So trainierst du deine unteren Bauchmuskeln

A well-defined six-pack is the absolute non plus ultra for most athletes for good reason. So it's not for nothing that most fitness articles, both on the web and in relevant magazines, revolve around this Holy Grail of fitness sports and strategies on how to achieve it. But no matter which strategy is used, only very few people actually manage to reach their goal. Especially problematic is the training of the lower abdominal muscles, which completes a real six-pack. In this article, we would like to give you some really helpful advice, with the help of which you can finally stimulate your lower abdominal muscles to grow.

The initial situation

Training the lower abdominal muscles can be a frustrating affair. Especially when you've already tried countless exercises, and yet none of them seem to bring the promised success. It is only too natural that in this you ask yourself what you are doing wrong. If you ask experienced bodybuilders, it quickly becomes clear that building strong lower abdominal muscles is not necessarily dependent on exercise selection alone, although this factor should not be ignored. Another factor that should not be disregarded in this context is that the upper abdominal muscles are usually more pronounced than the lower area due to training and everyday stress. This not only results in a visual difference, but also affects the activation of the muscles during training. This means that during abdominal training you tend to move more load with the upper abdominal muscles, which reduces the growth stimulus in the lower abdominal muscles. It is therefore particularly important that you not only perform the right exercises, but that you also explicitly focus on the contraction of the lower abdominal muscles.

Focus on quality not quantity

The basis for strong lower abdominal muscles are of course the corresponding exercises such as Hanging Leg Raises or Reverse Crunches. In terms of execution, however, most exercisers make the mistake of placing their personal focus on achieving a maximum number of repetitions, whereby primarily the already well-developed parts of the abdominal muscles are trained, leaving the real weak points by the wayside. It is not important that you do 20, 30 or 40 repetitions, but that each repetition is performed with maximum concentration and intensity. So it's especially important that you don't rush through each set. Alternatively, it is worthwhile to extend each repetition to five seconds, consciously encouraging contraction of the lower abdominal muscles. Remember: The longer your muscle fibers are under maximum tension, the higher the potential growth stimulus.

Strengthen your abdominal muscles outside the workout as well

It's in the nature of things that your abdominal muscles are basically trained every day anew, as soon as you move even one foot out of your bed. A step worth considering in this context is to optimize this everyday training efficiency. The easiest way to do this, of course, is to use set breaks in your training sessions to stimulate your abdominal muscles with a set of Hanging Leg Raises or Reverse Crunches. In addition, you can also consciously tense your abdominal muscles in regular sets during the course of everyday activities, such as shopping or walking to work, in order to achieve a training effect. Three series per day, each with three to five cycles of 20 seconds of tension and 20 seconds of relaxation, can work wonders.

Watch your waist

After we have dealt with the aspect of training, we should subsequently not let the importance of nutrition fall under the table, because definition is not in the gym, but in the kitchen. This applies in particular to the lower abdominal muscles, as these only appear late under the subcutaneous fatty tissue anyway and are also visually much less dominant in most people. The royal road to perfectly defined lower abdominal muscles therefore inevitably leads to fat loss via cardio training and a calorie-reduced diet. From a low body fat content, you can expect your lower abdominal muscles to stand out clearly.

An exemplary workout

Finally, we would like to give you a little workout routine that will help you stimulate your lower abdominal muscles to grow. Depending on the training system you use, you should do this workout two to three times a week. For best results, hold the peak contraction for two to three seconds.
Hanging Leg Raises - 3 sets of 12 repetitions
Reverse Crunch - 3 sets of 12 repetitions
Vertical Bench Leg Raise - 3 sets of 12 repetitions