How to Do Abdominal Exercises

Having well marked and defined abs is something that everyone would love to have. In fact, the part of the abdomen, better known to all of us as “the belly”, is a place in the body where a lot of fat accumulates very quickly. And it is that even if you have been in shape for a long time, the abdominals is a muscle that loses mass incredibly quickly. In the same way, in this long-suffering place, all the fat and calories caused by sedentary life and by eating and drinking too many accumulate.

For all these reasons, it is essential and highly recommended to do effective, correct exercises and, above all, with a constant periodicity if you want to have defined and toned abs. In this case, doing physical exercise at a general level does not serve exclusively, but this global training must be accompanied by specific and focused exercises. In this sense, many and many people perform numerous abdominal exercises with a lot of will but with little precision and correctness. And it is that doing this abdominal training incorrectly can, in addition to wasting time, damage your back. For all these reasons, today we explain in detail how to do abdominal exercises in a very effective and correct way, so that you notice the results in just a few workouts.

Instructions for abdominal exercises

1. First of all, you must bear in mind that to do your abdominal exercises it is highly recommended that you start with a warm-up of about 15 minutes and some brief stretching. Thus, you can run at a constant and not very fast pace for about 10-15 minutes and then stretch your arms, legs and abdomen with four basic stretching exercises -on the ground or standing-. In the same way, it is also very important to dress in comfortable clothes; it is not recommended clothing that squeezes you, nor rubber bands or seams.
2. Once all this is understood, you can start your abdominal exercises. To do this, we present a basic abdominal routine to start training this muscle easily and without damaging other parts of the body. Thus, the first thing you should do is place a mat -if not, a towel or some thin mat- to be able to lie down comfortably on the floor.
3. Next, you can now stretch out on the floor face up and with your body completely straight. Thus, take three full breaths and you can start with the first exercise; place both arms on the shoulders in a crossed way, that is, forming a cross on the chest -right hand resting on the left shoulder and vice versa-.
4. In this position you must bend your legs, raising your knees up and you can start your series; you must raise the head at the same time that you raise the leg one at a time alternating. Therefore, you must raise the head with the force of the abdomen at the same time that you raise the leg.
5. Keep in mind that the head must go up due to the force that comes from the abdomen; in no case should you make force with the cervical, since you would damage them. In the same way, it can be helpful to look at the ceiling while you climb, since this will relax your neck and cervical vertebrae. In addition, you must control your breathing to do the exercise in a more correct way; breathe out when you’re up.
6. Another very useful type of exercise to start training your abdominals is the following: place your arms behind your neck-cervical, raise your head by squeezing your abdomen and while bringing your right hand to your right foot and then your left hand to your left foot then go downstairs and rest. The exercise consists of repeating this movement of going up, touching the right heel with the right hand, touching the left heel with the left hand and going down.
7. One more exercise that can be simple and effective is the following: in this case, continue lying on your back, but this time with your whole body flat. Place your arms on the ground, parallel to the straight trunk of your body. Thus, you must lift both legs in a straight way and alternately bring them closer to your chest, that is, as if you were walking on the ground. In this exercise you have to be especially careful not to bend your back or lift your belly, all of this will be achieved by pushing your abdomen down.
8. The last exercise that we propose is totally different. In this sense, you must now sit on the floor with your knees bent; the idea is to drop your back backwards with your arms outstretched and hold for several seconds. Keep in mind that in this case it is especially important that you keep your back straight with your head and that you force your abdomen well.
9. All of them are simple exercises and ideal to start your abdominal exercise training. You can do 4 sets of 10 repetitions each -rest a few seconds between sets- of each exercise. Thus, you go up the repetitions as you increase your physical condition.

What do you need to do abdominal exercises?

•  Comfortable clothes for sports.
•  Mat -recommended, failing that, a thin mat or towel-.
• Constancy.
• Patience.
•  Motivation.
• Weather.
• Music -optional-.

Tips for doing abdominal exercises

• Keep in mind that breathing is very important when doing exercises without damaging your body; therefore, try to control it and make complete respiratory cycles.
• It is very important that you gradually increase the power and rhythm of your training and exercises; otherwise you could injure yourself or cause damage. Thus, constant training is what causes improvements and good results.