On any Internet resource devoted to sports, a healthy lifestyle or bodybuilding, you can find material about the study of the lower press, its features and difficulties, while the upper abdomen is undeservedly deprived of attention. Exercises for the upper press should be selected for a set of workouts as thoughtfully and rationally.
What is the upper and lower press
The division of the press into "upper" and "lower" is conditional, these are two sections of the rectus abdominis muscle. Any exercise aimed at the upper section of the rectus muscle will force the lower section to work, and vice versa, because the muscle is one, and it always contracts entirely. However, practice shows that it is much more difficult to pump up the lower section, there are several reasons for this:
- The rectus abdominis muscle has different thicknesses along its length: the upper section is wider, while the lower one is narrower. The larger part of the muscle responds faster to training, because of the greater mass, cubes are easier to draw on it.
- The main function of the rectus muscle is to bring the chest to the pelvic region. For example, when tilting, the lower part of the press motionlessly fixes the pelvis relative to the spine, and the upper part pulls the chest towards the pelvis. When lifting the legs from a prone position, on the contrary, the lower section works, while the upper press fixes the chest. In everyday life, you have to bend over much more often than raise your legs, thanks to this, the upper press is developed even in people who have no training experience.
- There is less fat in the upper abdomen and the abdominal muscles are better visible; if the rectus abdominis muscle is pumped and has a pattern of cubes, then it is easier to see it in the upper part.
In addition, for girls, due to the characteristics of the body, it is more difficult to pump the lower press, while the upper one responds just as easily to loads.
Additional inventory
If there is such a goal as to pump up the upper abs at home, then discipline and well-chosen training will be the best assistants in this matter. However, some of the available equipment and equipment can improve the efficiency and comfort of your workouts:
- A practice mat and comfortable clothing will help you get in the mood for your workout.
- The Gym Roller is an effective and affordable trainer not only for the abdominal muscles, but also for other core muscles.
- Fitball is another sports equipment that will greatly expand the list of exercises available.
- A special bench for the press will allow you to better work out the upper section of the rectus abdominis muscle.
- Weights - kettlebells, dumbbells or barbell pancakes.
Do I need to use weights
Beginners require small loads, they may well do without dumbbells or weights. But all muscles, including the abs, quickly get used to the stress, and development requires more workouts. Weights are great for this.
Sometimes girls are afraid to use extra weight in training, believing that this can lead to an increase in muscle volume. It must be understood that due to the peculiarities of physiology, the female body is reluctant to increase muscle mass, and this happens during "multi-repetitive" training. While training with heavy weights promotes fat burning.
Men, regardless of whether they want to increase muscle endurance or increase muscle volume, need weights when working out the press. If special equipment is not available, then water bottles can be a substitute for dumbbells or barbell pancakes.
How to improve the effectiveness of upper abs exercises
Several rules will allow you to achieve the best results from training:
- Choose a training program in accordance with your level of training. Exercises that are too hard can lead to prolonged muscle pain, and too light exercises will not work. As you work out the muscles, complicate the training complex. The body gets used to the stress, and exercise stops stimulating progress.
- Do not neglect warm-up and stretching. Not only are they needed to prevent injuries and strains, trained muscles respond better to training.
- Exercise correctly. You don't have to be afraid to spend an entire workout to understand the technique for performing each exercise, to find out which muscle groups should work and which ones should relax. It is imperative to deal with breathing - as a rule, exhalation should occur at the moment of greatest physical effort, however, there are exceptions in exercises with several tension points. In exercises on the abdominal muscles, the abs should be tense at all times. Doing the training incorrectly, the rectus abdominis muscle does not work or does not work enough.
- Strictly adhere to the training schedule, do not be lazy and give all your best during the training.
How to pump up your upper abs
Allocating a separate workout for a section of one muscle is definitely not worth it. If the training is devoted to the abdominal muscles, then 15-25% of the exercises should be planned for the upper press. This section of the rectus abdominis muscle responds quite easily to stress in both women and men, so it is important to ensure that all muscle groups develop evenly.
The main function of the upper press is to bring the chest to the pelvis, while the lower section fixes the pelvic region relative to the spine, trainings are based on this principle.
Upper Press Exercises
- Twisting. The most effective exercise for the upper press, has many options. Classic crunches are performed while lying on a hard surface. It is required to remove your hands behind your head, and bend your legs at the knees. As you exhale, you need to pull your chin up, lifting the shoulder blades, but leaving the lower back pressed to the floor. On inhalation, return to the starting position. To better understand the principle of the exercise, you can imagine twisting a gymnastic rug - you need to round your back while lifting the shoulder blades. In the classic version, it is permissible to use weighting materials. In this case, the palms are located on the chest and hold the weights - a kettlebell, a pancake from a barbell or a bottle of water.
- Complicated twisting options. Twisting can be performed lying with your back on the fitball, and resting your feet on the floor, the main thing is to carefully monitor that the lower back remains parallel to the floor. Another option is twisting on a bench, in this case it is required to fix the feet under special rollers. It is not necessary to fully raise the body to a position perpendicular to the floor, only twists are performed. In the gym, the exercise "twisting on the block" is available: you need to kneel in front of the simulator and pull the rope with your hands to face level, tilting your body slightly forward. As you exhale, perform a twist, the elbows should move towards the middle of the thigh.
- Deflections on the abdomen. You need to straighten up, lying on your stomach, stretch your arms along the body. As you exhale, stretch your shoulder blades and head up, making sure that the lower part of the body does not come off the floor. On inhalation, return to the starting position.
- Raises the arms and legs. Starting position: lying on your back, legs straightened. As you exhale, you need to raise your arms and legs at the same time so that the palms touch the feet, while inhaling, return.
- The letter "T". Starting position: support lying on straightened arms. As you exhale, it is required to transfer the body weight to the right hand, and to raise the top with the left hand and stay in this position. While inhaling, return to the prone position and repeat in the other direction.
