The abdominal muscles (also known as the abs) are probably the main reason why people want to get into fitness the first place. Everyone wants to have chiseled and well-defined abs for their body. But the number one reason people fail is because they have no idea what they are doing in order to achieve these abs.
I will be showing you how to get abs and the processes on how to do it. But before I start I want you to know one thing, and that is to prioritize your happiness. There are many people out there that have achieved abs but say that they are not worth having due to the physical stress their body undergoes.
Make sure before you "want" abs, that you are ready to work hard, stay consistent and stay sustainable in your life when you try to work towards nice abdominal muscles.
Today I will be telling you EVERYTHING you need to know about getting abs, I will be showing you the best exercises, proper nutrition and some ab anatomy in order for you to be able to add abs to a well-rounded physique.
Let's dive in!
Abdominal Muscles Anatomy
First things first, let's dive into the simplified version of the abs' anatomy. It is important to understand your muscles before you train them. Yes, the abs are a muscle that will be trained just like any other muscle.
There are 2 main parts to the abs when it comes to working them out, the rectus abdominis and the external obliques. We'll just call them abs and obliques for short!
Abs: These are the parts that everyone talks about, the 4-8 square shaped muscles (numbers vary on genetics) that everyone loves. A strong core will help you in numerous exercises in the gym such as heavy compounds like the deadlift and squat. Abs are also super aesthetic.
Obliques: These are the more overlooked parts of the abdominal muscles. They are located at the sides of the abs but they are INCREDIBLY aesthetic. Every strong and aesthetic core needs a good set of obliques to round it out. These muscles also help with balance and core strength.
IMPORTANT Information About Abs
Nutrition/Fat Loss
The only way to get abs is for you to lose enough fat in your stomach area for the to be able to show. It does not matter how many exercises you do for abs, they will not appear unless you are at a low enough body-fat percentage for them to show.
For this you will need to be in a caloric deficit (or maintaining if you are already at a low body-fat percentage) and will need to eat plenty of protein to keep the muscle tissue on the abs. Try to eat healthier foods that are not processed, this will help you not increase too much body fat.
Consistency
Make sure you are consistent with your diet and workouts to ensure you are not slowing down your progress in getting those abs that you want.
Lifestyle
Although having abs are great, there is also the aspect of your mental health and how having to keep a low body-fat percentage will take a toll on your body mentally and physically. You will have to eat less and healthier for a prolong period of time of you want to maintain your abs, this can be super hard on people's mental health as they want to eat the foods that they enjoy and that are not necessarily healthy.
As mentioned earlier, your mental health is important, and being happy should be a priority in your life. If you REALLY want abs then I recommend staying lean in the summers (where you will be taking your shirt off the most in public) and then lay off the caloric deficit during the winters (where bigger and warmer clothes are worn).
Another thing to remember, even if you are in the stage of trying to get to a lower body-fat percentage, a bit of unhealthy food WON'T ruin your progress.
Always strive to find balance in the things you do, life moves fast, so always remember to live a little.
Best Ab Exercises
Now that we got a few things out of the way, let's get into the best ab exercises for a strong and aesthetic core.
1. Crunches
These are a classic ab exercise, there are very many variations of the crunch such as bicycle crunches, reverse crunches and many more. You can try all of them to see which ones you like the most, me personally I like reverse crunches and regular crunches are they are super effective in engaging my core.
A basic crunch is where you lie on the floor and move your head and shoulders towards your abdominal muscles, kind of like a half-way sit-up. By repeating these for either a certain amount of time or reps, you will get a good exercise into your ab routine.
2. Russian Twists
This exercise is GREAT for your obliques they require a lot of balance and core strength but with practice and consistency, this exercise will become the ONLY exercise you'll need to train your obliques.
It is were you sit on the ground with your legs off the ground with the tension all on your butt, then you twist your body (in a controlled motion) side-to-side. These can be done with a weight in your hands (such as a weighted ball) for extra core activation.
3. Plank
These are a classic overall abdominal exercise, a plank it where you stay in a position on the ground where the only thing touching the ground is your forearms and feet, the rest of your body is in the air with your back straight like a "plank" of wood, hence the name.
These are great for adding constant tension to your abs as well as build endurance and strength to your core!
All 3 of these exercises are my exercises in my ab routine. Here it is:
YourFitnessHelper's Ab Routine
Crunches- 3x 30 reps
Russian Twists- 3x 1 minute
Plank- 2x Plank until failure
Overall, building abs is a great achievement viewed by many. It is important to consider all other factors other than exercise as well, such as nutrition, body-fat percentage and your lifestyle balance. Only once you have considered these factors can you decide if you are ready to build abs or not. I wish you the best of luck if you are on the grind to getting abs. Although it can be a tough journey for many, I believe you can do it. Consistency and hard work is all you need to get far in this world.
Good luck and thanks for reading!
Just a young man trying to bring fitness to the world!
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