5 EFFECTIVE ABDOMINAL EXERCISES FOR HEIGHT INCREASE
Does abs workout increase height? you may ask.
Before addressing this question, bear in mind that weak abdominal muscles affect your height in one way or the other as you will discover later in the article hence, strengthening your core muscles should be a priority.
Abdominal muscles support the trunk, and allow movement.
Your abdominal wall is made up of both superficial and deep abdominal muscles on the façade as well as muscles in the back and together they help keep your body stable, balanced, and protect your spine.
Strong abdominal muscles offer stability to the spine and optimize performance during sports or activities that require limb movement.
There is a total of 4 main abdominal muscles which include;
The rectus abdominis – The “six pack” muscle fibers on the face of the abdominal wall.
The rectus abdominis muscle also plays a vital role of keeping your torso stable whenever you raise your head from a reclined or supine position.
External oblique muscle –
The superficial muscle on both sides of the abdominal wall that traverses from just below the rib cage to the front of the abdominal wall just above the pelvis.
Internal oblique muscles –
Located below the external oblique muscles and slightly on top of the transversus bdominis.
Strengthening this muscle is very vital for preventing lumbar spine compression and improved back health since the internal obliques are attached to the lower back muscles that run up to the thoracic or chest area (The erector spinae fascia)
Hence, strengthening the internal obliques strengthens the erector spinae fascia making it more able to resist any forces that may lead to lumbar spine compression like gravity or any force that results from carrying heavy loads on your head or back.
The transverse abdominis
Located very deep beneath the rest of the abdominal muscles.
It keeps the hip joint and lumbar spine in position and helps us to forcefully exhale air from the lungs when performing activities that necessitate control of breathing like singing.
How Weak Abdominal muscles can affect your height.
When the abdominal muscles are weak, the spine is not properly supported which leads to changes in body alignment or slouching.
This is because it’s the back muscles especially those that run from the lower back to thoracic region ( the erector spinae and multifidus muscles) that play the vital role of keeping the spine in position and withstand any forces that may lead to spinal compression like gravity thus keeping the spine in an erect position, preventing slouching and lower back pain .
Slouching will definitely make you appear a couple of inches shorter.
2. Weaknesses in abdominal muscles may also result in compression of joints around the lumbar spine or the bottom portion of the spinal column which affects your spinal disc height and overall height. [1]
3. Strong abdominal muscles will also effectively carry the weight of your body and bones, thus taking some of the unnecessary pressure off your spine.
It’s therefore imperative to include abdominal exercises in your grow taller exercise plan.
The Most Effective abdominal workouts
The effective abdominal exercises listed below target at least one of the four main abdominal muscles and all of them can be performed at home.
1. The Bridge/ Plank exercise
One of the most adored abdominal exercise by most fitness gurus because of it’s effectiveness in strengthening and toning the core muscles.
When executing the plank exercise, you support your entire body weight against gravity.
How to do it
Assume a prone position on the floor.
Support your entire body on your elbows and toes making sure that the body is leveled.
Keep the core muscles engaged and as tense as possible then tighten the butt to prevent the mid section of the body from sagging.
Maintain the plank position for at least 30 – 60 seconds though if you are doing the plank for the first time, 30 seconds may be a hard target.
You can begin with 10 -15 seconds but your aim should be to maintain the plank position for at least 30 seconds.
Take a break for couple of seconds before repeating the plank and you can do at least 3 repetitions or even more if you wish.
Why the plank is effective
The plank is effective because it engages not only your core but also shoulder, back and hip muscles but most importantly, fitness experts prefer the plank for core strengthening because while performing the plank exercise, the abdominal muscles are trained to do exactly what they are meant to do;
That is remain static or in position which helps to make them even stronger.
The abdominal muscles targeted by the plank include;
The erector spinae (the group of muscles positioned along the spine in the back), the external oblique muscles, the rectus abdominis muscles, and the traversus abdominis muscles.
2. Side plank
The side plank is a little complicated due to the fact that to execute this exercise appropriately, the entire body weight has to be supported on two contact points that is the elbow and outside of your foot.
This however makes it very effective when it comes to toning and strengthening your core muscles since the core muscles get stronger as they adapt to supporting your body weight.
How to do it
Simply support your body on your elbow and legs diagonally to the floor while maintaining a leveled position and placing the free hand on your hips.
Hold on to this body position for 15 to 60 seconds or even longer depending on your fitness level before switching to the other side.
Why it is effective
While performing this workout, a number of muscles are targeted most importantly, the external oblique muscles .
Other muscles targeted by the side plank include; those around the chest, the thigh muscles, shoulder muscles and the adductor muscles of the hips.
Such muscles are rarely kept active thus with the side plunk, it’s an opportunity to activate them.
3. Push ups
One of the most common fitness excises though not as easy to execute as it may seem.
Some folks don’t perform push ups appropriately which diminishes their efficiency in regards to core muscle toning or strengthening.
How to do it
Begin by supporting your body on your hands and toes making sure the hands are positioned approximately as wide as your shoulders and fingers pointing straight forward.
- Make sure that the body is perfectly aligned from the back to your legs and the abdominal muscles are tight.
Tightening your abdominal muscles prevents the hip – to the back arc area from falling in and increases the effectiveness of the push ups in strengthening the core muscles.
3. The next step is to lower your body towards the floor until – according to some experts, the part of the arm between the elbow and shoulder joints is at approximately a 45 degree angle to your shoulder.
4. Complete the push up exercise by ascending the entire body to the starting position.
Perform as many push ups as you can depending on your fitness levels. The more the better though 10 – 20 for most people is enough.
why push ups are effective
whenever you perform the push up exercise, the transverse abdominis and rectus abdominis muscles are engaged .
Most strength training instructors put a lot of emphasis on the rectus abdominis muscles because they are the center of your core strength.
They are the muscles that keep your body straight and support your entire body to prevent it from slouching.
Other muscles targeted by push ups include the shoulder joint muscles, fore arm muscles, chest muscles, back muscles, as well as biceps and triceps.
Push ups are simply the ultimate upper body workout exercise.
4. Bicycle abdominal exercise
The bicycle abdominal exercise is quite complex in the beginning especially if you are over weight but once you get used, it’s relatively easy to execute and very effective in strengthening your core muscles.
How to do it
- Lie on the floor in a reclined position and place your arms behind your head, gently assisting it with your fingers.
2. Raise both your knees towards the abdominal area and mimic the cycling motion as if you are cycling in the air.
3. As you execute this motion, ensure that the neck is completely off the floor by supporting the back of your head with your hands.
Move the right elbow towards the left knee while stretching out the right leg.
And do the same with the left elbow and right leg as you stretch out the left leg.
Why it is effective
The bicycle exercise is very effective in strengthening and toning mainly the rectus abdominis muscles .
With this exercise, you also strengthen the muscles around the hips since these muscles keep contracting as you cycle in the air.
5. Sit ups
Sit ups are a very effective workout to strengthen your core muscles that’s why they are favored by many fitness instructors not only in gyms but also during training sessions in sports and the military.
They are relatively hard to execute especially if you are performing them for the first time.
How to do sit ups.
Begin by lying on the floor in a supine position.
Bend your knees and place your hands behind the head.
Elevate your torso from the floor as you move your head towards your knees.
For starters, you may require someone to sit on your feet or you may place some weight on your feet to prevent the legs from moving as you elevate the torso from the floor.
Wind up the sit up exercise by resuming the starting position or reclining your head back to the starting position with the hands placed behind the head.
Ensure that your head doesn’t touch the floor.
Just like the push ups, you can do as many sit ups as you wish though for starters, aiming for 5 – 10 will be a good starting point before aiming for more as your fitness levels improve.
Why Sit ups are effective
Sit ups target a wide range of abdominal exercises unlike other abdominal crunches.
Muscles targeted include the rectus abdominis , the external and internal oblique muscles as well as the muscles along the hip joints.
A FEW POINTERS
1. Several studies have demonstrated that even if you perform many abdominal workouts or crunches, it has no effect on reducing the waist line size or abdominal fat as well as the entire body fat.
If you are struggling to eliminate belly fat, you can visit how to get rid of stomach fat page for the causes of stomach fat accumulation and how to get rid of it fast.
2. After analyzing the electrical activity produced by abdominal muscles in different positions, it was ascertained that the rectus abdominis or ‘six pack’ muscles and the external oblique muscles are almost entirely inactive when you are walking or in a standing position unless if you are carrying a load on your head or back.
So, walking almost has no effect on your rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles.
However, your internal oblique muscles are activated when you are in an erect position, sitting or walking because they play an important role of stabilizing the pelvis.
On the other hand, the rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles become active when you assume a supine or reclined position.
3. Workout your abdominal muscles at least 3-5 times in week or even everyday if possible and include at least two or three or even more different core excises to counter lumbar spine compression and it’s effects including lower back pain.
Studies demonstrate that core stabilization exercises whether used alone or in conjunction with other treatments can significantly ease lower back pain as well as pain around the pelvic girdle or the hip joint and prevent pain from recurring.[2]
You may also like to download the PDF for the Grow taller after puberty exercise routine handbook that includes the abdominal workouts.
AUTHOR BIO
As a short guy who was psychologically distressed almost everyday due to the challenges he faced in life accountable to his height, Dennis Raney (Bsc.) finally somehow found a way to overcome this adversity by naturally increasing his height with lifestyle and healthy changes.
He has been researching this topic for over a decade and practically applying the knowledge so he decided to share his wealth of information about the topic of increasing height both during and after puberty in the book and on this blog.
Feel free to connect with him for a conversation:
Email: Dennis »»
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