What are abdominal muscles?
Abdominal muscles are muscles in the wall of your stomach. Strong abs are crucial for some sports, and can also be useful in daily life. They give you better posture, as there is less pressure on your spine. Also, your abs help support your lower back. If you’re familiar with various fitness exercises, you’ll know that almost all exercises require you to keep your back straight. Strong abs help with this.
The transverse abdominal muscle, also known as the muscle corset, connects the left and right sides. They are also connected to the back muscles. The oblique abdominal muscles have some important functions: they stabilize the torso and maintain internal abdominal pressure. Furthermore, these muscles keep the intestines in place and play a small role in abdominal breathing.
• Oblique Abdominal Muscles:
The oblique abdominal muscles, or obliquus abdominis muscle, are located on the sides of the rectus abdominis and run from the lower ribs to the pubic area. These abdominal muscles are actually two ‘layers’: the internal and external oblique muscles. What makes these muscles so important is that they are responsible for rotating and bending the entire torso sideways.
• Rectus Abdominis:
The rectus abdominis muscle is a long muscle that covers the entire front abdominal wall. This is the outer layer of the abdominal muscles. This allows movements such as bending forward or backward to be done effortlessly. When you contract this muscle you see the so-called bumps of the ‘six-pack’.
How do I get a six-pack?
Anyone can have visible abs, it all depends on how much fat you have covering them. To get visible abs, you need to reduce your body fat percentage. You do this by consuming fewer calories than you burn. This is also known as cutting. You can easily calculate your calorie needs with our calculator.
How often should I train my abs?
In daily life, you engage your core more often than you might think. With lifting, bending, stretching, etc., you engage your abdominal muscles each time. However, this load is not enough to make the abdominal muscles grow. You also need to train them. Like any other muscle, the abs also need rest. Adding abdominal exercises to your training schedule 3 times a week is a good starting point. Training your abs for 10 to 15 minutes 2 to 3 times a week will definitely help you bring out those abs eventually!
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