In the human body, the main "deposits" of fat are concentrated in the subcutaneous tissue and in the abdominal cavity and its wall, that is, in the abdomen. In a normal state, fat accumulates in an adult by increasing the size of existing fat cells (adipocytes). But with an excessive amount of fat in the cell, the process of its reproduction begins, which leads to a multiple increase in the number of fat cells. They begin to accumulate, including between the organs of the abdominal cavity (visceral fat), as well as in the lower and upper parts of the body. At the same time, the fat layer on the belly of overweight people can reach a thickness of 10, 15 or even 20 cm (for comparison: in walruses and seals, the thickness of the subcutaneous fat is 5 to 10cm). Will exercises to lose weight help to "shake off" excess fat?
Effective exercises to slim the belly
In principle, exercises for rapid abdominal weight loss, without a proper balanced nutrition system, will not give the desired effect. Because adipose tissue is not just a "store" of extra kilos. It actively maintains its presence in the body with a specially produced peptide hormone leptin, which performs the function of "control and audit" in the energy metabolism system.
But not everything is so desperate. Triglycerides are synthesized in adipose cells, of which adipose tissue is mainly composed. When triglycerides are broken down, the body receives energy, and the more energy is used, the more triglycerides are broken down. That is, exercises to lose weight in the abdomen are greatly increased physical activity, in which there is an increase in fat consumption. The main thing is that morning exercises to slim the abdomen are not accompanied by breakfasts, lunches and dinners, which in their caloric intake would exceed the energy expended in their implementation. . .
Therefore, home exercises to lose belly weight, according to weight loss experts, should be done at least three times a week. Since the beginning of classes, each exercise is performed 8-10 times, and after a person engages in this business, all exercises for losing weight in the abdomen at home should be performed at least 20-25 times each.
A standard set of abdominal weight loss exercises includes performing exercises in various positions: standing, sitting, and lying down. The following exercises are performed while lying down:
- Lying on the back, legs and arms straight, arms extended along the body. Without bringing your shoulders forward, while inhaling, lift your back off the floor, lift your arms stretched out along your legs, sit down and lean forward, trying to reach your toes with your hands. As you exhale, gently return to your original position.
- Lying on the back, the legs are bent at the knees, while the feet are almost shoulder-width apart. The hands are curled behind the head, the fingers "locked", the elbows at the sides. Inhale: head, shoulders and shoulder blades lift off the ground (chin should not be pressed against chest), abdominal muscles tighten. In this position, stay for 5-10 seconds. Exhale - return to a lying position.
- Lying on the back, legs and arms straight, arms extended along the body. The straight legs on the inhale are raised 30 degrees relative to the plane of the floor, this position is held for five seconds, the starting position is taken at the exit.
- The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise. While inhaling, bend your knees and perform a movement that simulates cycling (30 seconds three times, with 5-second breaks).
- Lying on the back, legs bent at the knees, arms outstretched extended along the body. As you inhale, lift your pelvis off the floor (with an emphasis on the scapular region of your back) so that your stomach is in line with your knees. The position is held for 5-10 seconds and the starting position is taken slowly at the start.
- Lying on your back, legs bent at the knees, arms behind the head, elbows at the sides. Inhale: the elbow of the left hand is extended towards the right knee. Exhale - starting position. Inhale: the elbow of the right hand extends to the left knee. Exhale - starting position.
Standing abdominal slimming exercises
Simple but effective exercises to slim the abdomen while standing: squats and traditional curves.
- Stand up straight, with your feet together and your hands on your waist. Keeping your back and shoulders as straight as possible, squat down without lifting your heels off the ground. The lower the squat, the more the abdominal muscles tense during the extension. If you have any difficulties, you can do this exercise while holding your hand, for example on the back of a chair.
- Stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart, hands on the waist or behind the head. Inhale - lean forward, exhale - straighten, inhale - bend back, exhale - straighten.
- Stand up straight, with feet shoulder-width apart and arms raised. Inhale (at the expense of 1-2-3): an elastic forward bend with the toes touching the feet or the ground. On count 4 (exhale), take the starting position.
- Stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart and hands on the waist. Firmly tighten your abdominal muscles and then (without holding your breath) relax your muscles. The exercise is repeated 10 to 15 times.
Exercises to lose weight while sitting
When doing exercises to slim the abdomen while sitting, you must make sure that the back and shoulders remain straight. This increases the load on the abdominal muscles.
- Sit on the floor, legs straight, arms slightly back in the support position. Keeping your legs straight together, lift them off the floor and "draw" circles in the air with both feet, three times to the left and the same amount to the right. Repeat the exercise 3-4 times with short breaks.
- Sit on the floor, legs outstretched, arms outstretched forward. Alternately lifting your buttocks and stretching your abdominal muscles, move forward and backward (one meter). Repeat the exercise 5-6 times.
- Sit on the floor, legs straight, arms slightly back in the support position. Keep your legs straight together, leaning back slightly, and alternately lift them off the ground. The exercise is repeated in three sets of 10 times.
Abdominal slimming exercises for men
All the above exercises to slim the abdomen can be performed by men with the same success as women, but the number of repetitions should be increased (up to 20-25 times). But the most heavily loaded exercises:
- Lie on the floor, legs stretched out, arms stretched out along the body. While inhaling, lift your legs straight up (don't lift your head or shoulders! ) And hold them in this position for 10 seconds. As you exhale, take the original position. As you exercise, you should gradually increase the time you keep your legs up.
- Sit on the floor, legs straight, arms slightly back in the support position. Keep your legs straight together; Leaning back slightly, lift your legs off the ground, bend your knees, and press against your chest. Then straighten your legs and lower them to the ground.
- The starting position is similar to the previous exercise, but the legs are raised, bent and pressed against the chest alternately, right and left separately.
The exercises to slim the abdomen for men involve the active use of a horizontal bar. The simplest of them is this: hang from your arms outstretched, then, while inhaling, bend your knees and slowly stretch them, while lifting them parallel to the floor (or to the ground). As you exhale, gently return to the starting position.
Bodyflex exercises to lose weight from the abdomen
A popular complex of breathing exercises to slim the abdomen: bodyflex, developed more than 20 years ago by the American Greer Childers.
Bodyflex abdominal weight loss exercises are believed to aim to "saturate the body with oxygen", which is accomplished by temporarily holding your breath. In this case, the breathing exercises are combined with isotonic and isometric exercises, that is, static and power muscle tension without moving the parts of the body involved in the exercise.
Breathing exercises to slim the abdomen using the bodyflex method
According to the bodyflex technique, you first need to exhale all the air from your lungs - through your mouth, making a "tube" of your lips. Then, a quick, deep breath is taken through the nose (the breath should be noisy) to fill the lungs to the maximum. After that, raising your head, you need to exhale all the air with all your might, but this time with your mouth wide open. But now you need to hold your breath completely, tilt your head to your chest, and contract your stomach as much as possible (for 8-10 seconds). The last step is to relax your abdominal muscles and breathe normally. All bodyflex exercises to slim the abdomen are performed right at the stage of holding your breath (and stretching the abdomen).
Starting position: kneel, bend over and rest on the floor with the palms of the hands stretched out. The back is straight, the head is raised. A breathing exercise is performed (as described above) and while holding your breath and contracting your abdomen, you should tilt your head and arch your back as much as possible. This pose is held for 8-10 seconds. This is followed by exhalation and relaxation of the back and abdomen. The exercise is repeated three times at 15-20 second intervals.
Here's another exercise, for which you lie on your back, spread your legs a little less than shoulder-width apart, and bend them at the knees (feet completely on the floor), with your arms extended along thelength of the body. Next, do a breathing exercise (as described above) and draw the stomach. When holding your breath, you should: raise your hands and pull your head off the ground (throwing it back), shoulders and back, lifting them as high as possible; return to the supine position and, touching the back of the head with the ground, repeat the movement. After the second lift, gently return to your original position and inhale, relaxing your stomach. This exercise is repeated three times at half-minute intervals.
Finally, a lower abdominal slimming exercise. Lie on your back on the floor, with your legs straight together and your arms bent at the elbows (palms down) under your buttocks. After the completed breathing exercise, while holding the breath and the abdomen retracted, the straight legs are raised slightly above the floor (the toes are extended, the head and shoulders are still) and rapid oscillations are performed andwide "scissors", changing the position of the legs (above or below the other). The movements are performed in counts of eight to ten. They lower their legs and take a breath. Repetition: 3-4 times with pauses of 20 seconds.
Although most breathing exercises, including breathing exercises to slim the abdomen, are beneficial, the bodyflex system is believed to be potentially unsafe, as holding your breath causes high blood pressure and rhythm disturbancescardiac.
There is another system of breathing exercises (again in combination with physical activity) to reduce fat deposits in the thighs and abdomen: oxysize. True, you don't need to hold your breath here. In general, oxysize is a modified version of the American body curl, supplemented with abdominal breathing. There is nothing new here, because diaphragmatic breathing (oriental, lower or abdominal breathing) has long been practiced through yoga, which has special pranayama techniques.
Yoga exercises to lose weight
Abdominal breathing is used both to increase the supply of oxygen to the bloodstream and to strengthen the muscles of the lower abdomen. Here is the svadhisthana chakra, which in Ayurveda is considered responsible for human immunity and general vitality.
The most accessible technique to perform yoga breathing exercises to slim the abdomen looks like this: you should put one palm on your chest and the other on your stomach, breathe deeply through your nose, inflating your stomach so that your palmrises (along with the abdominal wall). In this case, the palm resting on the chest should remain immobile. Exhalation is also done through the nose and should be longer and quieter than inhalation. When you exhale, the abdominal wall must "press" against the spine, as a result of which the palm of the stomach falls back to its original position.
Now let's stop at the simplest yoga exercises to lose abdominal weight.
Bhujangasaga - Cobra Pose
Lie on the floor face down, legs straight, knees and feet together, toes extended; arms bent at the elbows, lie down along the chest, palms forward. While inhaling, with emphasis on your palms, slowly and gradually raise your body to the level of your arms stretched out on the support. In this case, the back is bent, the sternum is pulled forward and up, the shoulders are pushed back and down, the elbows are pressed against the lateral surfaces of the chest, and the head is tilted back. Fix the pose for half a minute (holding your breath for 5 seconds), then bend your arms at the elbows and, while exhaling, gently lower them to the starting position. Repeat the exercise three times.
Ardha Navasana - Half Boat Pose
Sit on the floor, with your knees bent and your arms across your chest. Round the back, press the lower lumbar region firmly against the floor, the shoulders and the rest of the back remain in weight. Then straighten your legs and raise them 25-30 cm above the ground. Extend your arms toward your feet. Legs, abdomen and lower back are tense, breathing is even. Hold this position for 15-20 seconds.
Dhanurasana - bow pose
An effective exercise to slim the lower abdomen, as well as to strengthen the spine (reminiscent of the "frog" exercise known since childhood).
Lie face down on the floor, bend your knees, lift them up, and grab your ankles with your hands. While inhaling, bend your back and lift both legs, pulling them with your hands towards your back. Hold your breath for 5 seconds, as you exhale, release your hands and gently lower your legs to the floor. The number of repetitions of the asana is three to four times.
Halasana - Plow pose (simplified version)
Lie on your back, with your head against the wall (at a distance of about half a meter), your legs outstretched and your arms outstretched extended along your body. As you inhale, lift your legs straight, bend your arms, and place your hands on your hips, supporting your body. As you exhale, place your legs straight behind your head, touch the wall with your feet. Stay in the asana for 10 seconds, take a deep breath. As you exhale, slowly straighten up, when your back is firmly on the floor, gently lower your legs. This belly slimming yoga exercise is good not only for belly fat but also thighs.
The body is a "burden" that a person constantly "carries" with him. And it takes effort and perseverance to ease this burden. Only they will help to systematically perform exercises to lose weight in the abdomen and in this way get rid of the extra kilos.