Abdominal exercises: looking for a balance

Abdominal exercises, healthy and adjuvant nutrition together with research, desires and goals!

Thought and written words, promises maintained and finally my method.
Here I am again, as promised to tell the experience I am living. On Christmas Eve, driven by good resolutions for the new year, I wrote an article on expectations for 2017.

It must be a year full of commitments and desire to do. I hope 2017 will also be the year in which I will finally try to change my body. I would like to aim to change two fundamental aspects: strengthen it (developing muscle mass) and finally eliminate the fat from the abdomen, my only critical point.

Before taking on this challenge, I wrote another article with my research.

It's only been a little over a month, but those good intentions are already starting to take shape in concrete actions. I would like to continue sharing this change with you.

My beginning

In January I joined the gym. It was a slow start, without making too much effort, and focusing on total body exercises to get the body used to it. I preferred to start working on my physical problems related to my back and posture: without exaggerating, for fear that they could become counterproductive or lead me to abandonment in a short time.

Doing a sedentary job I find myself with bad posture and a very rusty physique.
For this reason, in the evening, before going to sleep, I do a series of exercises even at home.

Recommended by a physiotherapist, as well as improving the mobility and functionality of the shoulders, I have discovered they are also quite relaxing. It also took very little, however, to start seeing the first results. This is the video that explains them:

In this period, I have noticed the most evident results above all on a psychophysical level. I was convinced that it would be a strenuous effort to go to training in the evening after a day's work.
It was the first day of training, but something changed right from the start: I started to feel much more active during the day and to get less tired.

I also had positive repercussions on an emotional level. In addition to calories, thanks to training, we also begin to get rid of a lot of accumulated stress.
The first physical changes are also starting to appear: obviously not in terms of muscle mass but I'm already starting to notice a slight localized weight loss.

Joining the gym, in short, I think it was the right choice on many points of view.

Health first of all

But let's go back to training in the gym. As already mentioned I currently carry out a total body program. There are several exercises, but most of them are functional bodyweight exercises. For this I have decided that for now it is better to focus on abdominal exercises.

Having a flat, sculpted abdomen: the turtle, the coveted desire of many men; this will be my primary goal. A matter of vanity I admit, but also justified by something else.

I discovered that through abdominal exercises, and with the consequent muscle strengthening of this area, it will be possible to have positive repercussions also on the health of the body, posture and balance first of all. It is an important area because it also performs the function of containing the bowels and correct breathing mechanics.

Discovering the abdomen and its myths

There are two false myths, in which I believed for years, on which I have had to change my mind in this short period.

"Perform targeted exercises to eliminate fat only in the abdomen". This is the first false myth because there are no specific exercises that act at a localized level: you have to work hard to consume the body's caloric reserves, in a generalized way.

“The more abs exercises I do, the sooner I will see results”. Is this statement valid for you too? Nothing more wrong. All the muscles in our body need a fundamental factor to develop: rest! Exceeding it can sometimes prove counterproductive.

Starting from these two considerations, the first thing that was explained to me was the subdivision of the muscles to develop the abs. The largest area is called “rectus abdominis”. In addition to this we will also have to take into consideration the internal and external obliques  (also called large and small obliques) and transverse. The back muscles of the abdomen are instead: the square lumborum, the iliac and the psoas.

My first abdominal exercises

The rectus abdominis muscles are made up of 50% white fibers and 50% red fibers. They lend themselves well to being trained by alternating sessions with lower repetitions with sessions with higher repetitions.

I knew this area by the names “upper abs” and “lower abs”. In reality, the area is unique, but there is no single exercise that can stimulate all the muscles present. The abdominal exercises that I do to stimulate these two areas are as follows.

For the low abs “Flexed leg push-ups” or to simplify “candle shape”

The starting position is very simple. Lie flat on your back with your arms at your sides and palms facing the floor. Throughout the exercise, your back, hips and hands must be firmly anchored to the ground.

From this position, bring your legs together upwards as far as possible. Always slowly bring them back down, but without touching the floor. Repeat this execution twenty times. Rest for a minute and start again. I do four sets of this exercise.

For high abs instead “Abdominal crunch machine”.

This is one of the few exercises I do with weights, on the Crunch machine, which helps in the execution of the movements. Just contract your abdominal muscles and try to bring your torso closer to your legs, exhaling. Once you reach the maximum point of contraction, hold it for a few seconds and then slowly return to the starting position, inhaling.

As mentioned, arriving at the maximum contraction of the crunch you should stop in this position and perform forced exhalations for about 2 seconds. In doing so we will also work on the toning of the transverses.

Oblique Abdominal Exercises

As for the other abdominal areas that should be worked out are the obliques. The obliques are easy to hypertrophy, so I train them with high reps in a twisting motion.
The exercise, which I'm learning to do, but more difficult than the previous ones, is called cycling cross crunch.

Lie down on a mat with your legs at 90 degrees to your body and with your heels resting on a chair. Keeping your hands behind your head, lift your shoulders off the floor, as in the case of a normal crunch, but rotate your body slightly so that your right elbow touches your left knee. Return to the starting position and repeat in the opposite direction.

Inhale during the ascent and exhale during the descent.

Abdominal exercises alone are not enough

I will be able to put all my effort into the gym doing abdominal exercises but to be successful to show off these muscles I will first have to eliminate localized fat.

An additional effort without which the abs will never be visible. This is not because they are not there, but because they will remain covered.

Together with exercises aimed at developing muscles, general aerobic activity and a healthy diet are recommended.

However, there is also a genetic factor that must be taken into consideration, namely the thickness of the epidermis. The thinner our skin, the more visible the details of the abs will be.
I started taking care of my diet a while ago and I'm already drying out my body a little, but despite this, the "bacon continues to persist".

I began to notice more results when, together with training and nutrition, I started using a adjuvant on the abdomen, before and after training. Composed of Visnadine, Phosphatidylcholine, Vanilla Extract , which are high quality functional active ingredients and which act topically, therefore...
This formidable product is the AdipeKo Gel by FGM04.

Abdominal exercises, healthy eating is not enough: we need extra help

I have often read on the internet that despite efforts, only through healthy eating and sporting activity can you not get the desired results .

When I chose to set myself this goal, I didn't make a promise to the wind, but I evaluated my real needs and possibilities.

I knew I would start playing sports to feel better physically and I knew I wanted to start improving my diet. I had already mentally entered this process of change.

I know that the challenge of improving my overall physique will not be easy, because I will have to get rid of all these years of "lethargy". However, I know that I can count on valid support that will allow me to amplify the results given by my efforts, in order to be able to reach my goal!