Lower Ab Exercises

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shmait
shmait Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any tips out there on daily exercises for the lower abs/the hardest part to tone for a women?

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  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Any version of plank.
  • kassiesteele
    kassiesteele Posts: 7 Member
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    Abdominal leg lifts work for me. Lay on your back and lift your legs to 90 degrees. to have a better "burn" I go slower on the way down too. I do 2 sets of 50, but started out doing 5 sets of 10.
  • mogletdeluxe
    mogletdeluxe Posts: 623 Member
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    Planks work for me, as does the bicycle - on your back, lift up your legs and basically slowly pedal like you're on a bike. The lower the legs, the harder it is. Oooowwwwww.
  • JasonDetwiler
    JasonDetwiler Posts: 364 Member
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    ab wheel, dragon flag, table pushbacks

    And heavy squats, deadlifts, and weighted chinups.
  • Patovader
    Patovader Posts: 439 Member
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    All 3 of the above work wonders, I do calisthenics virtually every morning, started at 5 mins and worked up to around 10 mins with a mixture of those 3 exercises plus press-ups and jumping jacks :)
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
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    scissor crunches mess me up, burns my lower abs. lay on your back, legs straight out on the floor, then lift them off the floor, and scissor your legs over each other. repeat until you feel like your abs are on fire.
  • bricktowngal
    bricktowngal Posts: 206
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    What's a dragon fly? Very curious.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    no ab exercise will tone your stomach, you already have a 6 pack under a layer of fat. what you need to do is lower your BF%, and fat will come from everywhere including your stomach, no need for direct ab work.

    To lower BF%, I suggest a modest caloric deficit 10-15% below TDEE or set your goal to lose 0.5lbs/week; ensure you get plenty of protein, aim for a min of 0.8grams per lb of body weight, and take part in a heavy lifting strength training routine 2-4 days/week (focusing on compound movements). The above will help ensure that most of your loss comes from fat, failing to do the above can lead to a large % of your loss coming from lean muscle, meaning you will have to lose more weight to have the same BF% you could have achieved.
  • sunshineshica
    sunshineshica Posts: 277
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    Abdominal leg lifts work for me. Lay on your back and lift your legs to 90 degrees. to have a better "burn" I go slower on the way down too. I do 2 sets of 50, but started out doing 5 sets of 10.

    I'm going to start doing this thanks! Also so planks is the pushup position but you don't go down right?
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    There's no such thing as "toning," you just have fat in the area that isn't gone yet.
  • shmait
    shmait Posts: 20 Member
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    Wow! Thanks for the great tips everyone!
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    Any tips out there on daily exercises for the lower abs/the hardest part to tone for a women?

    Deadlifts.
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Here's a list of the exercises that make me the most sore the next day:

    Planks
    Russian Twists (while holding a medicine ball if you can take it)
    Bicycle Crunches
    Reverse Crunches
    Horizontal Leg Lifts (while holding a Swiss ball between your feet)
    Mountain Climers
    High Knees

    If you're not sure what any of these are, Google "(insert name of exercise) exercise images"
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
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    Any tips out there on daily exercises for the lower abs/the hardest part to tone for a women?

    Deadlifts.

    and squats.

    I'd still like an essay on exercises that activate the lower abs without equally contracting the upper abs though...
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
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    ttt
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
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    It's not necessary to train the abs everyday. Think of it as any other muscle group- they need recovery time. You wouldn't lift bi's/tri's everyday of the week and then wonder why you don't look like Popeye, right? (rhetorical).

    That said, I like to do weighted planks. Do the normal plank, but put a barbell plate on your back. To hit the obliques, use a dumbell on your side instead of the plate on your back.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    ...I'd still like an essay on exercises that activate the lower abs without equally contracting the upper abs though...
    You mean like along the same lines as working the "inner chest"? :bigsmile:
  • JasonDetwiler
    JasonDetwiler Posts: 364 Member
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    What's a dragon fly? Very curious.

    Dragon Flag - Watch Rocky IV

    Search for it on YouTube, too. You raise and lower your entire body hinging at the upper back. It is very hard.
  • abyssfully
    abyssfully Posts: 410 Member
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    planks, reverse crunches

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