Equipment for abdominal muscle training in the gym

Some people choose to train their abdominal muscles at home, while others prefer to go to the gym to train their abdominal muscles, because when they go to the gym, they will be surrounded by people who like fitness, which will make them more motivated to train their abdominal muscles. Another benefit of training abdominal muscles in the gym is that there are many fitness machines in the gym, and some of them are specifically designed for training abdominal muscles. So what are the fitness equipment for abdominal muscle training in the gym?

Abdominal Crunches and Twists

Abs crunch machine

The abdominal crunch machine is a common fitness equipment in gyms, also known as the abdominal crunch machine or abdominal crunch chair. For abdominal muscle training, the crunch machine is a basic training equipment, which has many advantages for abdominal muscle training.

First of all, because you can use the strength of your hands to minimize the chance of sports injuries, it is especially suitable for fitness beginners.

Secondly, the neck and spine are always close to the backboard, making abdominal exercises accurate and effective, and reducing unnecessary neck burden during abdominal exercises.

You can then freely adjust the weight of the discus, gradually progressing from light to heavy.

Note:

Many people, once sitting on this type of equipment, just adjust the weight and then move it up and down, completely ignoring the height of the seat and whether the whole movement is appropriate.

If it is the type with a rubber pad in the front, the height of the pad should be just below the sternum, and the sitting position should also be adjusted. It is best to lean your body slightly backward at the beginning of the movement. If your body leans forward at the beginning of the movement, the whole movement may cause the spine to bend too much, which may easily cause injury to the lower back and problems with body posture.

If it is a machine with a pair of handles that you can bring down to do crunches, it is best to choose one with a back pad that is slightly tilted backwards. Of course, the height of the seat can also be adjusted as above.

Torso rotation

machine)

Weighted body rotation is an effective way to exercise the external oblique muscles. Gyms generally have corresponding equipment that can perform similar body rotation movements.

Action essentials:

1. Adjust the seat height and rotation range, keep your head up, chest out, and back straight.

2. Turn your body left and right by bending your waist sideways, with a range of about 45 degrees. Braking is required at the very end of the movement.

3. Breathe naturally and don’t hold your breath.

Note:

Rotate with control, keeping your abs tight to avoid straining.

If it makes a discus-smacking sound when you use it, you are almost certainly using it incorrectly. Because this type of equipment usually has a fixed tension range of approximately 45 to 90 degrees, and it definitely does not allow you to rotate 180 degrees left or right.

The place where the discus hits the target is the end of the pulling force range. If you continue to turn it, there will be no effective pulling force at all.

Of course, other small equipment and auxiliary equipment in the gym can be used to help you exercise your abdominal muscles: such as weighted barbell plates, suspended single and double bars, fitness balls, cables, etc.

Abdominal muscle exercises

Rectus abdominis (also known as the eight-pack abs)

Some people like to compare the rectus abdominis to two parts, upper and lower. The rectus abdominis is actually one whole muscle.

The rectus abdominis originates from the cartilage of the 5th, 6th, and 7th ribs at the lower end of the chest and ends at the upper edge of the pubic symphysis. The function of the rectus abdominis is to flex the spine. To exercise the target muscles is to allow the muscles to contract and stretch to the maximum extent (at the starting and ending points). In other words, all you need to do is to move the rectus abdominis between the pubic bone and the thoracic vertebrae.

Recommended exercises: Crunches and reverse crunches (crunches move your chest toward your pubic bone, while reverse crunches move your pubic bone toward your chest.)

Obliques (internal and external)

The internal and external obliques are responsible for lateral flexion and rotation of the trunk, controlling the movement of the body's center of gravity. They are located on either side of the abdomen and can be practiced through rotations and side bends. For example: Russian twist, side bend, side crunch, T-bar twist, etc.

Transverse Abdomen: Deep in the abdomen, invisible to the naked eye

The function of the transverse abdominal muscle is to stabilize the torso and keep the abdominal cavity stable when standing, lifting heavy objects, sneezing, coughing, and laughing. This part of the muscles is the most important but often overlooked. In fact, we have the transverse abdominal muscles to maintain stability when doing any exercise, especially when doing large muscle group exercises, such as squats, deadlifts and presses.