A beautiful figure means a flat stomach and a thin waist. This statement is true for everyone, so doing exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles is useful and important for both men and women.

However, in pursuit of a harmonious body, gym goers often forget to do exercises for side press, but they are the ones who help to form the ideal silhouette.

The desire to thoroughly work out the abs is commendable and leads to noticeable results, so it is important to pay full attention to the entire abdominal area.

Why are side press exercises important?

The oblique abdominal muscles perform 2 important functions:

1. Aesthetic. The lateral muscles form a beautiful silhouette, create a strong, toned torso (sagging folds on the sides of the body negate the entire effect of abs), visually elongate the figure, and in women they also become a guarantee thin waist.
2. Supportive. This function is important for the body as a whole, because strong oblique muscles support the spine like a natural corset and directly affect human health.

In everyday life, the lateral press is almost not loaded, and the depth of its location does not allow you to work on it together with other muscle groups. Therefore, you will have to work specifically on this area.

Exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles produce results!

While training the obliques:

• The figure becomes strong, fit and slender,
• Given that proper nutrition and the proper load on the entire body, the “sides” disappear, folds are eliminated, and the lumbar region loses weight.
• As a pleasant bonus appears good posture, the whole body becomes more resilient and stronger.

Separately for girls: When working with the oblique abdominal muscles, remember the principle of “necessity and sufficiency.” Without proper attention, this area will not get rid of folds on the sides, however, excessive loads will lead to the formation of an H-silhouette without a pronounced waist.

Effective exercises for the side press

You can work the oblique abdominal muscles in three ways: different positions- standing, sitting and lying down.

This variety allows you to train in any conditions: you no longer need to wait until the desired exercise machine is free, because this time will be well spent, even if literally a square meter of space in the gym remains free.

And by combining several positions in one workout, you can effectively develop even very lazy muscles that are difficult to tame.

Starting position - standing

EXERCISE 1. Side bends.

1. We stand up: legs slightly apart, back straight, hands on the back of the head.
2. Tilt your body to the right until you feel tension in your left side. Let's go back.
3. Similarly, tilt the body to the left until you feel tension in the muscles on the right side.

• Number of approaches: 3.

EXERCISE 2. Sliding slopes along the body.

1. We stand up: calm stance, back straight, hands free.
2. We place our right hand on the belt, and slide our left hand along the body to the foot. Having felt the muscles on the right side, we take the initial stance.
3. A similar tilt to the right side - left hand on the belt, the right one slides along the body to the heel.

• Number of approaches: 3.
• Number of times: 8 tilts in each direction.

Advice: You can enhance the effect of this exercise by taking a dumbbell in your working hand (the one that slides along the body), the second hand remains on your belt. For girls, the weight of the dumbbell should not exceed 1.5 kg.

EXERCISE 3.Bend towards the opposite leg.

1. Starting position: wide stance, straight back.
2. We lean forward, trying to touch our right foot with our left palm. Let's go back.
3. We make the next bend towards the opposite leg.

• Number of approaches: 3-4.
• Number of times: 8-12 in each direction.

Advice: When performing the exercise, try to work exclusively with your lower back and abs, without helping yourself with your hips.

EXERCISE 4.Lateral leg swings.

To perform this exercise for the oblique abdominal muscles, you will need support: the back of a chair, wall bars or any other object that you can hold tightly to.

1. Initial stance: stand with your left side to the support, keep your legs together.
2. We swing our right leg sideways with maximum amplitude, securing ourselves with our left hand (holding on to the support).
3. Turning around to the right side, we repeat the swings with the other leg.

Number of approaches: 3.
Number of times: 10-15 swings in each direction.

Specifics: not only the oblique abdominal muscles work here, but also the hips and buttocks.

Starting position - lying down

This complex is performed on a yoga mat or travel mat.

EXERCISE 1. Side plank.

This exercise develops the obliques, quite challenging for beginners, but a very effective exercise for the entire body. Due to the special tension of the side press, it is considered very effective.

Performance:

1. We lean on the palm and side Feet.
2. The palm is strictly under the shoulder, the whole body is tense and stretched into a string.
3. We make sure that the waist and hips do not sag down or bend up.
4. We stay in this position for as long as possible, first from 20 seconds, gradually increasing the time to 2 minutes.
5. Repeat on the other side.

• Number of approaches: 3.
• Time: start at 20 seconds and gradually increase.

EXERCISE 2.Twisting bent legs.

1. We lie on our backs, bend our legs at the knees. The head lies flat, palms rest on the floor, looking at the ceiling.
2. Pressing your head and arms, we lift your pelvis and legs off the floor and do twists to the right and left.

• Number of approaches: 3.
• Number of times: 8 twists in each direction.

EXERCISE 3. Lateral crunches.

They can be performed in three different ways or combined with each other.

Option #1. We lie down on our left side, the body is straight, the legs are pressed to the floor, the upper hand is behind the head, the lower one is straight ahead. Raise your head and shoulders up, performing lateral twists (small amplitude, pause at the top point). Then we lower ourselves back.

Option No. 2. Raise your legs tightly pressed to each other. We hold our legs at the top point for a few seconds, then lower them.

Option number 3, for advanced level. Raise your legs and head with your chest at the same time. As you inhale, lower them down. In this version, you can lean on your forearm so as not to overstrain your neck muscles.

• Number of approaches: 3.
• Number of times: 10-15 on each side.

Advice: these exercises greatly increase the oblique abdominal muscles, so girls seeking a thin waist need to stretch this area after the complex.

+ Options

EXERCISE 4. Diagonal crunches.

1. Starting position: the right hand lies on the back of the head, the left hand directly on the oblique abdominal muscles, the legs are slightly bent at the knees.
2. Pull your right elbow towards your right knee and pause for a couple of seconds at the top point.
3. We return to initial position.
4. We do the required number of approaches, change positions and repeat everything again.

• When performing the exercise, it is better to use a gymnastic mat.
• The hand resting on the abdominal muscles remains there constantly until the exercise is completed.
• Number of approaches: 3.
• Number of times: 8 in each direction.

EXERCISE 4. Counter movement.

1. Lie on your back, bend your knees at a right angle and lift them. We place our palms on the back of the head.
2. We rise up (the lower back remains pressed to the floor), with our left elbow we reach for our right knee.

• After completing 10 elbow-to-knee pairs, rest for 10 seconds. This is one approach.

Starting position - sitting

Body rotations

Despite its apparent simplicity, this method is very effective and gives good results.

1. We sit on the edge of a chair or bench, placing our feet firmly on the floor. The back is straight, hands are clasped at the back of the head.
2. Exhale: moving only the lower back muscles, turn the body to the left. Inhale: turn straight.
3. Repeat on the other side.

Advice: It’s even more effective if you use a bodybar or a barbell bar. He lies on the trapezius of his shoulders, his hands hold the bar in this position. Make turns slowly and smoothly.

• The number of repetitions in each exercise starts at 10 and increases as the load increases.
• Approaches – from 3 to 5.

Women of any age dream of a thin and seductive waist. To achieve this, many people go on strict diets and do grueling workouts in the gym. But such measures do not always help. The only way to achieve a perfectly proportional figure is a combination of reasonable and special exercises. Exercises for the sides and waist will help you completely transform.

Exercises for the sides and waist are most effective when combined with cardio.

Avoid common mistakes

There are many workouts that promise a chiseled silhouette. But not all of them are effective enough, and some will not benefit the figure at all. How can such exercises be harmful? The following popular techniques will NOT help you remove your belly and sides.

1. 1. Side bends with dumbbells. At regular implementation they contribute accelerated growth oblique abdominal muscles, which can make your waist even wider. This exercise is necessary for men who want to comprehensively pump up their abdominal muscles. But it is absolutely useless for girls working on narrow waist.
   2. Twisting the hoop. The effectiveness of this device is questionable, and its harm has been medically confirmed. Gynecologists strongly recommend giving up training with hula hoops. Constant hits of the hoop against the front wall of the abdomen are not physiological. According to doctors, such blows can provoke prolapse of internal organs and other troubles.
   3. Performing turns with weight on your shoulders. What do you think happens to your spine if you take a bodybar or barbell on your shoulders and start twisting your body left and right? The intervertebral discs are compressed under the influence of weights, and the distance between the vertebrae becomes smaller. When you turn your body left and right, the vertebrae can injure the intervertebral discs and touch each other. When doing exercises for your sides and waist, remember about your spine - you have one for life.
   4. Emphasis on strength exercises in the complete absence of cardio. The sides and extra centimeters at the waist represent a layer of fat. It can only be removed with the help of cardio training.
   5. Excessive cardio and lack of strength exercises. During aerobic exercise, fat burning occurs not locally, but throughout the body. As a result, the effect of training is too “smeared” and sometimes not noticeable at all in certain areas. Exercises for the abs and sides are a must if you want to achieve a beautiful silhouette.

You can use anything as a cardio warm-up, even running up the stairs.

How to train for best result? Experts recommend spending 3-4 days a week on classes. After a short warm-up, you need to perform a series special exercises for the abs and sides. After a short rest, you should do a short but intense workout.

It is absolutely not necessary to exercise on exercise machines. You can choose between running, jumping rope, dancing and aerobics. This is the approach that will allow us to do muscle fibers waist more elastic and thereby give it a clearer outline.

Before you begin exercises for the abs and sides, you need to thoroughly warm up your abdominal muscles and prepare them for the load. I will not dwell on the warm-up in detail, focusing directly on the exercises themselves for the oblique abdominal muscles. I will only say that the warm-up should include a small cardio part, several exercises to stretch the oblique muscles and prepare the spine.

Warm-up

Five to ten minutes of cardio: running, jumping, or.

Preparing muscles for load

1. Side bends with with outstretched arms- the lateral surface of the body stretches, the spine warms up. Try to bend as low as possible, but smoothly, without jerking.
2. Rotations of the body to the right and left - keep your pelvis level and turn only top part bodies.
3. Circular movements of the pelvis and body.

Pre-stretch your oblique muscles before you begin the exercises. Removing your belly and sides is not an easy task, but if you approach it consciously, you can do it!

Most effective exercises for the sides and waist - these are various variations of twists.

1. Bending the body in a lying position + twisting in the opposite direction

Initial position. Lie down on the mat, hands behind your head, elbows pointing to the sides, do not clasp your fingers. Legs are bent, feet are on the floor, the lower back is pressed. The distance between the chin and chest is approximately the size of a fist - maintained throughout the entire exercise.

Doing the exercise. Without lifting your lower back from the floor and keeping your elbows together, lift your body up. Add twisting of the body - with your right elbow, reach towards your left knee. Lower yourself to the floor smoothly, do not fall on your back, watch your lower back. Repeat on the other side.

2. Bending the body in a lying position + twisting in the same direction

Initial position. The same as in the previous exercise. We lie on the mat, legs bent, hands behind the head.

Doing the exercise. Now add twisting of the body not to the opposite knee, but stretch your elbow to the heel of the same name. That is, with your right elbow, reach towards your right heel and vice versa.

Crunches are the most effective exercises for the abs and sides.

3. Sitting Crunch

Initial position. Sit on the mat, legs bent, feet flat on the floor, body tilted back 45 degrees. At the same time, the lower back is rounded, the tailbone is twisted forward, the abdominal muscles are tense, and the arms are bent at the elbows.

Doing the exercise. Intensely rotate your body and elbows from side to side. This is an endurance exercise.

Initial position. Lie on the floor, arms out to the sides, palms facing the floor. Keep your shoulders pressed throughout the entire exercise; try not to lift them off the floor. Raise your legs vertically up and bend your knees at an angle of 90 degrees. There should be a fist distance between your knees. You can hold a small ball between your knees.

Doing the exercise. Lower your legs bent at the knees to the side all the way to the floor, but do not touch the floor. At the same time, the pelvis comes off the floor, but the shoulders should be pressed. Return your legs to the starting position and lower them to the other side.

As you lower your legs to the side, try not to lift your shoulders off the floor.

5. Crunches while lying on your side

Initial position. Lie on your side, bend your legs slightly at the knees and place one on top of the other. Bottom hand Place it on the floor or on your stomach. Top hand put it behind your head.

Doing the exercise. Lift and twist your body so that your upper body is in a position as if you were doing a regular crunch. Due to the fact that your pelvis lies on its side, the oblique muscles will work when lifting the body.

You lift your body straight. The twisting effect is achieved through the position of the legs.

6. Oblique Bridge

Initial position. Lie on your side, body straight, legs extended and one above the other. Place your lower hand on your elbow and lean on it. You will get a kind of deflection of the body in the lateral plane. Extend your top hand and place it on top of your thigh.

Doing the exercise. Raise your pelvis off the floor until your body is in a level position. The weight is distributed between the arm standing on the elbow and the edge of the foot. Move your head away from your shoulder - your neck should be in line with your body. This exercise is performed for a while. Stick with it for as long as you can.

Raise and lower your pelvis using your oblique abdominal muscles.

7. Plank

Initial position. Take a position lying on your elbows. The body is straight, hands are on the forearms, feet shoulder-width apart, fingers resting on the floor. Make sure that there is no arching in the lower back. If you want to make it more difficult, lift one leg or move your forearms further forward.

Doing the exercise. Hold in the starting position for as long as possible.

8. Boat

This movement is borrowed from Pilates. A slightly modified “Boat” helps strengthen the abdominal and back muscles.

Initial position. Lie down on the floor. Place your hands behind your head without gripping the lock.

Doing the exercise. At the same time, lift your body and straight legs off the floor, trying to bend in half. Hold this position for as long as possible. Don't strain your neck and breathe evenly. After a short rest, repeat again.

Hold this position for as long as possible.

9. Twisting on a fitball in the opposite direction

It's great to do exercises for your sides and waist on a fitball. An elastic ball removes excess stress from the lower back, additionally loads the stabilizer muscles and allows you to effectively work even the smallest muscles through twisting.

Initial position. Lie with your lower back on the fitball. Bend your right hand at the elbow and place it behind your head, and extend your left hand straight in front of you.

Doing the exercise. Raise your body and reach your left hand towards your right knee. Repeat on the other side.

10. Asana “Staff” (dandasana)

Yoga helps tone your abdominal muscles. In addition to the abdomen, the “Staff” asana strengthens hip joints And inner surface hips

Initial position. Sit on the floor and try to relax. Extend your legs straight in front of you. Point your fingers forward and place your palms on the floor just behind your hips.

Doing the exercise. Apply gentle pressure to your fingers and stretch upward, stretching your spine. Don't lift your hips off the floor. Breathe calmly and be in pose 8 respiratory cycles. Repeat 2 more times.

This exercise targets the core muscles as a whole.

Post-workout stretching

Finish the session with a stretching exercise.

1. Sit on the floor and cross your legs. Stretch your arms up, and then perform a series of springy tilts to the right and left.
2. If you have a fitball, just lie on it with your lower back and stretch your arms and legs. Stretch in different directions, stretching all the abdominal and back muscles.

Try to exercise regularly. If you don't have time for a full workout, do at least a few exercises. Removing your stomach and sides is a doable task that you can easily cope with with the help of our program!

By the term abs, most people mean the rectus abdominis muscle, which is clearly expressed in thin people, but there are also oblique muscles, commonly called the lateral press . It is much more difficult to pump them up, since the oblique muscles are poorly activated during regular crunches.

From this article you will learn how to properly work out obliques . We will tell you the most important aspects of their training and point out the mistakes that prevent novice athletes from achieving the desired result.

The approach to side press training depends heavily on training program specific athlete. The fact is that the oblique abdominal muscles are involved when performing such basic exercises as barbell squats and deadlift , while they are fully worked out due to the fact that large working weights are used in the base.

Therefore, if you pull and squat, then you don’t need to purposefully do several abdominal exercises, it will be enough “finish off” it with one exercise of several multi-repetition approaches. If classes are conducted at home, or you do not do basic exercises, then the abdominal work should be more voluminous.

The lateral press is formed by two groups of oblique abdominal muscles - external and internal . The latter do not represent any aesthetic value, since we do not see them, while the outer ones consist of separated (divided) fibers that form distinct relief stripes on the side of the abdomen.

Functional purpose of oblique muscles – bending the body in lumbar region, twisting to the right and left, abducting the pelvis back, and they always act together with the rectus abdominis muscle. Also, the abdominal muscles are a kind of protective shell that holds internal organs abdominal cavity.

For most people, a sculpted, clearly defined press is a symbol of physical perfection. The majority of those who come to the clinic place emphasis on training these muscles. Gym newcomers, but the situation here is twofold - thin people don't need to work out their abs , since it is already visible to them, while for some reason the efforts of overweight people are not rewarded with the desired result.

The visibility of the abdominal muscles directly depends on the amount of fat in the body, so if you want to have sculpted belly it is important not only to pump it up in training, but also diet, which will allow you to maintain the required percentage subcutaneous fat (10-15%).

However, when working on your lateral abs, it is worth considering that the overall shape of your waist greatly depends on the volume of the oblique abdominal muscles. And if for people with a narrow waist such changes will be beneficial, since they can correct excessive thinness, for athletes with a wide waist they are often harmful, making the waist area even wider and worsening the proportions of the body.

Changing your diet and approach to training to get sculpted abs

To have ripped abs you need to be “dry”, that is, have a minimum percentage of subcutaneous fat. The amount of fat deposits in our body depends on the ratio of two factors - the difference between calories consumed and calories burned. If more is consumed than is burned, the body stores the excess in the form of fat deposits, but if the difference is negative, then on the contrary, it uses the available fat to cover the lack of energy.

The fastest way to get sculpted side press is by following these recommendations:

• maintain a deficit of 500-600 calories daily ;
• eliminate fast carbohydrates (sweets and flour, white bread), all carbohydrates should be slow - rye bread, cereals, durum wheat pasta;
• consume a large number of protein products to prevent burning of existing muscles during the drying process.

It helps to bring the first outlines of the abs closer, and it makes sense to do them every workout. Running or cycling can be done for a separate time, but keep in mind that the duration of cardio should exceed 60 minutes, since fat burning begins only after 20-25 minutes of jogging , for which the body uses all energy reserves received from food. Shorter workouts bring much less effective results.

The best side press exercises and how to do them

The athlete stands with dumbbells in both hands, placing his feet shoulder-width apart, and performs alternating bends on each side. The amplitude of movement is small, tilts are made smoothly, without inertia. It is not recommended for girls due to the risk of thickening the waist.

You need to lie sideways on a hyperextension bench with half your torso hanging over the bench. Lifts are made on each side separately; at the top point of the amplitude, the body should not rise above parallel with the line of the legs.

You need to hang on the horizontal bar and raise your legs bent at the knees, moving your pelvis to the right and left sides alternately. The exercise can be made more difficult by performing it with straight legs.

It can be performed either on a press bench, trying to touch the kneecap of the opposite leg with your elbow, or on the floor with unfixed legs, in which case, when twisting, the knee must be brought to the elbow so that they touch in the central part of the body.

Belongs to the category static exercises, which perfectly work the internal oblique muscles, thereby improving the athlete’s posture. The plank is a stand in which the body is supported on two supporting points - the feet and the forearm. With progress in implementation this exercise you need to increase the time you hold the plank, you can start with 30 seconds and aim for 2-3 minutes.

All dynamic exercises with your own weight it is necessary to perform in the range of 15-20 repetitions, the last approach in each exercise is to the maximum, until failure or a strong burning sensation in the muscles. Exercises with additional weight are done for 12-15 repetitions, and the weight used should be relatively small and not affect the athlete’s technique.

Abs can be trained in two ways – doing 1-2 exercises after each workout or setting aside a separate day for it. Experienced athletes often include working out small muscles - trapezius, calves, abs, neck and forearms in a separate workout, because due to constant fatigue abdominal muscles if they are worked on regularly, progress in basic exercises. For beginners, this factor is not critical.

Optimal frequency of abdominal muscle training - once every one to two weeks. To avoid muscle adaptation to training process We recommend changing exercises every 8-10 weeks. Train hard, eat healthy, do cardio and relief press It won't keep you waiting!

What woman doesn't dream of beautiful figure that attracts the attention of others?

Nerves and strength are wasted, but the desired effect from training is still not visible. The solution is very simple - you cannot achieve results by focusing on one thing, you need to work in many directions at once!

Remember the main points: don’t feel sorry for yourself, eat right and strive for your goal!

How many copies have been broken in reasoning about which exercises for the abdominal muscles are ideal and which only harm it. And still there is no consensus on this matter.

In this article you will learn about which exercises really have a beneficial effect on strengthening muscles, and which ones are undesirable to perform.

Are you doing everything right?

Before you start practicing, let's look at the main mistakes that prevent you from achieving the desired result.

Common Misconceptions

Mistake #1:	I will do one or two exercises every day and get perfect abs.
Reality:	No, unfortunately, this is not possible. Working this way will simply overload your abdominal muscles. He will simply get used to such daily stress and there will be practically no effect.
Mistake #2:	I won’t eat anything, I’ll go on a diet and the belly fat will go away, and the perfect abs will appear on its own.
Reality:	By acting in this way, you simply undermine your entire body, creating extra stress! Eat three times a day, give up alcohol, it will bring much more benefits.

Remember - do not overdo it with loads, 3-4 classes a week for 10-15 minutes each is quite enough.

Include fruits in your diet, exclude fast food, this is enough for a start.

Start of classes

Try to eat right. What can you do to achieve results faster?

• Nuts (everything except peanuts);
• A variety of greens (lettuce, parsley, celery, cabbage);
• Dairy products (low fat);
• Oatmeal;
• Eggs;
• Fruits and berries.

Under no circumstances should you completely switch to this diet, just replace the most harmful foods from your usual food with something from this list. This will help the body absorb nutrients faster, improve metabolism and speed up the burning of excess fat.

Do not drink a lot of liquid before bed, this leads to puffiness and makes your figure look heavier than it is.

To achieve the effect of exercise, know that men and women need to pump up their abs in different ways. The abdominal muscles are muscles just like any other, so women need to work with exercises that focus on strengthening the muscles rather than making them grow. Otherwise, you may end up with ugly, masculine abs.

And further important point- developing the oblique abdominal muscles will help you achieve what you want - flat stomach. It is exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles that make the waist thin and beautiful.

5 exercises for abdominal muscles

Let's consider the most useful exercises for the abdomen for women, aimed at high-quality development of the oblique abdominal muscles.

Exercise No. 1, “Warm-up”

Yes, despite the seeming unnecessaryness, it is extremely important to warm up well before training. Muscle strains are easy to get and take a long time to heal.

Bend to the sides, forward, backward, and make circular movements with your pelvis; you need to warm up your muscles properly. A jump rope will help a lot; it is the most ideal option for warming up.

Exercise No. 2, “Twisting, bicycle”

The exercise imitates the movement of a cyclist's legs, combined with movements of the chest.

Initial position: lying on the floor, hands on the back of your head, do not clasp your fingers.

Performance:

1. Stretch your right elbow towards your left knee, while rotating your body.
2. The leg moves towards the elbow at an angle of 45 degrees to the floor.
3. Touching your elbow to your knee, repeat the movement, changing the elbow and knee, respectively.
4. Make sure that rib cage moved with her hands.
5. Don’t rush to follow the pace, try to tense your abdominal muscles.

Number of repetitions: 10-15 times. 1 or 2 approaches.

Exercise No. 3, “Side plank with emphasis on the forearm”

Initial position: The body is elongated, the legs are straight, one lies on the other, the entire weight rests on the right forearm.

Performance:

1. Place your left hand behind your head, tighten your abdominal muscles, turn your upper body towards your right hand, towards the floor.
2. Hold this position for a second, then tighten your abs and return to the starting position.

Number of repetitions: 10-15 times on each side. 1 or 2 approaches.

Exercise No. 4, “Russian twist”

Initial position: Sitting on the floor, bend your legs, straighten your back, hold your hands in front of you.

Performance:

1. Keeping your arms in front of you, rotate your chest to the right, tightening your abs, then rotate to the left.
2. The range of movement is small, only the chest and abdominal muscles work.
3. The legs are motionless.

Number of repetitions: 10-15 times. 1 approach.

Exercise No. 5, “Pendulum”

Initial position: Lying on your back, legs together, perpendicular to the floor, arms extended to the sides for support.

Performance:

1. Lower your legs to the left, straining your pelvis; it is not necessary to touch the floor.
2. Then, fixing them at the extreme point, with tension in the abdominal muscles, return them to their original position.
3. Then tilt to the right, repeating all the steps.

Number of repetitions: 10-15 times.

Wanting to pump up the abs, we usually work primarily on the upper and lower abdominal muscles. But many non-professionals forget about the lateral abdominal muscles. At the same time, without working with them, you will not achieve ideal relief. This muscle group is almost never used in everyday life, since it is responsible for turning the body. With an athletic build, the oblique external abdominal muscle can be clearly visible on the human body, which runs along an oblique path from the sternum to the lower abdomen. By contracting, the external muscle ensures that the body rotates in the direction opposite to itself. It is impossible to see the internal oblique muscles because they are located under the external obliques. They are also responsible for body rotation. Such a complex anatomy means that working the lateral abdominal muscles is not so simple. But coping with such a task as pumping up the lateral press is quite possible if you approach it responsibly and practice regularly.

Effective side press exercises: general recommendations

There are many good exercise how to pump up lateral muscles press. But first you need to familiarize yourself with general recommendations that will help increase the effectiveness of the lesson:

• Recommended loose eat in 2-2.5 hours before the start of the workout. If you are hungry, you may get tired quickly and not give it your all, which will affect the effectiveness of your workout. And exercising on a full stomach is simply unpleasant and inconvenient; it can cause poor health, nausea, and dizziness.
• Before exercise, it is recommended to warm up your muscles through a simple warm-up. It can include jumping in place, running, an exercise bike, simple exercises, turns and rotations.
• Don't overdo it. It is necessary to exercise regularly, but training the lateral press at home too often is pointless. 3-4 times a week will be enough.
• With each exercise, the muscles should stretch. You are doing everything right if you feel their tension.
• You should not eat immediately after training. Experts recommend waiting at least an hour.

When training, we can get tired quickly. Don't worry, this is completely normal. The muscle frame stretches quite poorly, and such a reaction is quite natural.

Effective exercises for pumping up the side press

Many exercises can help you cope with the task of pumping up your lateral abs at home. Some of them are very simple and suitable for beginners, while others are more complex and are suitable for those who already have some training.

First, let's look at what pumping up the lateral press can be like for beginners. We will use simple exercises. Make sure that during the training process the muscle frame is tense, but do not overdo it to prevent injury. The simplest exercises, of course, will not make your muscles incredibly voluminous, but they will pump them up, tone them and prepare them for more serious loads in the future.

1. Tilts

The simplest exercise on how to pump up the lateral abdominal muscles. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Now you just need to lean to the sides as much as possible one by one. Perform the bends smoothly, do not rush, reaching the maximum point, fix the body at it. Repeat 5-6 approaches 20 times. If you feel that the load is not enough for you, you can use small dumbbells in hand.

Exercises with dumbbells build up muscle mass. This is good for men, but not always appropriate for girls, so they additional burden It's important not to overdo it.

2. Lateral body lifts

For this exercise you need a bench. You need to lie on it sideways, so that half of your body is located outside the bench. You need to fix your legs or ask someone to hold them. Raise your body up 30 times, do several approaches. Then turn over to the other side. To increase the load you can use weights.

3. Crunches on the horizontal bar

Another exercise that helps pump up the lateral abdominal muscles in the presence of a horizontal bar. You need to hang on the bar, place your hands shoulder-width apart. Bent legs you need to lift them to chest level, but not in front of you, but alternately moving them to the left and right.

These are the simplest exercises. If you've already mastered them and they seem too easy, it's time to move on to level two exercises that help pump up your lateral abs. Each complex must be repeated 3-4 sets of 10-15 times.

4. Leg and body raises

You need to lie down on a flat surface, put one hand under your head, and straighten your legs. Raise your body and one knee at the same time until they touch each other. Repeat for the other side.

5. Alternate body lifts

This exercise, how to pump up the abdominal muscles, recommends lying on a flat surface, placing your hands on the back of your head, and bending your legs at the knees. Raise your body and at the same time turn, touching your right elbow to your left knee, and then vice versa.

6. Knee Raise

You need to lie on your side, leaning on your elbow. Straighten your legs, place the hand that is at the top behind your back. Both legs need to be raised to chest without touching the floor. Do the same steps on the other side.

7. Exercise on the horizontal bar

It is done from a hang position with your hands shoulder-width apart. Without bending your legs, do lateral lifts and stay at the maximum points.

And the exercises presented below on how to pump up the lateral abdominal muscles are good for those who have been working on their muscles for a long time. You can adjust the number of repetitions and approaches yourself depending on your physical fitness.

8. Simple inclines with weights

This exercise is quite difficult, because for it your lower back must be sufficiently trained. Despite this, it remarkably helps to pump up the lateral abs. You need to place your feet shoulder-width apart and place the bar on the trapeze. Do 15 bends in both directions, trying to lower yourself as much as possible. Having reached the maximum point at the bottom, stay in this position for a couple of seconds, then return to the starting position. The feeling of muscle tension indicates that you are performing the exercise correctly.

If you don't have enough weight, you can add weights to the bar. When bending, keep your body straight, without allowing your body to lean forward or backward. Return to the starting position without vertical deviation.

9. Tilts with rotation

This exercise is essentially an enhanced version of the previous one. By doing it, we load the bundles of oblique muscles and pump up the lateral press.

It is done standing. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Trapeze bar. Bend forward and to the sides 15 times, twisting your body at the same time. When performing crunches, point your right elbow towards your left knee and vice versa.