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O aesthetic tastes of our culture dictate some differences between "perfect body" male and female. Women, for example, are required to develop less volume than men and, in addition, this must be concentrated much more in the lower part of the body than in the upper part of the body. In other words, the opposite of what happens in the case of men. However, there are some aesthetic problems that men and women face equally. Specifically, there is one that we could consider universal. We refer -of course- to Abdominal fat.
It's common to make the mistake of thinking that the only thing we need to have a flat stomach is to maintain a calorie deficit for the time necessary to lose all the excess fat, that is, to lose weight. However, this is not even remotely true. If we want to have a good figure, it is necessary to build muscle. And it doesn't matter if we are men or women. We all “need” one strong and balanced muscles.
harden muscles of our belly, our waist and our sides will give us the necessary stability to progress and improve all our marks. Furthermore, it will allow us to maintain a healthier posture in our daily lives, it will reduce back pain, improve balance and even breathing (thanks to the hardening of the intercostal muscles and diaphragm).
However, training the abdominal muscles also carries its dangers…if not done diligently enough, of course. It is a muscle group that is at high risk of overtraining and overload due to excessive work. And if this state is reached and the muscle is damaged, The recovery it can be very slow and difficult.
Are crunches good?
A study published in 2005 by the American magazine 'Military Medicine' showed how, of the total number of Injuries sustained during the Army Physical Fitness Test at Fort Bragg (a major United States military base), 56% of them were the result of completing the tests. classic absthat is, those that are performed face up and contracting the abdominal muscles.
Additionally, classic push-ups can also be harmful to the lumbar spine, because they increase the pressure between the intervertebral discs. In the long term, abuse of this exercise can lead to the development of the well-known disc protrusions and hernias. They can also be especially harmful to women. When performing classic sit-ups, a force is generated that increases pressure within the abdominal space. And excess intra-abdominal pressure can weaken the pelvic floor muscles.
For all these reasons, experts recommend that we do an abdominal exercise much more efficient and safer:
The perfect abdominal exercise
In 2017, a group of scientists at Harvard University became intrigued by the controversial question of “best abdominal exercise” and after rigorous research, they published a study called 'Core Exercises'. In their conclusions, the experts recommended an exercise: the dishes.
Contrary to what happens with the classic abdominal exercises, which only strengthen the abdominal muscles, planks work all abdominal muscles in a balanced way; protecting – above all – the lower backwhich tends to be the one that suffers most from classic sit-ups.
To perform a plank correctly, all you need to do is rest your forearms on the floor, forming a 90º angle in relation to the rest of the body, which remains aligned from head to heels, with legs together and straight. This way, our only points of support will be our elbows and toes. When we take this position, let's contract the abdominal muscles while slightly lifting your hips.
Many people tend to think that – because it is a isometric exercise and does not require muscle compression – this exercise is less intense… or it will not give as good results as classic sit-ups. But the reality is that results become visible quickly. And it's no wonder, whoever maintained a iron for about 30 seconds You know how difficult it is. Once we can maintain this posture for -at least- 45 seconds, we can begin to include other variations that affect some specific areas of the abdomen.