Training Anatomy – Abdominal Muscles

Peter Andre is a living example of how to earn millions, sleep with the best women, and base an entire life solely and exclusively on having perfect abs, and of course, showing them off to everyone.

If they don't know you're rich, what's the point of all that money? goes the age-old saying, and it's somewhat similar when it comes to body sculpting. If you can't show yourself off like a proper peacock everywhere you go, then why would you suffer for hours to shape your body so perfectly that you'd rather have sex with yourself? Because that's what it's about, let's at least not try to deceive each other.

Let's get back to Peter Andre, because he is the most essential embodiment of this body sculpting and showing it off. We're talking about the mid-90s, when celebrity was still an unknown concept. Back then, you had to achieve something to become a known person, unlike today. Back then, it wasn't enough to be a dumb, truly deeply stupid, ass-crazy nobody, or maybe a hustling little whore who automatically kneels down when she smells money.

In addition to his truly perfect body and even more perfectly sculpted abs, Peter Andre could also sing, though opinions on that are divided. I mean, about whether he could sing, but that's beside the point now. The main thing is that, by today's standards, the music video for "Mysterious Girl" birthed an icon, to which masses of teenage girls reading the then-highly successful Bravo magazine ritually ejaculated. Peter Andre owed this recognition exclusively to his abdominal muscles, and of course, to the fact that he didn't have a face like Róbert Puzsér.

I remember when this video came out, and a shirtless photo of this pheasant boy appeared in the aforementioned Bravo. One girl actually bound her diary with a poster of him. Wild things happened back then, before the internet age. Every girl was crazy about him, except for the Tankcsapda fans of the time, and of course, those EDDA fans who didn't even suspect then that their beloved Attila Pataky would totally crack up 10 years later and see UFOs on Teréz Boulevard.

What thighs and buttocks are to women, a six-pack and a well-defined upper body are to men. Visually, the abdomen is perhaps one of the most important muscle groups. Calvin Klein knew this well, building his empire by focusing on this muscle group and, of course, stuffed underwear, as a heterosexual in a world where anyone who isn't gay, bisexual, or demonstrably perfectly decadent can't set foot – and I'm not talking about the RTL Klub senior management here. This Andre guy is a rare poser, but the work he put into that body certainly has to be acknowledged.

Where would Cristiano Ronaldo, Brad Pitt, Markus Schenkenberg (number one male model) be now if they didn't invest a huge amount of energy and time into building their bodies? Probably C Ronaldo would still be a damn good footballer, but he wouldn't be as hyped up, and Armani certainly wouldn't have signed him for 5 years, that's for sure. But before we get to the colder parts of the post, i.e., what exercises we should do for our abs, I'd like to include a picture for each gender for motivation.

Now that everyone has received adequate motivation to start developing their abdominal muscles, we should clarify a few things first.

1. Abdominal muscle shaping is by far the most difficult in the world of body sculpting, and forming such muscles requires months of hard training, naturally alongside adhering to a protein-rich, properly composed diet, so that those lines are actually visible, considering all that time and energy.

2. If you happen to have any abdominal muscle strengtheners from teleshopping or god knows where, everyone should grab them now, stop reading this post, and break them, throw them out, burn them, pour acid on them, or I don't know what to do with them, but the main thing is to get rid of them, because they just take up space and are absolutely useless. We'll gain abdominal muscles sooner by asking someone to kick us in the stomach for a few minutes than with these painfully retarded machines designed for idiots.

3. Jerking your head forward is not an abdominal exercise, it just means you're stupid.

4. It follows directly from the third point that abdominal exercises also have their technique, where attention must be paid to breathing, maintaining the body in the correct position, where tension must be observed, and where the body should not be allowed to fall back in the negative range, but rather held with resistance. These are important. It can be done differently, but it's just not worth it. Flailing around on the floor unnecessarily is also quite unpleasant. Not just for you, but also for those who have to watch this struggle.

The abdominal muscles can be divided into four parts. To achieve a proportionate, beautifully sculpted abdomen in the future, all four must be stimulated to an appropriate degree. It is a huge misconception that the more sit-ups we do, meaning the more we train our abs, the sooner we will get a six-pack. That's a huge load of crap!!!!!!!! Maximum three exercises, with 15-20 repetitions, but performed CORRECTLY. If you know any clowns who brag about doing 500 sit-ups, subtly indicate to them that they are indeed a complete idiot, then show them this Training Anatomy post. Because anyone who does hundreds of sit-ups most likely couldn't even do 30 correctly.

Every program with me starts with a fitness assessment. At these times, I usually check the condition of those I will be working with. I look not only at fitness, but also at endurance, mental focus, emotional state (very important for women), and motor coordination. Based on these experiences, I can state that most people make the mistake of being unable to distinguish effective movement sequences from simple movement. Let's stick to the abdominal muscles for simplicity's sake.

I tell the woman to do as many crunches as she can in 1 minute. I don't say anything during the assessment because I want to see what they are capable of on their own in a heightened situation, which is what the assessment is about, and how they execute it.

Needless to say, it's a disaster. Because what happens then? They start jerking their heads forward by tugging at the back of their necks, which achieves nothing, but at least they thoroughly mess up their vertebrae in return, while the abdominal muscles are fine, thank you very much, they haven't experienced any strain whatsoever.

Incorrectly, with the aforementioned head-jerking, even people with the nastiest physiques can easily perform 100-150 "crunches," but that doesn't mean your abs are fine now; it means you're doing it wrong, and it's pointless. Do it correctly, and you won't be able to do five. Arms crossed over your chest, lift your chest so that your shoulder blades fully lift off the ground. Hold your chest at the top of the upper sector for at least 2 seconds, then slowly and gradually lower yourself back down, placing the upper part of your back on the floor, all with controlled breathing. That's a crunch.

Do it right, and it will be damn hard. If it's easy, and you don't feel anything, you won't progress.

Remember this for life, and let these words echo in your head while you're in the gym. If it doesn't hurt, it's worth nothing. And you're there to achieve results. Tolerating pain sets you apart from the crowd and puts you above average. This is why you'll be more attractive than others; this provides the mental boost that you can endure it. You need to be the kind of person who keeps going when others have stopped and given up, you keep doing it even when it really hurts. With every second you spend in the pain zone, you get closer to your goal. If it hurts, you're getting in shape; if it doesn't hurt, and you're unwilling to push further, then I ask you to give it all up and feel free to set your locker on fire. Don't look for the easy way out, because the easy way is the path of worthless nobodies, and you cannot walk that path. Or rather, you can, but then I'm utterly not interested in you at any level, and believe me, the more valuable half of society won't be either. I know it's not just about training, but if you do it this way here, why would you do it differently in other areas of life? Sh*t stinks everywhere.

And now a few words about the structure of the abdominal muscles.

Within the abdominal muscles, we distinguish four muscle groups, and of course, you need to strengthen all four. I know no one cares, but I'll show you anyway, because the abdominal exercises will also be divided into these 4 muscle groups.

From left to right: External oblique, internal oblique, rectus abdominis, and transverse abdominis.

By working these 4 muscle groups, we can shape the waist, eliminate love handles, carve away side fat, work our abdominal wall, and finally get rid of that damn lower belly fat, which is one of the nastiest things in life, especially after taking off a push-up bra, of course. Let's see what exercises we can do for these muscle groups and, most importantly, how to perform them CORRECTLY for these goals.

Basic rules

1. The most important. Without a diet, you can do abs your whole life, and it won't show anything. The body is like a diamond on the beach, covered in sand. But it's there. It's damn there, but no one notices it because it's covered in a layer of mud.

You are the diamond, the mud is your fat, and the workouts are the waves. If you keep at it consistently, you will eventually wash off the mud, and something incredibly beautiful will emerge, because the human body and the muscles that give it shape are indeed precious stones, which are also within you, but because you were a hedonistic mess, you don't see the value that resides within you, and which others cannot admire either. A beautiful body is a value, just like a diamond, and just as with the value of a diamond, you will be able to achieve many things with your body. Not only because people appreciate beauty more, but also the path and the time you dedicate to shaping your body will strengthen you so much that you will move mountains and be able to achieve anything you set your mind to. Maybe you don't understand this now, but when you get there, you will.

2. Pay attention to your breathing. This is perhaps even more critical and emphasized for abdominal exercises than for other muscle groups.

3. Control your body.

4. Pay attention to the execution.

5. Focus on the tension and holding phase.

6. DO NOT PERFORM ANY EXERCISE WITH MOMENTUM. Lift, hold, slowly lower back, stop. Every movement is from point A to point B. Body sculpting is not terribly cringe aerobic fussing.

I've talked too much again. In the second part of the post, there will be specific exercises with descriptions, anatomical drawings, and videos in abundance.