Five biggest mistakes at working out on abdominal muscles

At the time when Arnold Schwarzenegger was the most popular, many of body-builders were working out on abdominal muscles even for half an hour every day. Nowadays many of them exercises just at the time before competitions.

Which strategy is correct or both of them are misguided?

This article will help to find an answer to this question, also it will help to correct mistakes done by many people who are working out on abdominal muscles.

Mistake #1: the slight to abdominal muscles

Some body-builders are not doing exercises for abdominal muscles in a period between competitions, because they believe that it’s enough to work on it before contests and following right diet.

One more reason why they are ignoring their abs – heavy caseload during training sessions. According to that, there is not enough strength and desire to work on abdominal muscles.

It’s really inexcusable mistake. Everybody must remember that strong abdominal muscles are essential to do safe exercises which are stimulating hypertrophy of muscles, for example knee-bends or death-traction. If you are not working out on your abs you’ll be unable to develop these muscles as good as you could.

Solutions:

1. The same as working out on all other groups of muscles you have to set the purpose how do you want your abdominal muscles to look like, how often, and also how hard you want to work on them. Smart plan to reach the aim always helps!
2. Exercises for abdominal muscles have to be done twice a week, the same like many other muscle groups. If you have separate day for cardio workout, just try to do exercises for your abs before it, or even do some exercises at home.
3. Perform 8-12 sets on forward part of abdominal muscles – to straight muscle, also 3-5 sets to make stronger diagonal muscles.
4. If you are in a rush, just connect some exercises when you are doing sets for your abs.
5. You can make less exercises but with some weight.

Mistake #2: too small intensity

Probably all of us could tell when it was the last training session for breast or arm muscles, but is it so easy to remember when hard workout was for abdominal muscles? Majority of those who are working out, wouldn’t be able to answer this question exactly, but it’s easy to say what weight was on the barbell during last workout for breast muscles. Mostly the answer about abs is: I did a lot, had no time to do it till the end, etc. but there is enough time to do exercises for breast muscles every training session.

Solutions:

1. If you want to have perfect abdominal muscles you have to work on them. That means that it’s unnecessary to do crowds repetitions with some resistance. Risk to build too massive straight abdominal muscles is equal to possibility to be too rich.
2. Do 10-15 repetitions. When you’ll be able to do more than 15 just use bigger resistance.
3. If you don’t want bigger workload, you can work out more intensively, that means you can use supersets, or connect some sets without rest between them.

Mistake #3: workload to incorrect muscles

Many of those, who are working out on abdominal muscles, during the session of exercises to abs, are training muscles of their legs, damaging waist muscles and spine, and all other nonsense, but not that what they want to do – abdominal muscles still stay untrained. That happens because exercises are done too fast, without concentrating or even wrongly.

Solutions:

1. First of all make crooks for straight abdominal muscles. Exercises have to be done at the average, equal speed, it has to be concentrated just to abdominal muscles.
2. All exercises have to be done in a small amplitude, that’s why it’s important to exert your muscles till maximum. At the end of movement just retain your muscles exerted for a second or two. All attention has to be concentrated to abdominal muscles not about your free time after training session.

Mistake #4: dominance of upper part

Majority of those, who are working out, stay focused on upper part of abdominal muscles, because exercises for it are simply and it’s easy to do them. Unfortunately, there are four parts of abdominal muscles and all of them have to be trained.

Underneath abdominal muscles are ignored more often and they get least attention because it’s damn hard to train them. All exercises for underneath abs are related to lifting up of coxa/legs. That’s why even professional athletes loads more muscles of legs but not abs.

Frequently diagonal muscles are left untrained because of fear to get wide waist, transverse muscles are invisible that’s why they are just forgotten usually.

Solutions:

1. Start your abdominal muscles workout from exercises for underneath part of abs, these exercises are pretty hard and tiring. It’s better to start from the hardest part, because that’s how you will never leave it for the next training session.
2. Diagonal abdominal muscles are very important to stabilize your waist, and, for sure, look gorgeous when they are well developed. Crooks when elbow reaches the knee of the other side and “pendulum” loads diagonal muscles very well. Many people avoid working out on these muscles because of fear to get wide waist. Calm down, width of waist depends on hips/waist structure. If you still don’t want to work on these muscles just do 20-30 repetitions for diagonal abdominal muscles without any weight – just to give a tone.

Mistake #5: Abdominal fat burning doing exercises

A big part of those, who are working out, still think that bigger amount of abdominal muscles exercises help to burn abdominal fat and abs will be very sharp. Some tests justify this idea for a small percentage, but, anyways, the best ways to burn fat are cardio workout ant diet.

Solutions:

1. If you want to get perfect abs, strict diet is the biggest helper. That doesn’t mean that you have to resign food. It’s advisable to eat more carbohydrates in a morning – eggs or oat cereals, for lunch – it’s not a sin to eat meat, pasta or even potatoes, but it’s important not to eat them after 4pm. It’s better to get some vegetables in the evening, but not fruits, they have too much sugar.
2. Cardio workout should last 45-60 minutes after every training session or early in a morning.
3. At the abdominal muscles training sessions stay concentrated into muscles building, step by step they will show up and abdominal fat will be burned out.

Summary

1. Train your abdominal muscles twice a week.
2. Exercises have to be done correctly! As longer you are training as bigger load you have to use, bigger weight or more repetitions during training session.
3. Exercises for your abs have to be done slowly and concentrated. Exert and retain muscles at the final movement destination with no rush.
4. Work on all of your abdominal muscles part, there are four of them, none of them has to be forgotten.
5. To highlight your abs it’s important to set on a very strict diet and to do cardio workouts. Millions of abdominal muscles without diet and cardio is just a waste of time without any results.