Beautifully sculpted abdominal muscles are every athlete’s dream and an objective of bodybuilders and all those concerned with their figure. How to sculpt the belly to make it the envy of all and a provider of a perfect postural support? Here are a few important facts.

Construction of the abdominal muscles

Abdominal muscles are the muscles between the chest and the upper pelvis. The anterolateral abdominal wall is made by the  rectus abdominis muscle, the external oblique muscle, the internal oblique muscle, the transverse abdominal muscle and the pyramidalis muscle. The posterior wall of the abdomen, in turn, is composed of the quadratus lumborum, the psoas major, the psoas minor and the iliacus. Those involved in professional sport work hard to have a “six pack”, i.e. a nicely outlined rectus abdominis, while beginners wrestle with ways to burn belly fat. The best solution is to concentrate on simple and safe exercises to reduce fat tissue.

Easy exercises for beginners

1. Parallel Bar Bent Leg Raise: keep your forearms strongly supported against the padded bars when doing the exercise. Make sure that your torso, back and buttocks adhere closely to the back support. Slightly bend your legs and let them hang freely. Raise the legs in a smooth motion. The straighter the legs, the more difficult the exercise. Do 3-4 series, 15-20 repetitions in each. 
2. Abdominal Crunches: in this exercise, you bring your lower chest to the upper pelvis. Keep your knees bent at a 90 degree angle. You can rest your feet on a barbell or the wall. Raise your torso rhythmically. Do not touch the mat with your shoulders as you perform the lowering movement and do not return to the lying position. 3-4 series, with 20-25 repetitions in each should be enough. 
3. Bench Knee Ups: sit on the edge of a bench. Slightly pull your knees to the chest and tilt your body a bit backwards remembering to keep natural spine curvature. Remember about a 30-45 degree bend in your knees.

Next to the exercises proposed in this document, to help your belly look better, you need to exercise your deep muscles, i.e. the internal oblique muscle, the pyramidalis, the transverse abdominal muscle and the quadratus lumborum. By training these muscles, you will keep your belly flat and avoid the “turtle effect”.

How to sculpt the belly. Exercises for deep abdominal muscles

1. Seated Torso Twists: do the exercise seated, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Keep your body straight and your arms pulled sideways. Slowly twist from side to side and stop the motion for about 1 second. 3-4 series, with 15-20 repetitions in each should be enough. 
2. Single Leg Raises: do this exercise in a lying position, with one leg straight and the other leg bent so foot is flat on the ground. Raise the straight leg upwards, simultaneously raising your torso. 3-4 series, with 15-20 repetitions in each should be enough. 

More than exercises

In order to have a perfect belly, apart from the exercises you need a good diet, so that when working out, you burn more calories than you deliver to your body during the day. Your diet should be rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.