Great Ways to Workout Indoors
The easiest and most important: Do core exercises. The core part of the waist and abdomen is very important to the overall body shape, and it is the key to connecting your body!
Now I will give you the most complete exercise explanation on the whole network, which is worth collecting.
It is divided into the following 4 parts: one is to understand the key points of core training of waist and abdomen, the second is core function, and the third is how to effectively train core muscles.
1. The core training focus of waist and abdomen.
If the chest and back are the focus of the upper body of the human body, and the hips and legs are the focus of the lower body, then unfortunately, there is no waist and abdomen core with low fat content and clear lines. You are the same width from top to bottom, and any focus is meaningless!
Imagine that even if you have square chest muscles and broad back muscles, but you have a general belly and put on your clothes, people will only think that you are a dead fat man.
The same goes for women, even if you have high buttocks and "long straight white legs", but if you have a big belly, no one will think you are a goddess, but will think you are like a little frog with thin arms, thin legs, and a big belly. Maybe someone will give you your seat on the subway, thinking that you are already pregnant.
The core part of your waist and abdomen is very important to your overall body shape, and it is the key to connecting your body!
For male friends, modern women prefer heterosexual figures with pectoral muscles and abdominal muscles, so the chest-to-waist ratio(WCR)is a very important figure for men.
A survey shows that people no longer respect the so-called general's belly and beer belly as a symbol of power and momentum as in the past. The more modern and urbanized areas are, the more welcome the large breasts, buttocks, and clear abdominal muscles that represent men's health, and the more important men's chest-to-waist ratio is.
For women, the right waist-to-hip ratio(WHR)is also one of the signs of a perfect body. It is generally believed that women with a waist-to-hip ratio of around 0.7 are more attractive.
The reason why waist-to-hip ratio is such an important marker of female beauty is likely to be related to underlying mate selection criteria such as health and reproductive potential. You know, during labor, women with a larger pelvis(expressed as a large hip circumference)are relatively more likely to give birth and less likely to have a difficult labor.
Plus, a slender waist also means you have healthy body fat and is a sign of youth(since, biologically speaking, postmenopausal women's waistlines rise rapidly).
2. The role of the core : the key to power transmission
In simple terms, the core muscle group mainly refers to the relevant muscle group in the core area(the middle part of the human body)that is responsible for the stability of the core strength.
When it comes to the four words " core muscle group ", the first reaction of many people is estimated to be eight-pack abs, mermaid line, vest line, etc. This is also the muscle group that everyone is most familiar with and cares about the most. However, they do not represent all core muscle groups.
The broad core muscle group includes the abdominal rectus abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles, lower back muscles, front and inner thigh muscles, and deep body muscles, such as the muscles near the iliac joints.
The mermaid line and vest line we usually refer to only refer to the rectus abdominis and internal and external oblique muscles in the core muscle group.
For the core muscles, many people may think that they have no substantial effect except to look at them and show them off. In fact, this is absolutely not the case. We also mentioned a little earlier that in modern sports theory, core strength is the hub of the conduction system, just like the key role played by the waist and abdomen in the body.
Let's take an example first. I wonder if you have seen the play with the whip? When swinging the whip, the force is the hand, and then the whip is transmitted to the tail of the whip. As long as the force is transmitted well, it can make a loud noise.
But you know what? That huge sound was nothing but the sound produced by the whip tip going beyond the speed of sound and breaking through the sound wall. Think about it carefully, no matter how fast our hands move, it is impossible to keep up with the speed of the sound - 1224 kilometers per hour, right? And after a series of transmissions of the whip, the power from our hands can actually surpass the speed of sound and break through the sound wall. How amazing is this!
Someone asked, but what does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with exercise, core strength, and abs?
In fact, our body is like a whip, and there is also such a power transmission system, which is called the power chain system. If the lower body is regarded as the handle and hand when whipping the whip, it is the source of strength, then the whip is the part where the final strength is transmitted, such as the racket or fist, etc., while the core strength(waist, abdomen, legs, back and other parts of the torso core) Muscle group strength)is the middle part of the whip, which is responsible for key functions such as conduction and acceleration.
In other words, if your core is not strong enough, the power of the hips and legs cannot be transmitted to the upper body and the end of the arms well, so whether it is a squat deadlift, or a tennis slam and a pull-up layup, you will not be able to do it well.
In addition, the core muscles are also responsible for maintaining the stability of the spine, which is the key to ensuring your posture is straight and elegant. If the core muscles are weak, then posture problems such as hunchback, pelvis tilting back and forth will all come to you, and even affect the health of internal organs such as liver and kidney!
Therefore, whether it is for your eight-pack abs, mermaid line, vest line, or for female students to have a more elegant and straight posture, or for male students to improve their squat deadlift performance and improve their ball skills, you need to take good care of them. Strengthen your core muscles.
Below, we will introduce the best way to train the core muscles from the rectus abdominis(the massive abdominal muscles that everyone cares about most)and the core as a whole.
3. How to exercise the core?
Rectus abdominis
Physiologically, the abdominal muscles are not a single muscle, but a general term for the abdominal muscles, including the rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis. However, when we generally talk about the abdominal muscles, we mainly refer to the rectus abdominis.
In addition to trimming the shape and appearance of your abs to make them look more stylish, abs training also determines your level of physical fitness and power transfer. However, if you want to train your abdominal muscles, you must first understand a few truths about abdominal muscles.
●Truth 1 : Relying on abdominal training to show abdominal muscles?
Whether the abdominal muscles are exposed or not is closely related to the level of body fat. If your body fat isn't low enough, your abs will never come out, and when your body fat is low enough, you might see it without training.
In addition, the human body cannot reduce fat locally, at least fat loss does not mean where to lose. Those who practice abdominal muscles in order to thin waist, the logic is wrong at the beginning!
Moreover, the growth potential of the rectus abdominis is very low. Although training it well can correct its shape and beautify its appearance, it is not enough to increase its circumference and size. So if you want to show your abs, exercising to lose fat(see Chapter 3 for details)may be more effective than ab training.
●Truth 2 : Who decides the number of abdominal muscles?
Some time ago, Arabian IFBB(International Federation of Bodybuilding)professional athlete Muhammad Ali became popular with his ten-pack abs. Many people ask after watching it, how can I get ten-pack abs?
In fact, the number of abs is predestined when you are born, if you are born with six pack abs, no matter how hard you train, you will never get eight.(Of course, it is not ruled out that you have eight-pack abs, but you have too much fat in your lower abdomen at the beginning, hiding two.)
Similarly, the shape of the abdominal muscles is also determined by the natural physiological structure. Students who are born with asymmetrical abdominal muscles cannot be corrected or changed by acquired training.
Tips
The key to determining the number and shape of your abs is the tendon stroke.
The tendon is a connective tissue that has no contractility and is primarily responsible for muscle attachment and fixation. The structure of the tendon draw helps strengthen the muscles and prevents the abs from tearing during strenuous exercise.
The number of tendon strokes determines the number of abdominal muscles, and the position of tendon strokes determines the shape and symmetry of the abdominal muscles, both of which are unchangeable factors.
In addition, although the tendon stroke determines the number and shape of the abdominal muscles, the tendon stroke does not completely split the muscles, so the rectus abdominis still moves together during exercise, and the abdominal muscles cannot be trained in blocks.
●Truth 3: Why does abdominal training make the waist thick?
In addition to trying hard to train the abdomen but no abdominal muscles, there is also a situation where the waist is getting thicker and thicker, let alone the abdominal muscles. This is because you are practicing in the wrong place!
In order to practice the mermaid line(external oblique muscle and internal oblique muscle)and vest line(rectus abdominis ), many friends have added various weight-bearing lifting or rotating movements such as dumbbell lateral flexion in abdominal training, hoping to achieve all-round, Train the abdominal muscles without omission. As a result, the mermaid line and the vest line have not yet been trained, but the waistline is increasing day by day.
Why is this? In fact, the sexy mermaid line you see is not completely practiced by practicing abdominal muscles. Like the vest line, if there is no low enough body fat, how good the mermaid line will not be revealed! In addition, if you want to have a sexy and slender waist and abdomen, you must practice less in your daily life, and it is best not to train your oblique muscles specially!
In the sit-up action, the oblique muscles have been stimulated a lot, and for the general population, there is no need to carry out special training for them.
The oblique and rectus abdominis are not the same. The rectus abdominis has a small growth potential, so it is difficult to train the waist thick, but the oblique muscle has a very strong growth potential.
And in other large muscle groups and heavy weight training(such as squats, deadlifts, and even traditional sit-ups, etc. ), the obliques have been involved and have been better stimulated. At this time, if you also add extra heavy-duty special training, then you don't have a thick waist who has a thick waist?!
You say you have thick muscles? With clothes on, who can tell if your thick waist is fat or muscle? After training hard, he is still regarded as a fat man (of course he is definitely healthier).
So, if you do n't want your waist to get thicker, don't deliberately train your obliques!
In addition, we also said in Chapter 2 that abdominal muscle training is generally placed after the training of large muscle groups. The main purpose is to deeply stimulate the abdominal muscles and sculpt details after strength training. Therefore, special abdominal muscle training, low weight, multiple repetitions, and multiple sets are the key.
Tips
core muscle training
Small weight, multiple reps, multiple sets; accurate movements and deep stimulation.
Hanging Leg Crunches(Crunches )
If you want to ask how the abdominal muscles should be trained, the first thing that comes to your mind is that, in all likelihood, sit-ups. It should be regarded as the most familiar abdominal muscle training exercise for most people. The advantage is that it can be done anytime and anywhere without equipment, and it has a good stimulating effect on the abdominal muscles when done correctly.
But crunches are also one of the most wrong moves in fitness training! Next, you can review and think about it, can you really do sit-ups? Where did you go wrong in training?
● Sit-ups neck pain?
Many people do sit-ups, but they do n't feel the waist, but they feel pain in the neck. This could be because you're in the wrong sit-up position.
The cervical vertebra has a normal physiological curve(cervical curve ), forcibly breaking it can easily lead to neck pain and even cervical vertebra injury! When doing sit-ups, holding your head with your hands, pulling your head with your hands to drive your upper body, or stretching your neck forward in order to save effort will put your cervical spine in a very unhealthy posture, which is the main reason for neck pain when doing sit-ups.
● Sit-ups back pain?
In correct sit-ups, the abdominal muscles contract concentrically during the sit-up stage, while the erector spinae of the back, which is an antagonistic muscle group, are eccentric contractions(the main form of muscle soreness after exercise ), so the sit-ups themselves will be caused by Irritating to the back and causing back pain.
In addition, the abs are physiologically responsible for curling the torso, so effective ab training should ensure that the abs are curled. However, when many people do sit-ups, they do not curl their abdomens, but their backs are stiff, straight up and down. The result is not the abdomen, but the hip flexors and lower back muscles, which will naturally make your back sore. pain.
● Do sit-ups with straight legs?
Many people are also accustomed to doing straight-leg sit-ups with the knees straight, but the problem is that during the straight-leg movement, due to mechanical and physiological reasons, the body will use more flexor muscles such as the iliopsoas to push itself. Pull it up, and that's a lot less effective on the abs (straight-leg movements are another cause of lower back pain).
As can be seen from the above figure, the training effect of bent-leg crunches on various parts of the abdominal muscles is significantly higher than that of straight-leg crunches [6].
Therefore, in order to stimulate the abdominal muscles more efficiently, sit-ups are best done with the legs bent!
● Sit-ups with feet fixed?
The traditional sit-up position that everyone is more familiar with is generally fixed with both feet. I remember when I was in physical education class when I was a child, the teacher would specially let the little friends work in pairs, and when one person did it, the other person was responsible for helping to fix the feet.
The common abdominal muscle training bench in the gym also has a sponge shaft for fixing the feet. Some TV shopping programs also often recommend that you buy the " Family Bed Sit-Up Abdominal Muscle Invincible Training Artifact " (a very long name), which, to put it bluntly, fixes your feet on the bed.
But I want to tell everyone that if you buy this " invincible training artifact ", your money may be wasted. Because studies have found that abdominal muscle training exercises that do not fix the feet are much more stimulating to the abdominal muscles than sit-ups that fix the feet.
Studies have found that sit-ups with unfixed feet are much better than those with fixed feet.
The reason is that if you fix your feet, the strong leg muscles will come in and replace the abdominal muscles to help you pull yourself up, and the training effect of the abdominal muscles will naturally be much worse.
As can be seen from the above figure, sit-ups with fixed feet will stimulate the rectus femoris more, indicating that the rectus femoris will be used during the movement, and the stimulation of the abdominal muscles will be reduced accordingly.
To sum up, a safe and efficient sit-up action should ensure that the knees are bent, the feet are not fixed, avoid pulling the head with the hands, and pay attention to the abdominal curl!
The one that meets the above conditions is the non -suspended leg crunch, which can be regarded as the best training action for the upper abdominal muscles. Hanging leg crunches require keeping your legs bent and not fixed during the movement, which can better stimulate the abdominal muscles than traditional sit-ups.
As can be seen from the above figure, the hanging leg crunch has the highest activation level on the upper part of the rectus abdominis, which is the optimal training action for the upper part of the rectus abdominis.
Tips
For advanced trainers who have a certain ability to control the abdominal muscles, they can also choose to straighten their arms during the movement to improve the activation level of the rectus abdominis.
Air cycling
Aerial cycling can be described as the optimal training action for the overall abdominal muscles. It has a good stimulating effect on the upper and lower rectus abdominis without any equipment.
The reason why the air bike is so superior is that it perfectly matches the physiological function of the abdominal muscles. We have said that as the most important core component, the real function of the abdominal muscles is to adjust the force of the upper and lower limbs, so as to optimize the generation, transmission and control of force.
In addition to keeping the whole abdomen fully curled during the movement, the air bike also has the characteristics of coordinating the upper and lower limbs. The movement trajectory during the movement is also in line with the way the rectus abdominis exerts force, which can effectively train the overall abdominal muscles.
As can be seen from the above figure, air cycling is the optimal training action for the overall abdominal muscles.
Elastic Band Abs Wheel
The abdominal muscle wheel is one of the most recommended small equipment in home abdominal muscle training. The characteristic of the abdominal muscle wheel training is that it is not only an efficient abdominal muscle training action, but can also comprehensively train the whole body.
In the abdominal muscle wheel training action, the muscle groups involved include core muscle groups such as rectus abdominis, obliques, erector spinae, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, shoulders, arms and other upper back muscles, and even It can also train lower body muscles such as buttocks, legs, etc., which is an efficient body shaping and fat-burning training exercise.
As an efficient abdominal muscle training, during the movement, you will slowly open the tight abdominal muscles in a controlled manner to strengthen the eccentric contraction.
Tips
Eccentric contractions are the most required and effective form of contraction in muscle shape and strength training. It guarantees the effect of strength training and the results of muscle shape training.
The enhanced eccentric contraction can make you find the training feeling of the abdominal muscles better and faster, and you will not end up with low back pain when you want to exercise the abdominal muscles. The version with the added elastic band makes your entire movement process slow and controllable.
The training action of the abdominal muscle wheel is completely in line with the strength characteristics of the abdominal muscles, and is suitable for advanced training of the abdominal muscles. During the movement, we must pay attention to the control of the muscles.
Because the action of the abdominal muscle wheel is relatively high-level, women or beginners can use the abdominal muscle wheel in kneeling position, or use a large-pound elastic band to assist, do not try to challenge forcibly to avoid danger.
There are many styles of abdominal muscle rounds. Beginners and those who want to train their abdominal muscles specifically can adopt multiple rounds of stable styles to increase the special activation of the rectus abdominis.
Elastic Band Crunches
The biggest feature of the elastic band crunch is to help you learn the standard force posture of the abdominal muscles and train the abdominal muscles better.
You know, the most important physiological function of the abdominal muscles is to flex, laterally flex and rotate the spine through contraction. The rectus abdominis is contracted by curling, so in our daily life, only the abdominal muscles that naturally bend the upper body into a " C " shape can effectively stimulate it.
The posture of " lifting up " the upper body straight doesn't do anything to the abdominal muscles at all.
The elastic belt rolls the abdomen. Through the control and help of the elastic belt, you can bend the abdominal muscles into a " C " shape during the movement, which will help you feel the force of the abdominal muscles, and naturally produce the abdominal muscles. most effective stimulus.
In addition, for beginners, since the load provided by the elastic band is positively related to the degree of force exerted by the abdominal muscles, during the process of exerting the force of the abdominal muscles, it can bring effective stimulation throughout the process, so the training effect is better.
When the abdominal muscles gradually return to the initial position, the load of the elastic band will also be reduced accordingly, so the stimulation and damage to the erector spinae of the lower back will be less, and it will not easily lead to soreness after training, and it is also safer.
Fitness ball crunch
As we mentioned earlier, the reason for low back pain when doing sit-ups, in addition to the non-standard movements, is also related to the presence of a large number of eccentric movements of the erector spinae during the movements.
As can be seen from the above figure, sit-ups have a stimulating effect on the erector spinae, which is also one of the reasons for low back pain caused by doing sit-ups.
The biggest feature of the fitness ball crunch is that the fitness ball rolls for buffering during the movement, and the erector spinae does not need to be in an eccentric state all the time.
In addition, during the exercise ball crunch, the curling of the torso and the unstable fulcrum of the exercise ball can better activate and train many deep muscle groups that maintain the balance of the lumbar spine, such as multifidus. This makes the training more effective, and also helps to relieve problems such as low back pain in daily life.
The stimulation of the erector spinae by the exercise ball crunch is greatly reduced, which can effectively reduce the impact on the erector spinae during the movement and avoid low back pain.
Resistance Band Mountain Climbers Exercise
Mountaineering with an elastic band on the ground can be regarded as a lean-over version of the aerial bike. It also stimulates the overall abdominal muscles. It is one of the best training movements for the overall abdominal muscles.
The advantage of the elastic band is that it can keep the back arched during the movement, so that the abdominal muscles are in a perfect " C " shape force posture. At the same time, the prone position can also reduce the leverage of the iliopsoas and other muscle groups, which can be more targeted and more effective in stimulating the abdominal muscles.
In addition, during the movement, the resistance provided by the elastic band can also help you find the feeling of the abdominal muscles more easily throughout the whole process, so that your training effect is better!
If it is said that the air cycling may also use the legs or the lumbar iliac muscles to assist, or the movements are not easy to standardize, and ordinary mountaineering may not make you feel the force of the rectus abdominis, then there is an elastic belt to assist It is absolutely worthwhile to hit your eight-pack abs with precise hits again and again without overly stimulating other muscle groups. you train!
Standing rectus abdominis stretch
The rectus abdominis stretch helps stimulate the growth of the rectus abdominis after abs training and doubles your training effect!
During the movement, pay attention to fully straighten the rectus abdominis!
Core
In addition to the rectus abdominis, the internal and external obliques, the erector spinae of the lower back, the multifidus, etc., as important parts of the core muscle group, are important for controlling and protecting the stability of our trunk and pelvis, preventing all kinds of low back pain, and helping you Upright and elegant posture, improve sports performance, etc., also play a very important role.
So, here are some of the best exercises for your core as a whole.
Plank
Many people know that the plank is a good exercise for training the abdominal muscles.
But in fact, its effect is far more than that. Compared with its training effect on the rectus abdominis, I prefer to call it the " Cosmic Thunderbolt Invincible Core Muscle Training Movement "(the effect of plank support on the rectus abdominis, but Probably not as good as the action-targeting we introduced earlier).
Compared with other movements, plank not only stimulates the rectus abdominis, but also stimulates other core muscles.
The biggest features of plank support are :
1. Almost all muscle groups in the core area can be trained;
2. Taking into account both stable and unstable training, the deep muscle groups can also be well stimulated;
3. Safe, no equipment, suitable for all ages, easy to use.
In fact, in the plank movement, since there are so many core muscle groups involved, as long as you ensure that the core muscles are taut, not sagging the waist, not loosening the abdomen, and not letting out the hips, no matter what posture you use, there will be A target core muscle group is focused on training, so it is very efficient!
For example, if you twist your core muscles to the left, you will more activate the left internal oblique, external oblique, erector spinae, multifidus, etc., while twisting to the right is the opposite; the center of gravity is stretched forward, the back, upper back, and shoulder muscles are efficiently activated; while the center of gravity is backward, the legs and buttocks muscles will be fully exercised.
Therefore, the point of plank support is not how " standard " it is, as long as the core muscles are tight and the waist is not slumped, no matter how the training is efficient!
Training suggestions :
1. Every plank should be exhausted, usually 3 to 5 sets;
2. Before strength training, it can increase the recruitment of core muscle groups and improve the effect of strength training;
3. After traditional strength training, the endurance index training effect of core muscle group is better.
Cross push-ups
The cross push-up can train almost all the core muscles of the back, and it is one of the best training movements for the lower back.
Tips
Flashback(acute low back sprain)is one of the most common core sports injuries and is closely related to the strength of the lower back. Having a strong lower back core is the key to keeping your spine in the correct position and preventing flashbacks.
In addition, the erector spinae, multifidus and other lower back muscles are also very effective in improving posture and posture, and can better correct problems such as hunchback and slumped waist, making your posture more beautiful, more confident, More upright!
For strength training, practicing the core muscles of the lower back will also help you better maintain the back arch when doing squats, deadlifts, etc., help the body exert strength, and prevent sports injuries. Therefore, the core muscles of the lower back are very important, and it is the key to practice the cross press well.
Standing straight forward bend
Standing straight back forward flexion is not only an effective training action for the lower back muscles and the hamstrings on the back of the thigh, but also an effective training action for correcting the forward pelvic tilt.
In our daily life, we spend too much time in front of the computer. As time goes by, our figure is also out of shape, hunched over like a crucible, looking neither beautiful nor confident. The action of standing straight back and forward bending can not only train the lower back, but also train almost all the muscle groups related to the posture on the back of the body, correcting your posture, allowing you to stand like a loose, sitting like a bell!
In addition, it should be noted that when training the lower back muscles with this movement, the distance between the feet should not be too wide, which can train the erector spinae more effectively.
Resistance Band Cable Wood Chop
I do not recommend that everyone(especially female friends and friends who do not want to exercise a thick waist)stimulate the internal and external oblique muscles in daily life with a large amount, special purpose, and heavy load, because it will make the waist more likely to be thick.
However, strong internal and external oblique muscles are also an important part of a strong core muscle group, especially for many sports enthusiasts, a large number of movements during exercise, such as boxing punches, tennis slams, volleyball smashes, and basketball drawbars Baskets, etc., all require strong abdominal oblique muscles to complete.
Therefore, oblique training is also necessary to some extent!
The action of elastic band rope logging requires not only the strength of your core muscles, but also the power of the lower limbs(glutes and legs)to be effectively transmitted to the ends of the upper limbs(hands)through the core muscles(waist and abdomen ), and the core muscles are needed. Controlling the relative stability of the trunk can stimulate a considerable number of core muscle groups, and has a good training effect on the overall core muscle group.
In addition, this action can stimulate the rectus abdominis and internal and external oblique muscles responsible for the rotation very well because of the need to rotate. Therefore, it is also a good choice for friends who want to strengthen the oblique muscles a little.
For sports enthusiasts, this action also simulates the actual situation on the sports field very well, and is a necessary training for many sports and sports stars!
Supine erector spinae stretch
The erector spinae stretch helps to strengthen the erector spinae stimulation after training, resulting in better training results.
In addition, in daily life, many people have long-term tension in the erector spinae due to sitting posture problems. Doing more erector spinae stretching will also help to better relax and soothe related muscle groups, strengthen the core, straighten your posture, and avoid posture problems such as pelvic misalignment and flashing waist.
