Abdominal Workouts Guide: Get Shredded Abs

Abdominal workouts and abs are an essential part of fitness. To make your abdominal muscles strong, you need to choose the proper abdominal workout routine and also have a healthy diet. Also, choose the proper exercises that can give your body shredded abs. Keep in mind that all workouts have one thing in common – they require discipline and consistency if you want to see results!

 

Let’s take a closer look at the muscles of the core, the best abs workouts, and the most typical mistakes people make while trying to get their abs in shape.

 

Breakdown of Your Core:

The core muscles are extremely important in our body. They provide a majority of the stability and mobility in our torso, so they are critical to maintaining a healthy and strong back. Knowing what muscles are in your core are vital to getting shredded abs. This knowledge will help give you the upper hand in your workouts

 

External Obliques: External obliques are on either side of the rectus abdominis and originate from the ribs and pelvis, wrapping around each side of the rectus abdominis as it travels up toward the spine.

 

Internal Obliques: The muscle tissue underlying the external obliques is called the internal obliques. In basic twisting and bending actions, this deeper-level muscle tissue is crucial.

 

Rectus Abdominis: Rectus abdominis is one of the main muscles in the core, and it makes up the six-pack. It attaches to the ribs and pelvis and extends from just below the sternum to the pubic bone.

 

Transverse Abdomens: The transverse abdominis, also called “deep abdominal muscles,” helps with breathing and supports the spine’s natural curvature.

 

Extensors: Extensors are muscles that support larger muscle groups and are attached to the bottom of the spine.

 

Top Exercises to Get Shredded Abs:

Now, it’s time to discuss the top exercises to get shredded abs. Let’s start.

 

Planks:

A plank is a stability exercise that works the abdominal muscles, especially the rectus abdominis. The core is a group of muscles in your body that work together to protect your spine and allow you to move throughout the day with ease. A plank is very simple but can be very effective in strengthening this area of your body.

 

The plank engages a large number of muscles in your body, making it ideal for all types of training – strength, stamina, and so on. Planks can also help people who desire to conduct cardio exercises. Planks can be done by people of any age as long as they are physically healthy. Planks are an excellent workout for kids to begin with, and if they keep doing them, they will be able to do them well into their older years.

 

Steps to do Plank Exercise:

• Start in a pushup position with your hands on the ground directly below your shoulders.
• Keep your feet together and lift yourself onto your toes so that only the balls of your feet and heels are touching the ground.
• Hold this plank position for 1 minute without letting your back sag or hips drop toward the floor.

 

Heel Touch:

Heel Touch is a hands-free exercise that requires a standing position. It targets deep abdominal muscles and can also help you achieve six-pack abs.

 

The benefits of this exercise are many. It helps strengthen the abdominal muscles, helps with spinal stability, and increases the flexibility of your spine. The Heel Touch exercise also improves blood circulation, enhancing energy levels, mental clarity, and sharper concentration.

 

Moreover, the upper and lower abs, the transverse abdominis, and the rectus abdominis are all activated by heel touches. The obliques are another vital muscle group engaged during the heel touch. Unlike other core workouts like sit-ups and pushups, heel touches engage the abdominal muscles on both sides of your body.

 

Steps to do Heel Touch Exercise:

• Stand with the feet together and both hands on your hips.
• Exhale and bend at the waist while letting your head hang down in front of you.
• Inhale and pull your stomach in towards your spine while raising one foot off the ground behind you towards the buttocks, keeping it as straight as possible.
• Touch your toes or feet with both hands while keeping the foot raised behind you.
• Lower your foot to the floor, return to starting position, repeat with the opposite leg (2 sets of 30-50 reps).

 

Hanging Legs Raises:

Hanging leg raises are one of the most effective exercises for abs that you can do at home. The hanging leg raise exercise primarily works out your abdominal muscles and helps tone your back muscles and improve strength in your torso, hips, and legs.

 

They take a lot of practice but, once you get the hang of them, they can become one of the most rewarding exercises you can do for your abdominal muscles. Without any doubt, the hanging leg exercise is a strenuous exercise that gives the most effective results. It targets the abdominal muscles more effectively than any other abdominal exercises or workouts.

 

Beginners should do sets of 8 to 10 repetitions, and more advanced trainers should aim for sets of 12 to 15 repetitions with 1-minute breaks between each set.

 

Steps to do Hanging legs Exercise:

• Wrap a towel around the bar, so you do not have to worry about slipping.
• Grasp the bar with your palms facing away from you and extend your legs out in front of you so that your body is hanging freely and straight up and down.
• Slowly lift both knees at the same time as high as possible until they are just under their chest level and then slowly lower them back down again.

 

Reverse Crunch:

Reverse Crunch is an efficient way to strengthen the abdominal muscles. It also helps in toning the body as it improves flexibility and strengthens core muscles. It can be done by lying face down on an exercise mat, slightly bending the knees, and pulling them towards the chest while contracting lower abdominals for added support.

 

The Reverse Crunch exercise can be performed anywhere and anytime and requires no equipment or machines for training, so it is a great fitness tool for time-constrained people or live in remote areas with little access to gyms or equipment.

 

The benefits of doing this abdominal strengthening exercise include:

• Increases activation of deep abdominal muscles
• Improves core stability
• Increases range of motion for shoulder girdle (especially helpful for athletes)
• Reduces back pain

 

Steps to do Reverse Crunch:

• Lie down on your back with your hands interlocked behind your head.
• Raise your legs straight up in the air, knees together and feet flexed in tight to the groin area
• Lower one leg in a smooth motion in a crunching motion at the same time, while keeping both legs raised
• After lowering one leg, raise it back up to its original position before proceeding to lower the other leg
• Continue lowering and raising both legs for 4-12 reps

 

Cross Crunch:

 

Cross Crunch is a core exercise where you lie on your back and bring your knees to your chest. Then you crunch up, lifting your upper body and legs off the ground. It is a high-intensity exercise that targets the abdominal muscles and allows you to burn more calories than traditional crunches.

 

In addition, this exercise will help you get rid of the love handles and maintain a flat stomach. However, it is usually performed with only one arm at a time for an added challenge.

 

Steps to do Cross Crunch Exercise:

• Lie on the floor with your hands out to your side
• Straighten your legs while keeping them together and raising them off the floor
• Lift your shoulder blades off the floor and crunch over to touch one elbow to the opposite knee, then return to start position
• Move from side to side by crossing one arm over the other in a semi-circular motion.

 

Common Misconceptions about Abdominal Exercises:

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about abdominals. Let’s discuss some of them.

 

To get abs, you must consume a lot of protein and minimize all fat.

Protein does not cause abs to appear. For your physical health, you should consume enough protein. In reality, one of the most common reasons why people don’t grow abdominal aesthetics is that they don’t consume enough fat. This is a good fat that we’re talking about. Plant-based foods, almonds, and olive oil are all terrific healthy fat sources.

 

Abs training will make you look beautiful, but it will not aid you in any other way.

The abdominal muscles are a portion of your core. When you have a strong core, looking good comes second. Because the core’s role is to anchor the spine, having a strong core will allow you to undertake various activities with ease and flexibility.

 

Abs are only for men, not for women, because they have a greater testosterone level.

Men and women both have the ability to make their abs. Men start showing their abdominals at a body fat percentage of 10% or less. Women start to reveal their abdominals at a body fat percentage of 14 percent or less.

 

Wrap Up:

Can you work out abs every day?

Yes! All you need to do is use a little common sense and follow these tips.

1. Break it up – It is hard for your muscles to reach the same level of fatigue on back-to-back days, so plan your workouts for at least 48 hours apart so you can avoid overdoing it.
2. Don’t forget about your core – Your abs are more than just a set of muscles that sit close to the surface of the skin; they are also an essential part of your spine that begins at the pelvis and continues through the rib cage, providing stability to all your movements.
3. Listen to what your body needs – If you feel inadequate, tired, or out of breath, then take a break for a few minutes before continuing.