When we sign up for the gym we seek to have a toned body in which we can see the famous six pack. Abs are exercises that are surrounded by hoaxes and false beliefs about their growth and development. One of the most commonly used exercises to improve the abdomen are abdominal irons. These exercises have been considered to be the best for developing the entire abdomen area. However, to what extent they are useful is, how long it should last, how often should we train, what variants more effective, etc.
All these doubts we will solve in this article where we will talk thoroughly about the abdominal irons.
Diet for a good abdomen
Before talking about abdominal plants and how we should execute and train them, we must talk about a fundamental aspect. The diet according to exercise. We need to know that, in order to gain muscle mass, we need to be in a surplus of calories in the diet on a sustained basis in time. That is, we must be part of the gym time gaining muscle mass and another time losing excess fat. To do this, two phases known as volume phase and definition phase are performed.
In the volume phase a phase of muscle mass gain we use the diet to generate a small surplus of calories that, along with the high protein, helps us to generate new muscle tissues. The problem is that during this phase you inevitably have to gain some fat in the process. In this way, our abdomen will not look so visible and we will not be able to bade abdominals. However, it is the necessary process to be able to create abs that can then be shown during the definition phase. During this phase, we lose the fat that we have gained a volume and “unclog” the abs.
Once this is clarified, we will proceed to analyze all the abdominal irons and their variants.
Abdominal irons and variants
In the abdominal iron we try to exert pressure on the entire area of the core to generate a sufficient stimulus to force the tissues to develop. This is how we grow our muscle mass in the abdominal area. However, it is usually a rather demanding exercise and there are different variants for all levels.
Let’s analyze what are the main variants of abdominal plants.
- Iron with change of supports: is the one in which we place in the position of the iron with the arms stretched and bending one of the elbows alternately so that the support point is the forearms. In this way, we’ll also tone our arms.
- Iron with bending: in this type of variant, we acquire the position of the iron and do not lie on the floor leaning on the wrists and insteps. We bend our elbows to approach the ground and hold for a few seconds until we stretch our arms again.
- Iron with balance to one leg: from the iron position we separate one leg from the floor and try to maintain balance for several seconds. We will back the leg from the floor to repeat the exercise with the other leg.
- Superman iron– this one is very well known in the gym. It consists in lifting one arm simultaneously along with the other opposite leg. The body is balanced over the support points.
- Knee to chest: we place ourselves in the iron position and go alternately carrying the knee to the chest.
- Iron with jump: it is focused on analyzing some hip rotations. It is a type of exercise that requires strength throughout the body.
Within all these variants we also find exercises with fitball. Keep in mind that to use the fitball we can not drop in lumbar and we always keep the navel towards the ceiling. In this way, we avoid any kind of injury. Also in we have the variants of iron on the side in which we place on the side with the elbow supported below the shoulder. You have to place your feet together and separate the body from the ground. You have to keep the line straight with respect to the ground.
Effectiveness of abdominal irons
Since there are many people who venture to perform the challenges of abdominal irons, we should know that you have to execute this exercise. In this type of exercise you work a lot of muscles. Mainly emphasis is placed on the abdominal rectum and transverse. However, having to be completely stabilized you also get to work part of your shoulder, chest and involve some triceps. We also do some exercise on the bottom train. Being placed in the position of the iron we see that we demand some work on the hip and the anterior rectum of the quadriceps.
We must remember that, we can have very well developed muscles, that if we have a layer of a few centimeters of fat ahead we will not be able to see anything. Therefore, you have to combine these types of exercises with a hypocaloric diet to reduce the percentage of fat and with other aerobic exercises.
Although it is an exercise with good effectiveness, you have to perform the technique well. Even if it is an exercise that does not have movement, we should not consider it as an exercise without possible injuries. It is not an exercise that is recommended for people who are overweight or lumbar problems. It is necessary to turn to a personal trainer to assess your situation. You should also correct the technique well to perform a good laying.
If we do not perform the technique well in the abdominal plates we can get to load a lot of the lumbar area with too much curvature. That way, we get the vertebrae to resent. Another way people often confuse these exercises is often. The abdomen has to train it as if it were any other muscle. It must have an intensity, a training volume and a frequency according to our level and the goal we are looking for. Let’s not forget that the abs also need their rest in order to develop well.
Finally, the same happens with duration. We should not exceed the duration of the abdominal iron as we can damage the lumbar.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about abdominal irons.
