The burning desire to have muscular, toned, and visually appealing abs is a common goal. This goal can be driven by factors such as societal expectations, trends, personal preferences, better health, or a subconscious desire to be perfect. In short, despite gender differences, women and men crave a flat stomach and often end up in the gym doing abs workouts.
What Is Abs Workout?
Ab workout exercises engage the four abdominal muscles: rectus, internal oblique, external oblique, and transverse abdominis. There is confusion, though sometimes people confuse the abs workout with the core workout. However, they are different! Core workouts engage the whole midsection back and front, while ab workout exercises only focus on the abdominal muscles (front).
There are a number of compound and isolated abdominal exercises that engage the abs and tone the abdominal muscles. In addition, abdominal workouts can be done with weight and without them, for example, bodyweight exercises, workouts on machines, swiss balls, and ab wheels. Some of the most popular abs exercises are:
- Planks (abdominal exercises)
- Crunches (abs workout)
- Leg Raises (lower ab workouts)
- Russian Twists(abdominal exercises)
- Core Rotation (abs workout)
The primary goals of these exercises are to strengthen the abdominal muscle, enhance physical fitness, and achieve more toned 6-pack abs.
10 Abs Workout Mistakes That You Should Avoid
Toned abs are a work of art that cannot be achieved quickly; no one has ever said you can achieve it quickly. Sometimes, even if you are working out regularly in the gym or at home for six-pack abs, you are still looking for the results you are looking for. That is because abdominal fat is not this easy to get rid of. Secondly, we subconsciously make some big mistakes that nullify our workout effects.
Even people at advanced fitness levels make some mistakes without realising it. Below are 10 common mistakes that you should avoid at all costs.
1. Not Paying Attention To Nutrition And A Healthy Diet
When we talk about losing fat and getting fit, nutrition and a healthy diet cannot be neglected. Any fitness goal cannot be achieved without the help of the proper diet. If you want a strong core and defined six-pack abs, you must pay attention to health first. A healthy and balanced diet composed of protein, fibre, and all the essential nutrients is a must to achieve your dreams.
Furthermore, it is crucial to start focusing on your intake because a consistent, rich diet, cutting out all processed foods, will help you achieve core strength and six-pack abs more effectively than an endless number of planks.
2. You Are Not Engaging Your Core
There are many abdominal exercises and a variety of abs workouts out there, but how you do them significantly affects your abs. For instance, doing crunches with a rounded back will not benefit you in achieving the desired results. That describes the importance of the correct form of your exercise.
Similarly, squatting with your knees caved in will not be effective either. It is important to focus on the correct form and technique when exercising. Hence, add all those exercises in your abs workout that engage all the muscles properly. Due to this fact, gym freaks wear weightlifting belts for better focus on the abdominal muscles.
3. Only Working On Core Isolation Exercises
As mentioned earlier, core and abs exercises are not the same, but performing core exercises also works on the abs. According to a Pubmed Study, compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and pressing do not activate rectus muscles like a focused abs workout. Hence, relying solely on core exercises for the abs is a big mistake.
However, to optimise your ab workout, you may add compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously. This approach will enhance overall core strength and promote functional fitness.
4. Only Doing Abs Every Single Day
When we do intense exercise, it causes microscopic tears in our muscle fibres, which need time to repair and rebuild. This is why we experience DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). To give them recovery time, we don’t continuously work out on the same group of muscles for 2-3 days in a row. The same rule of thumb applies to the abs workout.
Working out abs muscles every single day is a huge mistake because it will hinder your progress. Resting a muscle group for a day or more boosts blood circulation, reduces inflammation, and promotes growth. Moreover, taking a day or two breaks to rest will prevent burnout and lower injury risk.
5. Breathing Mistakes
One common mistake we unconsciously make is holding our breath during abs workouts, which lowers the effectiveness of the exercises. Proper breathing is an element we cannot neglect when we talk about effective abs workouts. It regulates the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our body and ensures that all muscles receive the required oxygen amount.
In addition, when we work out, our muscles need more oxygen to meet the enhanced demand, so we need to breathe 5-6 times more than usual. This helps our body efficiently remove carbon dioxide, a waste product of energy production.
6. Neglecting Cardio
Neglecting cardio is never a better start to the workout, but it is especially detrimental when you are working for very defined 6-pack abs. Cardio is not only a great way to warm up muscles for a better workout, but it also helps burn the layer of fat that covers the abdominal muscles. Hence, adding cardio exercises like running, cycling, or using the elliptical into your routine will significantly enhance your ab workout results.
7. Not Changing Exercises
If you do not often change your exercises, your body adapts to a routine, creating a comfort zone for yourself and reducing the workout’s effectiveness. That means your body is not burning calories effectively anymore. Therefore, it is crucial to keep your body challenged with a variety of exercises. This will not only engage your muscles better but also boost your metabolism and help you reach your goals faster. Moreover, switching and varying abs exercises will prevent muscle imbalances and promote overall core strength.
8. Your Hip Flexors Are Taking All The Burden
Sometimes, when we are performing abs workouts, hip flexors carry the whole burden. For example, it’s crucial to understand and execute the correct form to effectively engage your abs during the hanging knee raise. While bringing your knees towards your chest, focus on curling your hips upward while tilting your pelvis forward and rounding your back. This way, you can ensure that you’re primarily working your ab muscles instead of hip flexors.
9. Exercises Are Not Challenging Enough
Since you have started your fitness journey, you have likely heard this at least once: “Keep adding weights gradually to increase the resistance level of exercise.” If you want to keep progressing, you have to keep challenging your body. Your body adapts to your workout routine over time, so it is essential to keep your workout challenging. Additionally, it will keep your workouts fun and exciting, vital to keeping you motivated.
There are several ways to keep challenging your body. Some of the popular ones are:
- Increase the repetition of the exercise
- Gradually adds weight
- Change exercise variations
- Covert abs workout into circuit training.
These strategies prevent plateaus and keep your workouts engaging and motivating. Remember, a progressive and varied routine is essential to achieve defined abs.
10. You Are Not Consistent Enough
Working out randomly and consistently are two different aspects. As we have already stated, getting six-pack abs is not possible in a day. You must be consistent with your diet and workout routine to achieve your dream. On average, it takes at least four months of consistent effort with 30 to 40 minutes of exercise 4-5 days a week to see results.
Key Takeaway
In conclusion, achieving your desired abs requires more than dedication to ab workouts. It demands a holistic approach encompassing proper nutrition, exercise technique, and consistency. It is also essential to avoid all the common mistakes so you can get the strong core and the flat stomach you desire.
Lastly, remember that progress takes time, but by staying committed, you can confidently work towards your fitness aspirations.
