The way to build abdominal muscles is not only by doing abdominal exercises or sports, but it must also be followed by living another healthy lifestyle. The abdominal muscles that are formed also need to be provided with nutrition through food intake and adequate rest .
The abdominal muscles are shaped like long, flat, fibrous bands. This muscle, which extends vertically from under the ribs to the pubic bone, functions to hold the organs in the abdominal cavity in place this is 5 ways to build abdominal muscles.
The abdominal muscles are divided into two parts parallel to each other. Each part is divided into three segments by connective tissue. These six bands of connective tissue are what make a six-pack stomach .
However, the abdominal muscles are often covered by a layer of fat . To reduce fat while building muscle in this area, you can do various ways to strengthen your abdominal muscles.
Various Ways to Build Abdominal Muscles
Not only are abdominal muscles formed, fat in the stomach and body fat in general can also be reduced by doing the following various ways to build abdominal muscles:
1. Sports
The first way to build abdominal muscles is to do sports that combine whole body movements, such as lifting weights or squats . This whole body exercise functions to reduce weight and increase the strength of the supporting part of the body or core in the abdomen.
Apart from that, you can also do exercises that focus on the abdominal muscles, such as crunches , bicycle crunches , fitness ball rollouts , and captain's hanging . You are advised to exercise for 30 minutes 5 days a week.
2. Adjust your diet
Adjusting your diet by consuming more protein is also one way to build abdominal muscles. This is because protein helps maintain and increase muscle mass. In addition, high protein intake can also help prevent muscle mass loss during the weight loss process.
Protein can be obtained from various plant and animal foods, such as grains, nuts, meat, fish, eggs, as well as milk and processed products.
Apart from protein, consuming fruit and vegetables is also recommended. Both types of food are low in calories but rich in important nutrients, such as antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Consuming fruit and vegetables is also useful for burning body fat and helping you lose weight.
Meanwhile, avoid sweet drinks, fizzy drinks, alcoholic drinks, fried foods and sweet cakes as a way to build abdominal muscles. These drinks and foods can increase fat levels, especially stomach fat, and inhibit the process of forming abdominal muscles.
3. Drink enough water
According to research, muscles and skin are the first organs to lose water when the body is dehydrated . Water loss impacts muscle function and metabolism. Therefore, make sure your body stays hydrated as a way to build abdominal muscles.
Water also has the potential to help the fat burning process which will help build abdominal muscles. To meet your body's fluid needs, consume 8 glasses of water per day. Apart from water, body fluid needs can also be obtained from other drinks, such as juice or tea.
If you do activities that make you sweat more, such as exercising, you need more fluids to replace the lost fluids. Therefore, make sure you drink water before, during and after exercising.
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4. Get enough rest
Lack of sleep can cause side effects in the form of weight gain and affect health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. Apart from that, lack of sleep can also cause loss of muscle mass.
Therefore, you are advised to get enough sleep. Teenagers aged 13–18 years should ideally sleep 8–10 hours per day, while adults or people aged over 18 years need to sleep 7 hours or more every night.
5. Manage stress
Stress also affects the addition of fat which will ultimately disguise the shape of the abdominal muscles. Apart from that, high levels of stress are also often associated with obesity.
You can try various ways to reduce stress, such as meditating, interacting with friends or family, watching comedy films, and listening to music.
Those are some ways to build abdominal muscles that you can do. However, the various methods above cannot build abdominal muscles instantly. To get six-pack abs , you must have commitment and discipline to eat healthy food, exercise regularly, and adopt other healthy lifestyle patterns.
If you want a way to build abdominal muscles, you should consult a doctor first . The doctor will carry out an examination and suggest ways to build abdominal muscles that suit your body condition.