5 Abdominal Exercises without doing Sit-Ups

Most of these can be Googled or seen on YouTube, but add me on MFP and I will post when I'm done making a video on how to do these exercises. Or if we aren't MFP friends add me.



1. Power knees: Start with feet shoulder width apart. Bring right knee up to belly button and then put back down to the floor. Then do it with your left knee. Works the obliques. Do as many as you can in a minute to each side. You will probably get exhausted before the minute is up, but you will feel it.





2. Decline pushups: Place your feet on a bench and your hands on the floor and do pushups that way. This is my favorite, because it works everything in my upper body (pecs, serratus anteriors, biceps, triceps, back) and I only have to do 15-20 reps and I'm feeling it the next day, unlike some exercises, such as situps, in which you have to do tons of reps to get results. If you want to make this exercise more challenging for your abs do it on an exercise ball.



3. Pump ups: Lay on your back, and kick both of your legs up so they are pointing to the sky. In this exercise pump your heels up to the sky and then bring your butt back down to the floor.



4. High pulley crunch. Kneel below a high pulley that contains a rope attachment.Grasp cable rope attachment and lower the rope until your hands are placed next to your face. Flex your hips slightly and allow the weight to hyperextend the lower back. This will be your starting position. With the hips stationary, flex the waist as you contract the abs so that the elbows travel towards the middle of the thighs. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement and hold the contraction for a second. Slowly return to the starting position as you inhale.


5. Butt ups: Begin a pushup position but with your elbows on the ground and resting on your forearms. Your arms should be bent at a 90 degree angle. Arch your back slightly out rather than keeping your back completely straight. Raise your glutes toward the ceiling, squeezing your abs tightly to close the distance between your ribcage and hips. The end result will be that you’ll end up in a high bridge position. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Lower back down slowly to your starting position as you breathe in.
****Sit-ups that work fast****

However if you do want to do sit-ups or crunches. I've found that sitting on an exercise ball and doing only 25 situps/crunches leaves my abs sore the next day; whereas, if I were to do 300 regular situps I wouldn't be sore at all. This works well for using your rectus abdominals and obliques, as well as working on balance for those with balance issues.