Crunch, plank, climber… we all know these bodybuilding exercises. Their power? Strengthen our abdominal muscles for a guaranteed flat stomach. Focus on these exercises to reproduce in the gym or at home.
While there are many reasons to want a flat stomach, the solutions to obtaining it can be counted on the fingers of one hand. A healthy lifestyle, a good nutritional balance as well as regular sports training represent the winning combo of a stomach with a slender silhouette. On this last point, reveals to us the right exercises to include in our sports routine.
The right workout for a flat stomach
To work this part of the body, three main categories of exercises exist according to the coach. In pole position, the abs (yes!); then the core (oh, no!) And finally the breathing exercises (ah, good?). Focus on the most popular movements.
Work the abs
Le crunch
Considered the most basic abs, crunches are not insignificant when it comes to strengthening the abdominal muscles.
How to do? Lie on your back, legs bent and feet hip-width apart. We bring our heels closer to the buttocks and place our hands on the temples. While inhaling, go back up, lifting your shoulders slightly from the ground. Caution: keep your chin off your chest so as not to pull on your neck.
Le sit-up
An evolution of crunches, sit-ups put a little more strain on the muscles since they require more amplitude. The level is rising!
How to do? We lie on our back like a crunch. The only difference? We place our arms alongside the ears and lift our torso completely off the ground.
Leg lift
With this exercise where only the legs will be moving, we strengthen the lower abs.
How to do? We lie on our back, we place our hands on the ground on either side of the pelvis. We take off and raise our two straight legs (semi-stretched, for those who lack flexibility). Caution: ensure that the lower back is firmly placed on the ground and control the descent.
Wrap abs
A perfect mix between sit-ups and leg raises, wallet abs – or jack knife in english – promise to work all of our chocolate bars as they are commonly called.
How to do? We lie down on the ground, arms and legs outstretched. We then raise all of our limbs towards the sky. The best? Let our hands touch our feet. Then, gently release to return to the initial position.
Le russian twist
In terms of abdominals, you should definitely not neglect the obliques. The russian twist – among others – is there to make them work.
How to do? We sit on the floor. We bend the knees and raise them to more or less 90° (the goal being that the feet no longer touch the ground). We tilt our torso slightly backwards and then place our two hands on either side of the torso.
To intensify? We can use a weight (more or less heavy depending on each person) or simply take a bottle of water in our hands.
Include core training in our workouts
The board
The most basic of core exercises and yet! The board uses many muscles: the deep abs but also the back and the muscles of the arms and shoulders. Ultra-complete, we love it (or not).
How to do? We lie down facing the ground then we lean on our elbows (below the shoulders) and the tips of our toes, taking care to properly align the pelvis (neither too high nor too low).
To intensify? We can use what we call dynamic cladding. For this, several variations exist: touching your shoulders one after the other; go up with outstretched arms and come down on your elbows or take side steps and come back to the middle.
The side plank
The classic plank twists into a lateral version to work the obliques in depth.
How to do? We lie on the left side (or right, in any case you will have to do both). We raise the upper body by supporting ourselves on the forearm (the right is stretched above us) and on the edge of the foot. We take care to respect the alignment of the bust, pelvis and legs.
To intensify? We can practice a higher leg lift or even reach with our free arm for an imaginary object between our support arm and our torso. Ouch, that stings.
The climber
The climber, also called “mountain climber”, is a complete core exercise.
How to do? We put ourselves in a core position with our arms here, then we raise our knees towards our chest, alternating the left leg and the right leg. Be careful to keep your back straight.
What about hypopressive abs?
To have a toned stomach, a new method is making waves: hypopressive abs. No more traditional abs, here we work our muscles without much effort. Also called “vacuum” or “stomach vacuum”, these exercises refer, in fact, to a breathing technique. Widely used in yoga and pilates, they consist of contracting the transversus abdominis muscle, a deep muscle of the abdominal strap, through particular breathing.
How to do? Lie on your back, arms alongside your body, knees bent, hip width apart, feet parallel. Then, we take a deep breath while inflating the stomach, then we exhale while pulling in the stomach as if the navel were sucked into the ground. Finally, we block our breathing. Then repeat the exercise.
Professional advice for a toned stomach
The best way to work your stomach well is to combine all these exercises. We like to work them in a circuit. In other words, we accumulate 4 to 5 exercises and perform them in series.
Here, the coach performs a circuit of 4 exercises:
- Bust rotation
- Lateral contraction
- Mountain climber
- Jack knife
A circuit to be done 4 times for a quick and effective 20-minute sports session: the exercises are performed for 45 seconds for 15 seconds of recovery. Between each circuit, allow yourself 1 minute of rest. Most? “couple them with cardio exercises to have an ultra-complete action,” at a rate of 2 to 3 sessions per week (without forgetting rest days and a good diet), the results promise to be visible in just one or two months. So, shall we go for it?
