Waist and abdominal strength training lesson plan

The vast majority of people practice waist and abdominal exercises to no avail or even get injured. The core problem is never choosing the wrong movements or not practicing enough, but not establishing a sense of core recruitment first, the movements not matching their own foundation, and ignoring the composite function of the waist and abdomen as the core hub. This lesson plan takes into account the different needs of ordinary fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and rehabilitation groups, adapts to all stages from entry to advanced, and objectively presents the differences between different training schools. You can choose the content that suits you as needed.

I have led school team track and field students, ordinary fitness members, and postpartum recovery people for almost 7 years. I have seen too many examples of pitfalls: There was an Internet office worker who practiced 100 abdominal crunches by following short videos every day after get off work. After a month of complaining, the waistcoat line was not visible. I first went to the orthopedics department to take a lumbar spine X-ray. This was because during the exercise, the waist was suspended in the air, relying entirely on the lumbar spine, and the rectus abdominis muscle was not able to exert half a cent of strength.

Speaking of which, the current understanding of waist and abdominal training in the fitness circle is actually divided into three clear directions. There is no right or wrong, it all depends on your training purpose: the bodybuilding system tends to stimulate the rectus abdominis and oblique muscles in isolation, pursuing muscle shape, so it is more recommended to do exercises such as abdominal crunches and hanging leg raises that focus on isolated muscle contraction.； The functional training system focuses on core overall synergy and pursues sports performance. It prefers to use compound movements such as farmer's walk and medicine ball hitting the ground. ； The rehabilitation system focuses on strengthening the balance of the deep transversus abdominis and erector spinae muscles, and gives priority to non-weight-bearing stabilizing movements such as dead bugs and bird dogs. Don’t worry about which is the “right answer”. If you want to practice your waistline, just refer to the bodybuilding system. If you want to play ball and run without shaking, practice functional skills. If you have a bad waist or are recovering from postpartum, just follow the rehabilitation system.

Don’t believe it, I’ve seen too many people with low body fat but loose stomachs. Their core muscles are weak and their stomachs protrude unconsciously when they stand, as if they’ve eaten too much. So for those who are new to training, don’t just follow the trend and do abdominal curls. Spend 3 days first to find the feeling of core strength: lie flat on the yoga mat, bend your knees and put your feet on the ground, put your hands in the gap between your waist and the mat, tighten your abdomen and press your waist down so hard that you can’t take your hands out. Maintain this state and breathe steadily for 30 seconds. If you can’t relax, you have found the right feeling. 80% of people can't find it right the first time they do it. They either gasp after pressing it twice, or their waist lifts up again without realizing it. Just try it twice more.

Once you can easily maintain this feeling of exertion, you can choose movements as needed. If you want good-looking waistcoat lines and abdominal muscles, try standard abdominal curls. When you notice it, just lift your upper back off the mat and keep your lower back firmly on the ground. Contract to the peak, pause for 1 second, and then release slowly. Don't hit your back. Do 4 groups of 12-15 reps in one group. If you feel comfortable, hold a dumbbell on your chest. The weight-bearing stimulation effect is much better. To be honest, the body fat of the average enthusiasts I teach has dropped to about 18%. If you practice this method for a month, you can basically see clear vest lines.

If you train your waist and abdomen to keep your body from shaking while playing ball or running, and to improve your sports performance, don’t do crunches and do more farmer’s walks. Hold two dumbbells that are about 1/3 of your body weight in both hands. Walk forward with your back straight. Walk for one minute and rest for 30 seconds. Walk for 5 groups. Just keep your core tight throughout. A former young sprinter on the school team, his core was always loose when he started running, and his stride length was not strong enough. After adding this training for 3 weeks, the 100-meter sprint increased from 11.7 seconds to 11.4 seconds. The effect is better than running ten more intervals. After all, the core is equivalent to the transmission shaft of your body. If the transmission shaft is loose, no matter how strong your limbs are, it will not be transmitted, and your waist will easily sway.

If you have an old lumbar injury, or you just gave birth and want to recover, just follow the methods of the rehabilitation school and practice to kill the bugs first. Lie flat on your back, straighten your arms toward the ceiling, and bend your legs at 90 degrees. Then slowly lower your opposite hand and leg until it almost touches the ground and then bring it back. Keep your waist close to the mat the entire time without arching. Do 3 sets of 10 times on each side in one set. This movement basically does not put extra pressure on the lumbar spine, and can also strengthen the deep transversus abdominis muscles. I once took care of a mother who was half a year postpartum, and her rectus abdominis muscles were separated by two fingers. After practicing this for two months, only half a finger was left, and the protruding belly was also retracted.

Oh, by the way, "abdominal curls hurt your waist" and "plank support is useless" that are so popular on the Internet are actually too absolute. As long as the abdominal curling movements are standard, the lower back does not leave the mat, and the neck is not pulled hard, it will not only not hurt the waist, but also enhance the traction and protection of the lumbar spine by the abdomen. ； If you can keep your core tight while holding a plank without slumping your waist or protruding your butt, holding it for one minute is much more effective than doing 20 crunches. There are no junk movements, only junk movement quality. This is my most profound feeling after so many years of training.

Finally, a practical reminder: Don’t practice waist and abdominal exercises every day. The muscles also need to rest. It takes 48 hours for the waist and abdominal muscles to recover. Training three times a week is enough. I once met a young man who practiced 200 crunches every day to build his abdominal muscles. After practicing for half a month, his stomach hurt when he smiled. He went to the hospital to check that it was rectus abdominis strain, which was not worth the gain. Also, don’t think that you can slim down your belly by training your waist and abdomen. If your body fat is high, your abdominal muscles will be covered by fat no matter how thick you train them. It’s not a joke to say that you can eat 70% of your training.

To put it bluntly, the core of waist and abdominal training is to find the right sense of force and choose movements that suit your needs. Don't blindly follow the trend, and don't pursue quick results. After practicing for two or three months, you will definitely see changes in both form and strength.