnastic stick (choose the appropriate weight) or a barbell.
Video exercises
This video shows the technique of performing some exercises for the oblique muscles. You can familiarize yourself with them.
For men
Often guys don't do workouts at home. Therefore, I suggest familiarizing yourself with the exercises for the gym.
Side crunches in crossover
We get to our feet. Keep your back straight. We take the handle attached to the upper block of the crossover. We tighten our abs.
We begin to bend the body to the side. We hold in the lower phase for 5-10 seconds. Then we return to the starting position. And repeat the exercise 10-15 times.
"Woodcutter"
We do an exercise in a block simulator. We stand sideways near the exercise machine. We keep our feet shoulder-width apart. We grasp the special handle with our hands. We do not bend our elbows.
We begin to turn the body to the side, holding the handle tightly and pulling it to the thigh. We are returning smoothly. Do a few repetitions and change sides.
Tilts on the lower block
We stand on the side near the crossover and straighten our back. We take the handle at the lower block. We begin to tilt the body in the other direction from the block.
In the lower phase of the movement, we linger for 10 seconds. We smoothly return and repeat the exercise 10-15 times. Then we change sides.
Zass tilts
You will need heavy dumbbells. We stand up straight. Raise dumbbells above your head. We begin to slowly lower our body to the left, without bending our elbows. Then we repeat the exercise on the right side. Repeat 10-15 times.
Video exercises
I suggest you familiarize yourself with the technique of performing some popular exercises in this video.
How to pump up oblique abdominal muscles for women
Exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles will help women get rid of unsightly folds on their sides and reduce their waist size. However, in addition to strength training, it is necessary to pay attention to cardio training - it will burn fat and make the muscle corset more noticeable. The following abdominal exercises can be done at home:
- Lying crunch. Starting position - lying on the floor or bench, hands behind your head, elbows apart, legs bent at the knees. As you exhale, twist your body, trying to reach the opposite knee with your elbow. The exercise is performed at a slow pace. Number of repetitions - 10–15; approaches - 3-4.
- Straight arm plank. Starting position - lying down. We stand in the plank for at least a minute. To increase the load, you can “walk with your arms,” alternately leaning on your straight arms and your arms bent at the elbows. During the exercise, the spine should be straight.
- Boat. Starting position: lying on your back. Raise your upper body and straight legs, trying to stay in this position for 20–30 seconds. This static exercise allows you to work not only the obliques, but also the rectus abdominal muscles.
Exercises with sports equipment
If you have sports equipment at home, the list of exercises will be longer. You can pump up your abs using dumbbells or a fitball.
Do side bends with dumbbells. The weight of the equipment is selected individually—beginning athletes can use 3–5 kg equipment. Starting position - standing, feet shoulder-width apart, one hand on the waist, and the other holding a dumbbell, extended along the body. As you exhale, bend to the side, keeping your back straight, and return to the starting position. The exercise is repeated 15–20 times, then change hands.
After a week, the load is increased - the number of repetitions remains the same, but instead of one, they do 2-3 approaches.
Exercises on a fitball will help girls strengthen their abdominal muscles. They lie on the sports equipment with their backs and rest their legs bent at right angles on the floor. Hands clasp at the back of the head. As you exhale, tense your abs and lift your upper body. Lifts are performed with twisting, then returned to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 10-15 times, after which they take a break - no more than a minute. The optimal number of approaches is 3–4 times.
An effective exercise program for working the abdominals
Having been involved in fitness for a long time, I can say with confidence that many exercises that are intended for the arms, legs, back or buttocks involve the abdominal muscles in one way or another. Therefore, simply by paying attention to regular and systematic physical activity, you can already get a flat and toned stomach.
But there are certain exercises that are aimed specifically at the abdominal muscles, which allow you to work out their upper, lower and lateral parts quickly enough. But without a balanced diet, avoiding all unhealthy foods, it’s better not to dream of beautiful and firm abs. You should also not forget about aerobic exercise.
Many girls want to get a thin waist by working the oblique abdominal muscles, but in fact, this does not lead to the desired result, but rather makes the figure straighter. Therefore, it is better to direct all your efforts to training the rectus abdominis muscle.
To avoid harming your health when performing exercises, follow these rules:
- Do not press your chin to your chest; the distance between them should be the size of an apple.
- Do not lift your lower back off the floor, otherwise you will not avoid problems with your spine.
- Do not overdo it, if you are a beginner, it is better to do fewer approaches and repetitions, but then not suffer from debilitating muscle pain.
As for the time of day, fitness trainers advise doing abdominal exercises in the morning on an empty stomach or 2 hours after eating.
Before training, it is advisable to do a short warm-up for a few minutes; dance aerobics or any other cardio activity, such as jumping rope, is better for this.
Be sure to stretch at the end. For example, lie on your back, stretch your palms up and your feet down, hold this position for a few seconds, then relax.
Roll over onto your stomach, place your forearms on the floor, lift your chest off the floor and stretch up, without throwing your head back too much, you should feel your abdominal muscles stretching.
For the lower muscle group
- We play the harmonica.
- We cut with scissors.
- Let's walk.
- Raise your legs and pelvis.
- We curl straight.
- We cave in.
- We raise our legs.
- We're riding a bike
- We twist into a diagonal.
Starting position: sitting, lean back a little, elbows slightly bent, palms resting on the floor. We bend our legs, lifting our feet off the floor, and then bend them forward diagonally. And so you need to do 2 sets of 15 extensions.
This exercise is familiar to almost everyone. The starting position is lying on your back, raising your legs 30 cm and swinging from side to side, that is, horizontally. You need to do 2 sets of 30 times.
The initial pose is lying on your back, arms extended parallel to the body. Now we lift our feet off the floor and begin to take steps in the air, the exercise is similar to scissors, only vertical. In total, you need to take 35 steps with each leg, that is, 70.
The initial pose is lying on your back, legs bent at the knees, arms outstretched in different directions perpendicular to the body. Raise your pelvis and straighten one leg, then lower yourself down. It is advisable not to touch the floor. Must be done 25 times for each limb.
For upper press
The starting position is lying on your back, knees bent, hands behind your head, elbows pointing to the sides. Next, we begin to tear off the upper part of the body - the head, neck, shoulders, shoulder blades, and also lift the legs, bent at the knees at an angle of 90 degrees. We hold for 2-3 seconds and take the starting position. In total you need to do 30 times in 2 approaches, that is, 15 for each.
Starting position lying on your stomach. Hands can be placed behind the head, elbows pointing in different directions or along the body with palms down. Now we tear off the chest, shoulders, head from the floor and hold for 3-5 seconds. If your hands are below, then during the exercise we tear them off the surface and pull them up and back. Then we return to the starting pose. So you need to do 2 sets of 15 times, that is, 30 in total.
The initial pose is lying on your back, with your arms lying perpendicular to your sides. Now we slowly raise our straight legs to a right angle with the body; if it’s difficult, you can bend them slightly. Then we also slowly lower both legs to the floor. You only need to do it 10 times in one approach.
For the lateral or oblique abdominal muscles
The initial pose is lying on your back, placing your hands behind your head. Next, we tear off the upper body and bent legs from the floor. Now we direct one elbow to the knee of the opposite leg, while straightening the leg of the same name upward. When doing this, you should feel your torso twisting. Switch legs and elbows. It turns out as if you are pedaling. In total, do 15-20 repetitions without placing your straight leg and shoulder blades on the floor.
Starting position: lying on your back, hands behind your head, legs bent at the knees. Now we cross the ankle of one leg over the knee of the other. We direct the knee of the upper leg and the same arm to the side. Next, we twist the torso towards the knee of the upper leg, while trying to reach it with the opposite elbow. Then we do the same with the other side. Perform 2 sets of 30 crunches.
You can watch several abdominal exercises in the following video.
When will the results be visible?
The first results of training on the abdominal muscles will be visible only after 3-4 weeks of daily exercise. A beautiful relief will not appear during this time - only the skin on the sides will tighten, and the muscles will acquire pleasant elasticity and become stronger. To obtain visible results, you will have to combine intensive training with a special nutrition system.
Drying will help you quickly build muscle mass, reduce body fat and make your abs more prominent. With such a diet, it is necessary to increase the amount of protein, reducing the consumption of fats and carbohydrates. As a percentage, the BZHU should be either 60/20/20 or 70/10/20. To do this, you will have to switch to low-fat dairy products, lean meat, and include fish, seafood and legumes in your diet.
During drying, it is necessary to work not only on the oblique abdominal muscles, but also pay attention to cardio training. They will help keep muscles toned, quickly reduce the amount of fat in the body, and improve the condition of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
With an integrated approach, in 3–4 months you will create beautiful sculpted abs, form a thin waist, and improve your overall physical fitness. After this, all that remains is to maintain the result by studying for 1.5–2 hours 3 times a week.
