Самые эффективные упражнения на бицепс бедра. Исследования.

 

 

Особое внимание ученых, посвятивших бицепсу бедра целое исследование, вызвано тем фактом, что группы мышц бицепса бедра — одни из самых травмоопасных. Например, в легкой атлетике до 25% всех травм (в зависимости от конкретного спорта) приходится именно на эту группу мышц. Некоторые из исследователей предполагают, что основная причина травм — слабость мышц бицепса бедра и рекомендуют спортсменам их укреплять с помощью силовых тренировок.
Исследование.
Задачей исследования было выявить упражнения, которые бы максимально активировали бицепс бедра, а также определить уровень нагрузок в соотношении с квадрицепсами.
Для научных целей разыскали 34 атлета (21 мужского пола, и чёртову дюжину — слабого). У испытуемых проверили уровень мышечной силы бицепса бедра и квадрицепсов (maximum voluntary isometric contraction, MVIC), затем определили максимум на 6 повторов в упражнениях на ноги:
1. Присед (squat)
2. Сгибание ног в тренажере (seated leg curl)
3. Мертвая тяга (stiff leg dead lift)
4. Одноногая мертвая тяга (single leg stiff leg dead lift)
5. Наклоны вперед со штангой на плечах (good morning)
6. Подъем корпуса стоя на коленях в упоре (russian curl).

После этого все 34 испытуемых отдохнули 3 суток непосредственно перед исследованием. Затем, в ходе научного опыта атлеты делали все перечисленные упражнения со своей максимальной нагрузкой на 6 повторов. С помощью датчиков ученые измеряли электромагнитные импульсы, определяющие мышечную активность в разных упражнениях.
Результаты:

В результате был обнаружен огромный разброс задействования бицепса бедра в исследуемых упражнениях на мышцы ног.
В приведенной таблице показан уровень воздействия каждого из упражнений на мышцы бицепса бедра.(таб. 1)

Как вы видите наибольшую активность бицепса бедра вызывает упражнение, красиво звучащее на английском: Russian curl, но весьма коряво по-русски: «сгибание ног стоя на коленях в упоре» или «подъем корпуса стоя на коленях в упоре», а наименьший эффект дает базовый присед.

Второй аспект исследования: соотношение активности квадрицепса и бицепса бедра в различных упражнениях. Результаты также свели в таблицу.(таб. 2)

Суть показателей: таблица показывает соотношение активности бицепса бедра по отношению к активности квадрицепса в разных упражнениях.
В данном случае это показывает, что присед (squat ) больше других упражнений активизирует квадрицепсы, чем бицепс бедра. А упражнение Russian curl наоборот — больше всех остальных больше грузит бицепс бедра по сравнению с нагрузкой на квадрицепс.

 

 

Thicken Your Upper and Middle Back

With Bent Over Barbell Rows 

By Stephen E. Alway, Ph.D., FACSM

The back is comprised of a lot of muscles and to work them well requires an enormous amount of energy. However, your torso cannot have a strong frame without a strong back. A solid back can help stabilize your torso so that you can lift greater loads in other exercises (e.g., squats and presses).

There are not many exercises better than the barbell rows for developing middle and upper back thickness and strength. Rowing is an effective activator of all middle back muscles, especially the latissimus and teres major and trapezius muscles of the back.

ANATOMY LESSON

The latissimus dorsi (lats) covers all of the middle and much of the lower parts of the back.1 The latissimus dorsi is attached inferiorly (at its bottom) to the thoracic vertebrae of the spine and the iliac crest of the hip bones and the lower three to four ribs. The fibers converge like a fan and attach on the upper (superior) portion of the humerus bone of the upper arm.1,2 It forms the majority of the width of the upper back inferior to the axilla (arm pit). The fibers of the latissimus dorsi have different angles of pull depending on where they attach. In general, the primary function of all of the fibers when they act together in barbell rowing is to extend the humerus (pull the upper arm backward).

The teres muscle attaches along the medial border of the scapula, and runs to the same region of the humerus bone as the latissimus dorsi.1,2 Barbell rows activate the arm extension function of the teres major, but it is important to pull the bar up as high as possible if you want to fully activate this muscle.

Although rowing activates hosts of other small back and shoulder muscles,3 the largest of the group is the trapezius muscle.4 This flat diamond-shaped muscle begins at the base of the skull and extends from the cervical (neck) vertebrae to the last (12th) thoracic vertebrae in the back. It attaches to the lateral part of the clavicle (collar bone) and along the medial border of the scapula.2 The middle part of the trapezius muscle is most active in barbell rowing because it pulls the scapula towards the vertebral column (by squeezing the scapula together) at the top part of the row.

THE EXERCISE: BENT OVER BARBELL ROW

1. Place a loaded barbell on the floor with your feet under the bar, about shoulder-width apart.

2. Bend over from the waist and flex your knees and hips to reach the bar. There should be a flat line from your shoulders to your hips.

3. Place your hands in a pronated position around the barbell (palms facing downward), with a grip that is only slightly wider than your shoulders.

4. Straighten your knees until your back is just about 10 degrees above parallel to the floor. Do not straighten your knees completely, as they should remain slightly flexed to absorb torque in the lower back that will be created by the exercise.

5. Pull your elbows away from the ribs so that there is a straight line running from one arm to the other. Pull the barbell up towards the mid part of your chest (in line with the edge of your lower pectoralis and not your abdomen). At the finish (highest point in the lift), there should be a straight line between both shoulders and the elbows.

6. From the top position, return the barbell slowly towards the floor (3-4 seconds) but do not let the bar hit it. Attempt to obtain a stretch in the upper back with the bar in the lowest position. Do not move the lower back (i.e., this is not a deadlift) but make sure the stretch is in the middle and upper back. Pull the weight back to the chest for the next repetition.

RX TIP

It is very important to prevent the lower back from moving as the weight is being lifted or lowered, as excessive movement in the spine will reduce latissimus work and risk lower back injury. Starting with your torso at about 30 degrees above a position that is parallel to the floor will increase the activation of the teres major and middle-upper trapezius while reducing the activation of the lowest fibers of the latissimus. A closer hand position (more narrow than shoulder width) will increase the range of motion for the latissimus muscles but it may also increase arm (biceps) fatigue, which will limit the work on the back.

References:

1. Agur, AMR and MJ Lee. “Grants Atlas of Anatomy”. Tenth Edition. Philadelphia. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 1999, pp. 442-453.
2. Moore, K.L. and A.F. Dalley II. Clinically oriented Anatomy. Fourth Edition. Baltimore, Lippincott Williams & Williams, 1999, pp. 690-697.
3. So RC, Tse MA, Wong SC: Application of surface electromyography in assessing muscle recruitment patterns in a six-minute continuous rowing effort. J Strength Cond Res 2007;21:724-730.
4. Wages NP, Beck TW, Ye X et al: Resting mechanomyographic amplitude for the erector spinae and trapezius muscles following resistance exercise in a healthy population. Physiol Meas 2013;34:1343-1350.
5. Ratamess NA, Chiarello CM, Sacco AJ et al: The effects of rest interval length manipulation of the first upper-body resistance exercise in sequence on acute performance of subsequent exercises in men and women. J Strength Cond Res 2012;26:2929-2938.
6. Romano N, Vilaca-Alves J, Fernandes HM et al: Effects of resistance exercise order on the number of repetitions performed to failure and perceived exertion in untrained young males. J Hum Kinet 2013;39:177-183.

Illustrations by William P. Hamilton, CMI

- See more at: http://fitnessrxformen.com/health/muscle-form-function/thicken-your-upper-and-middle-back/#sthash.KOHXsiRP.dpuf

Grow Your Tris

With Skull Crushers

By Stephen E. Alway, PhD,

Lifters who construct their training around the idea that a well-constructed upper arm is only a rock-hard biceps really limit the potential of their upper arm. This is because the triceps has one-third more muscle fibers and has a greater genetic potential for overall growth and shape than the genetically smaller biceps. Many triceps exercises can preferentially activate the lateral or medial aspects of this three-headed muscle. Lying triceps extensions, or “skull crushers” as they are frequently called (for good reason), is an exercise that hits all of the regions of the triceps almost uniformly.

ANATOMY LESSON

The main function of the triceps brachii muscle is to extend the forearm at the elbow joint. The triceps is a three-headed muscle (tri=three; ceps = heads). The fibers in all three muscle heads taper to attach to a common triceps tendon. The tendon crosses the elbow joint to anchor on the olecrenon on the ulna bone of the forearm. This position on the posterior (back) side of the elbow joint makes the triceps brachii muscle the primary extender of the forearm at the elbow (straightens the elbow joint).

The long head of the triceps brachii (often called the “inner head”) begins on the scapula (shoulder blade) just inferior to (below) the head of the humerus bone at the shoulder joint. Because this muscle belly crosses the shoulder joint posteriorly, the arm should be moved posteriorly into shoulder extension (i.e., arms and elbows back) to fully stretch and activate this muscle head.

The lateral head of triceps brachii creates the outside (lateral) boundary of the triceps. Its fibers run from a small section of bone on the posterior part of the humerus (upper arm bone) starting about two-thirds of the way toward the shoulder joint and stopping short of the shoulder joint.

The medial head of the triceps brachii is positioned deeper and between the other two heads of the triceps. It encompasses two-thirds of upper and posterior part of the humerus bone. This muscle becomes thicker as it approaches the shoulder.

THE EXERCISE: SKULL CRUSHERS (Lying Triceps Extensions)

1. Lay on your back on a flat bench. Straighten your elbows and hold a barbell over your chest, as if you were at the top part of a bench press. Move your hands close together so that there is about 3 inches between your thumbs. The palms of your hands should be facing in a pronated position (palms facing away from your face). Most people will prefer to use a thumbless grip rather than wrapping the thumbs around the bar. Instead of a straight bar, you can use an E-Z bar and take a close pronated grip on the bent part of the bar. The E-Z bar makes it a little easier on your wrists as you are lowering the weight.

2. Position the barbell so that it is now over your eyes (with your elbows still straight). Keep the elbows pointed toward your feet and the upper arm (i.e., humerus bone) should be perpendicular to the floor. Keep the upper arm in this position as you slowly bend the elbows and lower the bar toward your forehead. The elbow should point up toward the ceiling and not toward your feet as the bar is lowered toward your forehead. If you let your upper arm drop (so it is not longer perpendicular to the floor) this elbow position will not be correct.

3. Continue the slow, controlled descent of the bar, but stop just before the knuckles of your hands touch your forehead. Try to keep your elbows pointing toward the ceiling and do not let them drift out to the side as the hands approach your forehead.

4. Reverse the bar’s direction by pushing the weight upward with the triceps and straightening the elbows. The hands should be in a line that is directly over your eyes as the bar is moving upward. Stop the movement of the bar just short of completely locking out the elbow before returning the bar slowly toward your forehead.

RX TIP

As indicated earlier, you can choose to do this exercise with an E-Z curl bar instead of a straight barbell. Many people will find that the E-Z bar is more comfortable on the wrists. However, you need to be aware that this hand position will move the elbows more to the sides, and this tends to shift some of the emphasis toward the lateral head of the triceps and de-emphasize the long head of the triceps. Thus, you will need to evaluate your own triceps needs and determine the best bar for you in this exercise.

If you have always started your arm workout by training the biceps, perhaps it is time to mix things up a bit and begin your arm days with triceps training. The reason is that if you wait until you have already hit a few body parts, your energy and strength will wane just a bit (relative to starting fresh in the gym), so that your triceps will continue to lag and not quite ever reach their potential. That is not to say that you should always do the triceps early in a workout, but if you are specializing on this region, you should try to maximize your gains.

References:
Alway SE, WH Grumbt, J. Stray-Gundersen and WJ Gonyea, Contrasts in muscle and myofibers of elite male and female bodybuilders. J Appl Physiol, 67:27-311, 1989.
Bottas R, Nicol C, Komi PV and Linnamo V. Adaptive changes in motor control of rhythmic movement after maximal eccentric actions. J Electromyogr Kinesiol, 2007.
Gentil P, Oliveira E, de Araujo RJ, V, do CJ and Bottaro M. Effects of exercise order on upper-body muscle activation and exercise performance. J Strength Cond Res, 21: 1082-1086, 2007.
Guazzelli FJ, Dias GA, Rodrigues JA, Goncalves M and Bull ML. Electromyographic analysis of the arm muscles in “back support” exercises. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol, 47: 337-340, 2007.
Jaskolski A, Andrzejewska R, Marusiak J, Kisiel-Sajewicz K and Jaskolska A. Similar response of agonist and antagonist muscles after eccentric exercise revealed by electromyography and mechanomyography. J Electromyogr Kinesiol, 17: 568-577, 2007.
Oliveira AD and Goncalves M. EMG amplitude and frequency parameters of muscular activity: Effect of resistance training based on electromyographic fatigue threshold. J Electromyogr Kinesiol, 2008.
Moore KL and AF Daley. Clinical Orientated Anatomy, 4th edition. Lippincott William s & Wilkins, Philadelphia, pp.665-724, 1999.
Rasch PJ. Kinesiology and Applied Anatomy, 7th edition. Philadelphia, London. Lea & Febiger, pp.117-120, 1989.

- See more at: http://fitnessrxformen.com/health/muscle-form-function/grow-your-tris/#sthash.385r2S8u.dpuf

TRY THESE KETTLEBELL WORKOUT SPLITS FOR MAJOR MUSCLE GAINS

 http://breakingmuscle.com/kettlebells/kettlebell-hypertrophy

Andrew Read

Contributor - Master RKC, Athletic Adventurer

Kettlebells get a bad rap when it comes to building large amounts of muscle. People wrongly believe that because the heaviest kettlebell you can commonly find is 48kg that they must be useless for gaining large chunks of meat. 

Kettlebells are heavy enough, and here’s why.

Kettlebells Versus Barbells

Despite the heaviest bells typically being 48kg, 96kg of kettlebells doesn’t feel the same as 96kg using a barbell. The kettlebell’s offset shape means that instead of the load being lifted almost directly in line with the joints, as with a barbell, it needs to travel a much more difficult path to get overhead. And because of the way kettlebells tend to pull your arms backward while pressing, the body has to overcome much more than just the physical weight of the bell. 

For those who have never tried pressing bigger bells overhead, it feels more like trying to arm wrestle than lifting weights because of these forces. The body recognizes effort not load, so as long as the tool being lifted is difficult, the body will respond. 

"It doesn’t need to be maximal fatigue to the point of concentric or technical breakdown, but fatigue needs to be present to stimulate protein synthesis." 

The bottom line is that unless you’re one of the rare people who can perform multiple reps with two Beasts (48kg bells), you’ve still got more than enough weight to pick from for hypertrophy work. As an example, Donnie Thompson is reputed to use two 40kg bells for assistance squat work for sets of ten reps. Likewise Andy Bolton and Brad Gillingham have spoken of using kettlebells for assistance work in their quests for maximum strength and muscle mass. 

Time Under Tension Leads to Hypertrophy

Studies such as this one from The Journal of Physiology show clearly that time under tension is a key factor in muscle growth. The neat thing about this study is that it also stated:

[M]aximal fiber activation cannot be viewed as the exclusive driver of myofibrillar protein synthesis rates. It appears exercise volume is yet another fundamental variable that promotes p70S6K phosphorylation and a prolonged elevation of myofibrillar protein synthesis rates.

But these training methods don’t come without drawbacks. Anyone who has used a Super Slow training method will tell you what happens if you stick with it for too long - you lose strength. Older lifters will remember what happened when Charles Poliquin went down this path with his German Volume Training template years ago. Yes, people gained muscle, but they often lost a huge amount of strength in the process. 

Here’s a look at how time under tension relates to different training adaptations: 

Hypertrophy Basics

Two things will always be constant when it comes to hypertrophy training:

1. You need to cause fatigue in the muscles. It doesn’t need to be maximal fatigue to the point of concentric or technical breakdown, but fatigue needs to be present to stimulate protein synthesis. 
2. Once the body has sent the signal to upgrade the amount of protein in the muscle, it needs to be fed. Hardcore eating needs to go alongside hardcore training if you want to get swole, bro. 

Unlike the study cited above though, which used loads as low as 30% of 1RM, we want to try to keep as much strength as possible during this process. Looking at the chart above, we typically want to use a weight that is 60-85% of our maximum if we’re looking for both strength and hypertrophy. Even better, we’d ideally use a weight around 70-85%. That’s most likely a weight we can handle for 6-10 reps. 

"For a massive upper body boost, pair all the exercises with pull ups for active rest."

When it comes to hypertrophy we also know that multiple sets works better than a single set does. We also know that multiple sets works better for strength gains than single sets.There is also some research to indicate that a higher frequency is warranted for trained individuals (this study also looks at the possibility of women, in particular, benefitting from multiple daily sessions to increase both strength and size). 

Given all that, the program we would ideally use is one of high frequency and relatively high volume. We want a morning training session and an evening one that attack the same muscular action. As an example, I’ll use the most iconic kettlebell exercise of all, and the one that Enter the Kettlebell is all about - the press. 

Morning Workout

Double kettlebell press - 3 sets of 10RM. Use a weight you can just handle for a set of 10 for the first set. The following two sets, if you’ve picked the right weight, you won’t get 10 reps. Your reps will look something more like 10, 8, 7 for the three sets. 

Double kettlebell see saw press - 3 sets of 10RM. Because see saw press is performed alternating arms, you’ll do 20 total reps here, or 10 each side. Again, if you pick a weight you can just get 10 reps with for the first set, then you shouldn’t be able to get all your reps on the second and third sets. See saw press allows you to use slightly heavier weights than the double press does, so don’t be scared to go up a bell size if you can for this movement. 

Double kettlebell jerks – 3 sets of 20RM. Ballistic exercises behave a little differently than grinds. Because of the speeds involved, you need to do double the number of reps to get enough time under tension. So, pick a weight you can achieve 20 reps with for your first set. 

On all exercises try to minimize rest to one to two minutes only. Research is not conclusive to how much rest is ideal, but to stimulate fatigue taking longer rests of two or more minutes never gets the same response. 

Afternoon Workout

Double kettlebell complex:

1. Presses x 5 reps
2. Push presses x 5 reps
3. Jerks x 5 reps
4. Snatches x 5 reps

Do five rounds, taking two minutes rest between rounds. Pick bells equivalent to your 10RM (most likely the bells you used for your morning presses). 

Consistency First

Perform these morning and afternoon routines twice per week for up to six weeks before cycling onto a higher intensity-lower volume routine. For a massive upper body boost, pair all the exercises with pull ups for active rest. 

Check out these related articles:

• Hypertrophy Is Not a Bad Word: Functional Hypertrophy Training
• Everything You Need to Know About Supersets for Hypertrophy
• The Line Between Hypertrophy and Strength Is More Grey Than Black
• What's New On Breaking Muscle

References:

1. Nicolas Burd, et. al., "Muscle time under tension stimulates muscle protein sub-fractional responses in men," The Journal of Physiology, (2011), last accessed February 24, 2015.

2. JW Krieger, "Single vs. multiple sets of resistance exercise for hypertrophy: a meta-analysis," The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, (2010), last accessed February 24, 2015.

3. MR Rhea, et. al., "Three sets of weight training superior to 1 set with equal intensity for elliciting strength," The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, (2002), las accessed February 24, 2015.

4. K Hakinen and M Kallinen, "Distribution of strength training volume into two daily sessions and neuromuscular adaptations in female athletes," Electromyography and Clinical Neurophysiology, (1994), last accessed February 24, 2015.

Photo 1 courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

Why Won’t My 40 Inch Box Jump Get Me In The NFL Draft?

http://excelsior-fitness.com/2015/02/08/why-wont-my-40-inch-box-jump-get-me-in-the-nfl-draft/

Posted by Jason Breen

You just jumped 40 inches.  Awesome!!!  Was that on the box jump or the vertical jump test?

If it was on the box jump – cool, grab your phone and post it to YouTube.

If it was on the vertical jump test – OMG, grab an agent and sign a multimillion dollar sports contract.

Your feet were 40 inches off the ground in both cases, so why the big difference?  Let me give you a little perspective: In the first case, you are among the top 10% of athletes at your local CrossFit box.  In the second, you are among the top 10% of athletes in the 2015 NFL Combine.  These stats represent the practical difference between the two feats. Accomplishing the first can seriously change your day (I know that PRing always put a perma-grin on my face).  The second can seriously change your educational opportunities and tax bracket. But here are some additional noteworthy differences.

Many coaches believe that one’s vertical jump is the best and most reliable indicator of their athletic ability. In professional sports, the industry standard for the assessing this ability if the vertical jump test (also called the Sergeant Jump Test).  The box jump, on the other hand, is a relatively moderate intensity plyometric exercise that is safe for many people to perform and is useful for developing strength and power.   There is a functional difference between the two.  The vertical jump test is an assessment used to test ability. The box jump is an exerciseuse to develop ability.  Often times we confuse testing our ability with developing it and vice versa.

There is also a kinematic difference between the vertical jump and the box jump.   This is probably what you really want to know when you asked about the difference between them.   The easiest way to illustrate the kinematic difference between the box jump and the vertical jump test is by analogy. While he box jump is similar to jumping over a hurdle, the vertical jump test is similar to jumping to blocking a shot in volley ball.  In the first instance, your primary concern is clearing an obstacle on the ground.  In the second, it is reaching a target above your head.  Given that the tasks are different, the kinds of movement most effective for accomplishing the tasks are also different.   To clear the obstacle the hurdler merely has to get her feet and posterior over the obstacle. She can accomplish this by flexing her hips and pulling her feet up to her posterior at the top of her jump. Theoretically, if the hurdler’s posterior is higher than the obstacle and she is flexible enough, she would not need to move her head and torso upwards at all.  But the volleyball player needs to move her whole body up in order to reach the target.  If her hand is still below the ball, then pulling her feet to her hips is not going to help, and adding hip flexion will just waste some of her energy. So unlike the hurdler, the volleyball player’s hips are fully extended at the top of her jump.  The tasks are different, thus the movements are different.  A great box jump can be achieved by having great flexibility at the hip.  A great vertical jump test score demands that the athlete powerfully extend her hips.

When training with the box jump, you should be conscious of which movement you are doing.  Are you clearing the box by flexing or extending your hips?   It’s fun to jump onto ever higher boxes, but your new PR may not be the product of an increase in strength and power.  You might be getting better at bringing your feet to your butt rather than getting better at jumping higher.  To ensure that you’re truly adding inches to your vertical and developing power, try incorporating some jumping-to-a-target drills into your training.  These drills shouldn’t be maximal effort attempts, like the vertical jump test (remember the difference between training and testing).  A good drill may be to do burpees where you have to jump and reach a target, such as a gymnastics ring, suspended six inches above your reach.

Incorporating jumping-to-a-target drills in your workout  will help you realize the most important difference between vertical jumps and box jumps: performance difference. An athlete who scores 40 inches on the vertical jump test is able to reach heights that are literally head and shoulders above the one who can merely box jump 40 inches.  This translates into blocking more shots in volleyball, the legendary hang time of Michael Jordan in basketball, winning the header from the corner in soccer, and intercepting the touchdown pass in football.  It translates to the beauty of a well-executed play and the thrill of victory.

How to Box Jump:

1. The Set-up: Stand with arms loosely at your sides, your feet shoulder-width apart, at a comfortable distance from the box.
2. The Jump: Drop into a quarter squat, then quickly extend your hips and knees, swing your arms forward and up, and push your feet through the floor to jump.
3. The Landing: Land in shoulder-width stance with your knees in line with your toes. Try not to land hard or “stick” the landing. You will know if you land hard by the loud bang emanating from your feet. Instead, try to land quietly.  Get in touch with your inner ninja.
4. The Dismount: Step back off the box to the floor and re-establish your set-up position.

How to conduct the vertical jump test:

1. The athlete warms up for 10 minutes
2. The athlete chalks the end of his/her finger tips
3. The athlete stands side onto the wall and, keeping both feet on the ground, reaches up as high as possible with one hand and marks the wall with the tips of the fingers (M1)
4. The athlete, from a static position, jumps as high as possible and marks the wall with the chalk on his/her fingers (M2)
5. The assistant measures and records the distance between M1 and M2
6. The athlete repeats the test 3 times
7. The assistant calculates the average of the recorded distances and uses this value  to assess the athlete’s performance

For some amazing examples of vertical jumping power check out his video by Sport Scicence

FLAT TUMMY TRAINING

Exercises Targeting The Transverse Abdominis

BY JESSIE HILGENBERG

Sir Mix-A-Lot approves of doing side bends and sit-ups – but that doesn’t mean your tummy will become flat if you do them.

I’ve got news for you – the ONLY way to get a flat stomach is through a healthy diet and the CORRECT abdominal exercises. A thousand crunches will not get you there.

Most people focus on the rectus abdominis when training abs. This muscle is the most superficial – it runs down the front of your torso and is your visual “six pack abs.” While it is important to train this along with all other core and abdominal exercises for proper core strength and stability (and to look awesome) – it is actually NOT the way to flatten your stomach.

The one you want to focus on is your transverse abdominis. This is your deepest of all abdominal muscles and wraps around your stomach & spine horizontally. It is the one responsible for pulling in and “tightening up” the lower abs. When it is weak (this happens with age and/or during pregnancy as your belly expands), your lower belly will “pooch” out. Specific and consistent transverse abdominis exercises will help pull everything back tight again and get you on your way back to a six pack!

Below are my four favorite exercises for working this muscle – you can do all of them in one workout or add a few into your workouts throughout the week!

Reverse crunches with an oblique twist

Reverse crunches engage your lower abs and adding the twist will give you an extra kick working your obliques. Lie on your back with your hands tucked under your butt and your knees bent. Bring your legs up into the air at a 90° angle from your torso, pull your belly button in toward your spine while you do a pelvic tilt to lift your butt and hips off the ground with your feet aiming for the ceiling.

Aim for 15-20 reps

Plank variations

Planks stimulate your entire core, including the muscles in your back. Facing the ground, hold yourself up on your forearms and the balls of your feet, with your body in one straight line from the top of your head down to your heels. Pull your belly button in toward your spine and don’t forget to breathe.

My favorite plan variation for the transverse abdominis is the plank with knee tuck. From your plank position, lift one foot off the ground keeping the leg straight. Hold it there for a 1-2 second count and slowly drive the knee of the lifted leg toward your chin. Hold the knee there under your torso while keeping your perfect plank form for a 1-2 second count, then slowly return to the starting position with your toes on the ground. Repeat on the opposite leg and continue to alternate.

Aim for 30-90 second holds on standard planks and 15-20 reps per side on knee tucks.

Bicycle abs

Start by lying on your back with your elbows bent and hands by your ears or resting lightly on the nape of your neck. Bring your knees up to form a 90 degree angle and crunch up and twist bringing opposite elbow to opposite knee, performing a bicycle motion with your legs. Keep your belly button pulled in toward your spine and breathe.

Repeat for 20 reps per side.

Flutter kicks

Lie flat on your back with your legs extended, a slight bend in your knees, elbows bent and hands by your ears or resting lightly on the nape of your neck. Lift your shoulders off the floor, keeping your neck in line with your spine and begin moving your legs up and down (keeping the slight bend in your knees), alternating right and left in a fluttering motion while you keep your belly button pulled in toward your spine and breathe.

Repeat for 20 reps per side.