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To develop visible abdominal muscles, you first need to get rid of the subcutaneous fat covering them. It is also worth getting to know their anatomy and functions, because the sculpted abdominal muscles not only look good, but also allow you to avoid injuries and overloads. Learn how to develop strong abdominal muscles.

Contents:

  1. Abdominal muscles - anatomy
  2. Abdominal muscles - functions and trailers
  3. Abdominal muscles - why do you need to strengthen them?
  4. Abdominal muscles - how to make them visible?
  5. Abdominal muscles - how to shape them?

The abdominal musclesare the showpiece of an athletic person. People who can boast of a so-called "six-pack" are considered "fit". They are definitely more confident not only on the beach, but also in everyday life. This is, of course, related to the visual side of our body. People who feel good in their own skin automatically gain dominant features - they become more firm, assertive and arouse respect among others. However, what is important - the abdominal muscles should be trained not only for the visual qualities, but also for your he alth and sports results.

In this article, you will learn the anatomy of the abdominal muscles. You will learn how to reveal them, and you will learn how they are used by the body during exercise and everyday activities.

Abdominal muscles - anatomy

The abdominal muscles surround our abdominal cavity, protecting our internal organs. This is their primary function. In the abdominal cavity we find the stomach, liver, pancreas and duodenum.

About 60% or even 80% of abdominal muscles are composed of slow twitch fibers.

The abdominal muscles can be divided into two groups:anterolateralandposterior .

The anterolateral groupconsists of the external oblique, internal oblique, transverse, rectus and pyramidal muscles.

Posterior groupin turn the trapezius muscle of the loins and the lateral lateral muscles of the loins.

Abdominal muscles - functions and trailers

The basic function of the abdominal muscles is to protect the internal organs and stabilize the spine and the entire figure.

  • The internal oblique muscleis designed to lower the ribs. It is also responsible for the lateral bending of the spine and is involved in exhaling. Its initial attachment is at the end of the intermediate iliac crest and the thoracolumbar fascia. The end attachment, in turn, is located on the edge of the white and the lower edge of the three lower ribs.
  • The transverse abdominal musclecorresponds to the medial approach of the ribs, also increases the pressure in the abdominal cavity and narrows the chest. It is also the expiratory muscle. Its attachments are located at the beginning on the white line, the end at the lateral part of the inguinal ligament, the iliac crest and the costal processes of the lumbar vertebrae.
  • The rectus abdominis muscleruns from the sternum to the pubic bone. It is the strongest antagonistic muscle for the spine extensor. Hence its role, which is to bend the spine forward and protect internal organs. He also takes part while inhaling.
  • The external oblique muscle of the abdomen , which is located in the anterior and lateral part of the abdomen, takes its initial attachment on the outer surface of the V-XII ribs, and the final attachment on the white line, inguinal ligament and the iliac crest.
  • The pyramidal muscleis a vestigial muscle that is responsible for tightening the white line.

Abdominal muscles - why do you need to strengthen them?

Strengthening the abdominal muscles is the most important issue when working on central stabilization and avoiding back injuries during exercise. A strong core is not only an upright silhouette, but also the ability to generate more power. From the sports point of view,strong abdominal muscles provide a harder punch, kick and run faster . Yes, also in these aspects the abdominal muscles play a very important role, although they are often underestimated. Martial arts fighters who do not take care of proper abdominal muscle training will not only feel each hit on the torso more strongly, but will also lose their condition faster. This is because the abdominal muscles are involved in the process of breathing in and out. Their faster fatigue will lead to fitness problems. This problem also affects football and basketball players and all endurance athletes. Also runners who attach the least importance to training the abdominal and strength muscles.

Check: Complementary training for runners

From the point of view of everyday life, strongerabdominal musclesprovide better spine stabilization , which translates into a nicer body posture. Especially when we spend more and more time sitting at the desk, strengthening the core is so important. Strong central stabilization is a method of reducing back pain and lumbar pains, as well as a way to avoid getting out of breath after entering the third floor.

This will be useful to you

Check out the best abdominal exercises:

  • Exercises for the radiator - the 7 most effective
  • Exercises for the deep abdominal muscles
  • Aerobic 6 Weider (A6W) - rules
  • 8 exercises for oblique abdominal muscles

Abdominal muscles - how to make them visible?

There are many schools of abdominal muscle training. Some say that you should do hundreds of repetitions of different exercises every day. Another is that you only need to do multi-joint exercises such as deadlifts and squats where the abdominal muscles are heavily involved. In either case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

First of all,to make your abdominal muscles visible, you need to get rid of the excess fatty tissue that covers them . Here, of course, the most important thing isnutrition . In order for the body to lose fat, it must have a negative caloric balance. This means that we consume less energy per day than we consume. One kilogram of body fat equals about 7,000 kcal, and he althy weight loss is a loss of 1 to 4 kilograms per month. This means that it is safe to achieve a negative caloric balance within a month, allowing you to burn 4 kilograms of body fat.

Check: How do you calculate your daily caloric requirement to lose 1 kg per week?

In addition to diet, it is also important to boost your metabolism with cardio exercises, preferably intervals. Strength training will also have positive effects as more muscle mass uses more energy. By building muscles, we also make the skin tighten, which visually helps to expose the abdominal muscles. It is also worth taking care of getting rid of excess subcutaneous water. Here it will be helpful to increase the consumption of water and use the sauna.

See: Ways to get rid of excess water from the body

Abdominal muscles - how to shape them?

There are many exercises and popular programs to expose your abs. However, it should be remembered that despite the fact that these muscles regenerate very quickly, they need rest. Daily training will help to strengthen their endurance much more than their appearance. The optimal version is executionone abdominal strength training per week. Additionally, it is worth doing more endurance exercises twice a week.

Strength exercises can be the popular allahs, or the sit-down exercises that are equivalent to a load. For endurance, however, pocket knives, scissors, isometric clamps and all kinds of planes and exercises on a fitness ball.

In conclusion, we can train the abdominal muscles every day and not have the desired results if we do not take care of diet and regeneration. We should also remember to listen to our own body and focus on anatomically correct movements during exercise. Sophisticated programs and exercises can only hurt us.

Finally, remember that Rome wasn't built in a day. Everything takes time. The most important thing in the process of building a figure is regularity and patience.

About the authorTomasz Piotrowski He is a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist. He gained his knowledge from the best experts in the fitness industry in Poland. He has several years of experience working as a dietitian in a private facility in Krakow and experience in working as a personal trainer. He also writes expert articles on he alth, training and supplementation, and works in the supplement industry. He is passionate about fist fencing.

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