Training plan | Abdominal muscle training for women

Training plan

A balanced training plan for the abdominal muscles does not only consist of different exercises for the abdomen, but is made up of many different parts. In addition to strength training for the abdominal muscles, cardio training and the right diet are also part of the plan. Cardio training can be done two to four times a week for about 30 minutes in addition to strength training.

With regard to nutrition, you should make sure that the food is balanced and wholesome. Daily fruit and vegetables are part of a healthy diet, and you should also make sure that you always drink enough. Women, in particular, usually do not consume enough protein and healthy fatty acids because they are afraid of gaining fat or muscle mass.

However, this fear is unfounded. A training plan for the abdominal muscles, for example, can last eight weeks and look like this:The plan is divided into two four-week blocks. In the first four weeks you start with the exercises Crunches, Planks, hanging knee raise and dumbbell side bends.

The crunches are trained in two to three sets of 15 to 25 repetitions each. The Planks also include two to three sets, but this time the training is not done with repetitions, but with 30 to 60 seconds of “holding work”. The exercises hanging knee raise and dumbbell side bends are both done in two to three sets with ten to 20 repetitions each.

In the second four weeks the exercises change to twisting bench crunch, plank with feet on the bench, sit ups with weights and wood chops. Now the training sets are also increased from two to three to three to four sets. The twisting bench crunches are now 20 to 30 repetitions, the planks are now held for one minute per set, the sit ups with weights are also repeated 20 to 30 times and the wood chops 10 to 20 times. This plan for training the abdominal muscles can be done two to three times a week in addition to the “normal” training. You should always make sure that you take enough recovery time.

Common mistakes

• You have to train daily: Of course it’s good to be active every day. However, targeted muscle training should only be carried out with breaks, because the muscles need a regeneration phase to be able to continue building up. – You have to do many repetitions: Instead of doing 1,000 crunches, other muscle groups should be trained as well.

1-2 abdominal exercises with 2-3 sets and 10-20 repetitions are completely sufficient. – You only have to train the abdomen specifically: Abdominal training alone is not enough to effectively reduce body fat. Relatively speaking, the straight abdominal muscle is actually a rather small muscle that burns fewer calories during training than other, larger muscle groups.

It is therefore better to include complex basic exercises such as squats or pull-ups. This involves many more muscles being active, more energy is required and the circulation is better stimulated. In addition, the abdominal muscles are also tense during exercises where they are not specifically addressed.