Some Ab exercises from beginner to advanced
imagymrat
Posts: 862 Member
Here are a few basic and not so basic ab exercises you can add to your workouts, i'm going to keep adding to this list so that you'll always have a ton of options.
1. The Basic Sit Up: Again, this is the most well known of all the abdominal exercises. It targets the center of the abs and is easy to perform. Basically, you lie down on the floor with your knees bent and then sit up towards them.
2. The Roman Chair Sit Up: This is a sit up performed in a gym on a decline bench system that hooks your ankles into place. The added stress helps develop the abs tremendously.
3. The Crunch: This is a tough variant on the sit up but it makes the muscles quite strong. Basically, you perform a sit up with one modification: you crunch your knees in towards the elbows as you perform the sit up. This enhances the stress on the abs significantly.
4. Side Bends: Also known as leans, these exercises involve little more than standing up and bending side ways. This will target the obliques of the abs and can be done with or without holding dumbbells.
5. Twists: The entails twisting your upper body horizontally with your elbows flared. This exercise helps with fat burning while also engaging and toning the abdominal muscles in the process. Consider it an overlooked but helpful ab exercise.
6. Leg Presses: Lie flat on your back and then perform a kicking/pressing action with your feet straight up to the ceiling. You will probably want to support the underside of your back with your hands in order to have the proper angle. This can be an excellent and effective lower and middle ad exercise.
7. Leg Raises: This is among the most difficult of the abdominal exercises to perform. It targets the lower abs to a significant degree which is commonly a weak section of the abs. Basically, you would lift your legs six inches off the ground and then lift them from 6 inches to 12 inches from the ground. Raise from 6 to 12, lower from 12 to 6, and repeat for several reps. Again, this is a tough exercise but it delivers results.
8. Holding Leg Raises: As the name implies, you raise your legs 6 inches off the ground and hold them in that position for 15 - 30 seconds at a time. This is a very tough exercise but it is one well worth performing.
9. Bicycle Sit Ups: These are alternating crunches that rely on touching opposite knee and elbows to one another. This aids in hitting the abs from angles they are not commonly stressed. This can lead to high ab development as a result. Just be careful to perform such exercises in a controlled manner.
10. Rope Pull Downs: These exercises are performed in a gym with a pulley device. Basically, you will be on your knees and reach overhead and grab the rope. Then, pull down the rope as you crunch downward and touch the ground. Often, this exercise is performed as a finishing exercise on the abs and it
11. Scissor Crunches: These are dynamic crunches that entail lying flat on your back and then throwing the arms forward while swinging the knees inwards. Just be sure to perform this type of ab exercise in a controlled manner since it will prevent injuries from occurring.
12. Hanging Leg Raises: These are performed in a gym while holding and hanging from an overhead bar. He legs are lifted straight up and gravity will aid in adding stress to the lower abdominal muscles.
13. Hanging Leg Raises - Bent Leg Variation: These exercises are performed in the same manner as the straight leg hanging raise. The only difference is the knees are bent and pulled in towards the stomach.
14. Crunches on an Inflatable Aerobics Ball: Various different abdominal exercises can be performed on an aerobics ball. The addition of the aerobics ball to the equation adds to the ability to target areas of the abs that might otherwise not have been impacted by the exercises. As such, integrating the aerobics ball to the mix would be a nice plus.
15. Hip Swivels: These are most commonly performed as a warm up exercise but they do engage the abs to a certain degree. Really, anything that hits the abs is a huge plus which is another reason why any and all ab exercises are a plus.
16. Incline Leg Raises: Consider these a variant on the lying leg raise. Instead of being performed on the floor, they are performed on an incline bench. This is slightly more difficult than the traditional lying leg raise variant and they improve ab development dramatically.
17. V-upsSit on floor or mat. Lie supine (flat onthe floor) with hands on floor over head. You have the option of adding a 5-10;b dumbbell between your feet to add intensity to the crunch. Simultaneously raise straight legs and torso. Reach toward raised feet. Return to starting position.
18. Mountain Climbers, Stand with your arms by your sides, feet together. Bend down and put your hands shoulder width apart on the floor. Place yourself in the basic push-up position with your arms in line with your chest and your legs extended outward. Rest on the balls of your feet while bringing one leg (for this example we'll say left leg) forward to your chest and back to its original position. Keep the right leg tucked during the forward and back movement of the left leg. Similar to a running motion while in a pushup position. Check to be sure your bent leg and hands carry the weight of your body and that you hold your head up during the back and forth leg movements. Repeat the "running motion" rapidly, alternating one leg forward and one leg back. Repeat as many times as you can. Remember to inhale and exhale steadily during the entire mountain climber exercise.
1. The Basic Sit Up: Again, this is the most well known of all the abdominal exercises. It targets the center of the abs and is easy to perform. Basically, you lie down on the floor with your knees bent and then sit up towards them.
2. The Roman Chair Sit Up: This is a sit up performed in a gym on a decline bench system that hooks your ankles into place. The added stress helps develop the abs tremendously.
3. The Crunch: This is a tough variant on the sit up but it makes the muscles quite strong. Basically, you perform a sit up with one modification: you crunch your knees in towards the elbows as you perform the sit up. This enhances the stress on the abs significantly.
4. Side Bends: Also known as leans, these exercises involve little more than standing up and bending side ways. This will target the obliques of the abs and can be done with or without holding dumbbells.
5. Twists: The entails twisting your upper body horizontally with your elbows flared. This exercise helps with fat burning while also engaging and toning the abdominal muscles in the process. Consider it an overlooked but helpful ab exercise.
6. Leg Presses: Lie flat on your back and then perform a kicking/pressing action with your feet straight up to the ceiling. You will probably want to support the underside of your back with your hands in order to have the proper angle. This can be an excellent and effective lower and middle ad exercise.
7. Leg Raises: This is among the most difficult of the abdominal exercises to perform. It targets the lower abs to a significant degree which is commonly a weak section of the abs. Basically, you would lift your legs six inches off the ground and then lift them from 6 inches to 12 inches from the ground. Raise from 6 to 12, lower from 12 to 6, and repeat for several reps. Again, this is a tough exercise but it delivers results.
8. Holding Leg Raises: As the name implies, you raise your legs 6 inches off the ground and hold them in that position for 15 - 30 seconds at a time. This is a very tough exercise but it is one well worth performing.
9. Bicycle Sit Ups: These are alternating crunches that rely on touching opposite knee and elbows to one another. This aids in hitting the abs from angles they are not commonly stressed. This can lead to high ab development as a result. Just be careful to perform such exercises in a controlled manner.
10. Rope Pull Downs: These exercises are performed in a gym with a pulley device. Basically, you will be on your knees and reach overhead and grab the rope. Then, pull down the rope as you crunch downward and touch the ground. Often, this exercise is performed as a finishing exercise on the abs and it
11. Scissor Crunches: These are dynamic crunches that entail lying flat on your back and then throwing the arms forward while swinging the knees inwards. Just be sure to perform this type of ab exercise in a controlled manner since it will prevent injuries from occurring.
12. Hanging Leg Raises: These are performed in a gym while holding and hanging from an overhead bar. He legs are lifted straight up and gravity will aid in adding stress to the lower abdominal muscles.
13. Hanging Leg Raises - Bent Leg Variation: These exercises are performed in the same manner as the straight leg hanging raise. The only difference is the knees are bent and pulled in towards the stomach.
14. Crunches on an Inflatable Aerobics Ball: Various different abdominal exercises can be performed on an aerobics ball. The addition of the aerobics ball to the equation adds to the ability to target areas of the abs that might otherwise not have been impacted by the exercises. As such, integrating the aerobics ball to the mix would be a nice plus.
15. Hip Swivels: These are most commonly performed as a warm up exercise but they do engage the abs to a certain degree. Really, anything that hits the abs is a huge plus which is another reason why any and all ab exercises are a plus.
16. Incline Leg Raises: Consider these a variant on the lying leg raise. Instead of being performed on the floor, they are performed on an incline bench. This is slightly more difficult than the traditional lying leg raise variant and they improve ab development dramatically.
17. V-upsSit on floor or mat. Lie supine (flat onthe floor) with hands on floor over head. You have the option of adding a 5-10;b dumbbell between your feet to add intensity to the crunch. Simultaneously raise straight legs and torso. Reach toward raised feet. Return to starting position.
18. Mountain Climbers, Stand with your arms by your sides, feet together. Bend down and put your hands shoulder width apart on the floor. Place yourself in the basic push-up position with your arms in line with your chest and your legs extended outward. Rest on the balls of your feet while bringing one leg (for this example we'll say left leg) forward to your chest and back to its original position. Keep the right leg tucked during the forward and back movement of the left leg. Similar to a running motion while in a pushup position. Check to be sure your bent leg and hands carry the weight of your body and that you hold your head up during the back and forth leg movements. Repeat the "running motion" rapidly, alternating one leg forward and one leg back. Repeat as many times as you can. Remember to inhale and exhale steadily during the entire mountain climber exercise.
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Replies
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Thanks for posting this!
You rock!
:bigsmile:0 -
Thanks! I need to work on my mama belly!0
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The sit ups alone have helped me tremendously! Thanks for new routines to tone more!0
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bumpin' another great thread by imagymrat
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Thank you for these. Will give them a try.0
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Yey :flowerforyou: Thanks saves me on research :laugh: I need to change mine up.0
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Awesome! Thanks!
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nice of you to post. I couldnt do sit ups due to a neck injury. I learned through a physical therapist that many things we do standing work the core.
Also, that you only need to come up a little to work the abdominals in a sit up/crunch postion. I was killing myself throwing my body forward which was counter productive and hurt my neck.
Thanks for taking the time to give us some new stuff!!0 -
Bump Just what I was looking for! 0
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I read someone was looking for standing ab exercises...here's a few, you can opt for resistance bands or exercise tubing instead of cable machine in the event you don't have access to a gym. It's very important when working your abs from a standing position that you engage the core when performing these exercises, really be conscioius of the movement you are doing, and tighten up those muscles, don't rush the excercise and maximize your burn.
Standing Cable Rotations are a great standing ab and core exercise and they work the obliques, lower back muscles, hip rotators, and shoulders. Stand sideways to a cable / band with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the cable / band handle relatively close to the your body slightly below chest height, positioning your hands at the midline of your body. Contract your abdominal / core muscles to stiffen your torso, holding it vertical to the floor. Depress and retract your scapulae (pull your shoulder down and back) without arching your low back. Exhale and slowly rotate your torso away from the cable / band anchor, keeping your upper arms at your sides, elbows bent and hands positioned at the midline of your body. Your head, chest and torso should all move together and avoid leaning your torso in the direction of your movement. Hold this end position briefly before turning in the opposite direction or returning to your starting position. Turn to face the opposite way and repeat this movement in the opposite direction.
Cable Lifts also work the obliques and hip rotators, and they place a little more emphasis on the shoulders and lower back .Attach a rope or handle to a low-pulley cable, grasp the handle with both hands, and stand with your right side toward the weight stack. Bend your knees and push your hips back to lower yourself into a partial squat. Keeping your feet pointed forward and your arms straight, stand up as you rotate your shoulders to the left till your hands reach about nose level. Pause, then slowly return to the squat position.
Cable Chops work the obliques, shoulders, lower back, and hip rotators.Position the cable machine so that the resistance is over your head. Stand parallel to the machine with your feet facing forwards. Grip the handle with both hands. While keeping your arms straight, rotate your body and chop your arms down towards the floor. Hold briefly at the bottom and then slowly return to the starting position. Keep a slight bend in your knees and elbows so that you do not completely lock those joints. Make the movement slow and controlled. Focus on turning from your waist. Perform 12-25 repetitions on one side and then repeat on the other side.
Dumbbell Side Bends a great exercise for strengthening the obliques and lower back So often ab workouts only move in one direction- front to back. But since your spine moves in multiple directions, it is important to exercise your spine in multiple directions.Stand with your feet together and a dumbbell in one hand. Place your opposite hand behind your head. Using your side ab muscles, lower the dumbbell towards the floor until you fell a comfortable stretch in the side opposite of the dumbbell. Hold for 1 second and then slowly return to the starting position. You should feel the muscles working on the side opposite of the hand that is holding on to the dumbbell. Keep your body in a straight line and lean straight over to the side.
Medicine-Ball Rotation Pass. Stand with your right side toward a wall or a workout partner about 10 feet away from you. Hold a light medicine ball in front of your chest. Rotate your shoulders to the right as you toss the ball to your partner or against the wall. Pivot your left foot to the right, but keep your right foot pointed forward. Do three sets of 10 in each direction0 -
Here's a few more..
The beginners Half Plank: Start by balancing on your elbows and your knees, while keeping your body in a straight line.This is an isometric exercise for the stomach, which simply means that you hold the same position without moving. Hold for 10-30 seconds. Begin with the half plank if you have difficulty holding the full plank for less than 10 seconds. Build up to 30 seconds on the half plank and then graduate to the full plank. Makee sure that you keep your body in a straight line. Keep your abs pulled in to stop your back from arching. Use a pad for your knees and elbows for comfort
Full plank: Start by balancing on your elbows and your toes, while keeping your body in a straight line. (A push up postion on your elbows) This is one of the three isometric exercises for stomach muscles that I use regularly. Hold the same position for 10-30 seconds without moving. Make sure that you keep your body in a straight line. Keep your abs pulled in to stop your back from arching. When you are doing this exercise for the first few times, your body may start shaking. This is a result of muscle weakness and lack of coordination. After a little practice the shaking will stop and you will be able to hold this exercise for 30 seconds or more. If you feel your back arching, lift your hips slightly higher in the air
Side plank: Start by balancing on your elbow and your feet. Place your foot that is closest to the ground in the front, and keep your body in a straight line. Hold for 10-30 seconds and repeat on the other side. This ab exercise has a few variations.
#1 Foot position: You can stack your feet one on top of the other to challenge your balance even more.
#2 Top hand position: You can also place your top hand on your hip to make it easier to balance.
#3 Bottom arm position: You can make this exercise a little more challenging by balancing on your hand and feet.
These variations are isometric exercises for stomach, oblique, and back muscles.
Bosu ball planks 2 leg plank on the soft side. Place your elbows on the top of the Bosu Ball, and assume the plank position. Keep your abs pulled in to prevent your back from arching. Gently squeeze your calfs, thighs, and hips to keep your body in a straight line. Look towards the floor, so your neck stays in alignment. again you may find that you shake a little, but this is normal. Start by holding for 10 seconds, but build up to 60 seconds.
Bosu ball planks 1 leg plank on the soft side. Place your elbows on the top of the Bosu Ball, and assume the plank position. Slightly lift 1 leg and balance on the other. Keep your abs pulled in to prevent your back from arching. Gently squeeze your calfs, thighs, and hips to keep your body in a straight line. Look towards the floor, so your neck stays in alignment. When you lift your leg, make sure that your lower back stays in alignment. No need to lift as high as you can go. The leg that is on the floor and that side of the body will work much harder. Hold 10-30 seconds on the first leg before switching to the other leg
You can now repeat these two Bosu ball planks on the hard side of the Bosu Ball...much more challenging!0 -
:happy: Thank you, Imagymrat, this post was exactly what I've been looking for.0
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bump0
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bump......your awesome xxxooo0
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Thanks! These are great!0
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Thank you for the workout!!! They are fantastic.
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