Complement your Routine with this Abdominal Workout
Sometimes our exercise routine does not use up all of our energy. This means that you’ll never take advantage of your full potential. For this reason, we will show you a routine to work out your abdominals so that you can complement your training. Take a look!
The abdominal muscles are a part of the body that can be complicated to work out. Fortunately, the abdominal muscles are used in several movements and exercises.
Doing an abdominal routine, in addition to regular training, has many benefits. Apart from giving you a flat and defined stomach, it also improves your posture, breathing and helps eliminate lower back pain. It also promotes muscle development and fat burning.
Best exercises to work out your abdominals
Whether you exercise by doing Zumba, HIIT or LISS, an abdominal routine is always a good addition to your training. As it is a complementary routine, it will not take you long to complete, nor will it be very demanding so that you do not overexert yourself. Ideally, you should do this routine after your training. This way, you will not have to warm up. Incorporate this abdominal routine into your workout, and you will notice some changes:
Suspended pike
This exercise may sound like you will be playing an instrument, but it is nothing like that! This is an isometric exercise, which means it will test your abdominal endurance. To do this, place one chair on either side of your body, place your hands on each chair and lift your feet off of the floor. Basically, you must hold your weight with your arms. You can have your knees bent and held level to your abdomen or you can hold your legs straight and lift them as high as you can.
Putting this exercise into practice will be somewhat complicated at first, especially if you do not have much endurance, but it is not a problem! You can split the time that you hold the suspended pikes into intervals, in this case, you will only do one minute, so you can do two sessions of 30 seconds or three of 20 seconds.
Seated leg lifts
The most common type of leg lift for working the abdomen is lying on your back and raising your legs. But, this time we will show you a different option that is also quite effective: leg lifts while seated.
To do this, sit with your legs extended to the front. Keep in mind that you should not rest your back on a wall or any other surface. This is because the reason why the exercise is so effective is that you use your muscles to keep yourself in position. Place your hands at your sides, lift one leg and hold for 5 seconds; then lower it and repeat with the other leg.
Do 20 repetitions on each leg. It is important that you never neglect your posture. Your back should be straight, and your eyes straight ahead. If you lose this position, it will not only affect your performance of the exercise but also damage your muscles and ligaments.
Read more: Strong Legs and Glutes: Effective Exercises
Mountain Climber
Mountain climbers are a key exercise in any abdominal routine. This is because, in addition to exercising your abdominals, you will also burn calories, even after exercising.
Putting it into practice is very simple. Place your hands on the floor and extend your legs as if you were going to do push-ups. Now, alternate the legs, bringing the knees to your chest. Keep your back straight at all times. Do 2 sets of 20 repetitions.
Learn more: Exercises to Reduce Abdominal Fat
Basic crunch
This exercise is quite well-known when it comes to abdominal workouts. It is a basic and simple abdominal exercise to do. Despite this, it has positive results. Regarded as a classic because it works, and the crunch is the proof of that. We recommended that you do this exercise on a yoga mat to avoid hurting your back.
To do it, lie on your back and bend your knees until they form a ninety-degree angle. Your feet should be resting on the floor. Place your hands behind your neck without applying pressure. Alternatively, you can cross your arms over your chest. Now, lift your shoulders off the ground by bringing your shoulders slightly toward your knees. Do not bend your neck inwards. Instead, keep it straight. Do 2 sets of 15 crunches.
With this abdominal routine, it will be much easier to reach your fitness goal. In addition, you do not have to change your regular training, just add this to your routine and begin to enjoy the benefits of training your abdominals. Take advantage of all your energy with these exercises. There is no time to lose!
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Oriana Noguera
