Stomach exercises at home – examples and benefits. Abdominal exercises for beginners

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When we think about losing weight, one of the first things that comes to our mind is a flat and sculpted stomach. After all, who wouldn’t want to slip into a pair of jeans without having to worry about a tire? What’s more, losing belly fat is a sure way to improve your health: Research links greater waistlines to heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers. Unfortunately, doing hundreds of crunches every day is not the best way to lose belly fat. In fact, while knowing which abdominal exercises are best for building strength and burning fat is important, you should also be aware of other factors that affect how visible these muscles are (e.g. how long it takes to get the abs) and take care of for your own safety while exercising.

Abdominal exercises at home – abdominal muscles

There are several types of abdominal muscles that perform different functions in the body.

1. Pelvic floor muscles: they support organs such as the bladder, uterus and intestines.
2. Transverse Abdominals and Straight Abdominals: Often referred to as the “six pack”, they are critical to functional movement (hanging, bending, twisting) and stability.
3. Oblique inner and outer: help breathing and torso rotation.
4. Spine extensor: Strengthens the back and provides a stable basis for rotation.

The abdomen is not just one muscle; is the relationship between the many muscles that span the entire torso, connecting the hips, spine, neck and shoulders. The rectus abdominals, or “six pack”, are only part of it.

Most people who do “crunches” actually leave most of their abdominal muscles completely intact. Not to mention that they potentially slow down your progress and are also a dangerous way to train. Remember to vary your abs exercises!

See also: TOP 5 Abdominal Exercises For Men That You Can Do At Home

Home belly exercises – why is a strong belly so important?

Of course, it pays to look beyond aesthetics when building your abdominal muscle strength – it’s also a key factor in maintaining good overall health and body mobility. Some of the strongest people in the world do not have “six packs”, but they can lift huge weights or perform amazing sports. According to specialists, a strong stomach is the main factor in avoiding injury, especially in the hips and knees.

See also: Do you train Here are the five most common injuries that can happen to you when you play sports

Exercises for the stomach at home – scissors

A great abdominal exercise at home, strengthening our abdominal muscles and spine, because we also engage the iliopsoas muscle to work. It is a support for the spine. The stronger the iliopsoas muscle is, the less likely we are to experience back problems in the future.

Lie flat with your legs together and your arms at your sides, then lift your legs far enough until you can place your palms flat behind your lower back just below your buttocks. Keep your balance with your shoulders and lift your right leg as high as possible without bending it. Meanwhile, keeping your left leg just as straight, lift it slightly off the ground. Now lower your right leg (without bending it) and lift your left leg as you did with the right one. Repeat the movement, remembering to contract your abdominal muscles with each movement.

Abdominal exercises at home – a bicycle

Bicycle, which is one of the most popular exercises in the gym, but also at home. Especially chosen by women, because apart from the abdominal muscles, it perfectly firms the buttocks.

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head. Raise your legs at right angles so that your thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Now you have to pull one knee, then the other, to your chest. At the same time, raise your torso and touch the opposite knee with your elbow.

Stomach exercises at home – a dead bug

A dead bug is one of the best exercises for strengthening the abdominal muscles and recommended for people who suffer from back pain. The very name of the exercise is due to its starting position, which resembles a dead worm.

Lie on your back with your arms and legs stretched towards the ceiling. Then contract your abs and press your lower back to the floor. Now slowly lower your right arm and left leg (without lifting the lumbar region off the ground!). Once the arm and leg are off the floor, try to hold this position for a while and slowly return to the starting position, then repeat the movement with the opposite limbs.

This exercise can be easily modified depending on the advancement level of the practitioner. If we are a beginner and have not previously trained the abdominal muscles to make the whole exercise easier, we can keep our hands still and focus only on the lower body.

For experienced people, it is recommended to use a gymnastic ball during the exercise (it is placed between the hands and knees and presses during the exercise to tighten the deep abdominal muscles) or an additional load (in this case, dumbbells will be perfect).

See also: Exercises with dumbbells

Abdominal exercises at home – forearm plank

Plank, i.e. a basic exercise recommended for modeling the abdominal muscles, but not only because you need to know that the plank also strengthens the muscles of the arms, spine and legs.

Kneel on the floor. Lean on your forearms, bending your elbows at a right angle. Your shoulders should be just above your elbows. Then, rest on your toes and lift your torso and contract your abdominal muscles. Do not lift your buttocks upwards or bend them downwards in your lumbar region. Your heels, hips, and shoulders should stay in a straight line. Hold for a certain number of seconds (beginners can start at 20 seconds and lengthen the exercise by 10 seconds each week until they can hold up to 60 seconds).

The classic version of this exercise is great by itself, but it’s worth knowing that there are many modifications to the board that allow you to focus on specific parts of the body or raise the level of difficulty. Other versions of this exercise include:

1. plank jacks – plank jacks;
2. plank with one leg raised – while remaining in the plank position, alternately lift the legs up (stopping for a few seconds);
3. plank with one hand raised – while remaining in the plank position, alternately raise your arms (straighten), stopping for a few seconds;
4. side-plank – side plank (the body rests on one forearm and one leg).

Belly exercises at home – twist

The twist is a great exercise for oblique abdominals, which are often overlooked during other workouts.

Sit comfortably and tilt your torso slightly backwards without arching your back. Then bend your knees and lift your heels off the floor (beginners can rest their toes on the ground). Put your arms out straight in front of you. Now focus on expanding the chest and tightening the abdomen. Rotate your entire torso to the left, pointing your fingertips to the left. Go back to the middle and then repeat the same movement to the right side. Continue changing sides until you feel tension in your abdominal muscles.

People who want to raise the level of difficulty can perform this exercise with an additional load in their hands, such as a dumbbell, kettlebell or medicine ball.

Belly exercises at home – crunches

Crunches is an exercise considered to be the fastest way to burn belly fat and is very easy to do at home without any equipment. This exercise tends to build endurance and strength in the abdominal muscles.

Lie flat on the floor, put your hand behind your head, bend your knees, and place your feet flat on the ground. Lift your upper body off the floor, breathe out as you rise, and breathe in as you descend. Repeat the movement for a few minutes.

Belly exercises at home – sit ups

Sit ups or torso bends are exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles.

Start by lying flat on the mat or the floor, face up. You can put your arms behind your head or cross them over your chest. Now keep your lower body still and slide your upper body towards your knees. Continue the movement until the shoulder girdle is behind the pelvic line. Take a deep breath and exhale as you lift yourself up.

Inhale as you put your body back on the mat. Make sure your arms don’t put too much pressure on your head and neck. You should use your abdominal muscles to move up and down, so make sure your neck is not tense during this exercise.

Stomach exercises at home – exercises for beginners

If for the first time we focus on abdominal exercises at home, we should gradually increase the intensity of the movements performed. As a general rule, we should not try plank exercises on one arm if we fall on our stomach within 10 seconds while doing a standard plank.

If the movement is too difficult or too advanced for us, chances are our body will be overly tense elsewhere and chances are we will hurt ourselves.

Instead, we’d better try to master these basic movements before moving on to the more difficult exercises:

1. dead bug
2. Forearm plank – with knees on the floor

See also: Exercises for the abdomen – effective exercises for women and men [EXPLAIN]

Belly exercises at home – fat burning

At the beginning, we need to emphasize something. There is no noticeable reduction in belly fat – when we lose body fat, we lose it from all over the body, not from one specific place. The same applies to exercise, no exercise will burn belly fat much. Our diet, stress levels, and sleep play an equal (if not more) role in how the body effectively burns fat.

Regular exercise, including these exercises, will strengthen our body, build muscle and burn calories – the most important building blocks in fat loss.

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Professionals suggest focusing on the following food groups:

1. nutrient-rich vegetables: kale, spinach, cabbage;
2. lean protein: turkey, chicken or tofu;
3. unprocessed carbohydrates: potatoes, bananas, rice, and quinoa.

See also: A healthy bedroom – 10 rules that will help you sleep well

Exercises for the stomach at home – flat stomach

First, if we want to increase strength, we probably don’t want a flat stomach. Strong abdominals – if our body fat is low enough – have a natural, muscular appearance.

However, this is an important point – strengthening the abdominal muscles alone will not help us achieve the strong and lean figure we want.

This amounts to a reduction in body fat percentage to the point where the abdominal muscles are visible, ranging from 14% to 24% for women. However, common thinking suggests that most women should not drop below 18% of their body fat, risking interfering with their own hormones.

Also, if getting the “six-pack” comes at the expense of mental health or we feel preoccupied with losing fat, take a step back and perhaps relax for a while. Nutrition of the body through regular exercise, getting enough sleep and minimizing stress is much more important than any percentage of body fat.

See also: 10 ways to lose weight healthy – how to lose weight wisely?

Belly exercises at home after pregnancy

Returning to exercise after pregnancy is something that should be done with excessive care for the safety of yourself and your body after childbirth. Before we try anything, we must get approval from our doctor!

When the doctor is absolutely sure that a pregnant woman can exercise, many experts say that she should remember the following five things.

1. If you are exercising with a personal trainer, make sure that he or she is qualified for pre- and postnatal training.
2. Listen to your body.
3. Take time to rest and recover.
4. Seek help from a physical therapist after giving birth.
5. Be sure to say “no” if the exercise is not suitable for you.