favorite core exercises???

HokieMama4
HokieMama4 Posts: 112 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What are your favorite abdominal exercises? I want to strengthen my core... particularly my lower abs that my 3 beautiful babies destroyed :tongue:
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Replies

  • Leeann1979
    Leeann1979 Posts: 1,090 Member
    leg raises!! I'm not sure if thats the exact name for it, but you lay on a flat surface, with both legs together straight. You have to raise both legs together while keeping your top-half flat and not move. Its hard!!! My lower abs killed me for like 3 days after.

    CHeck out youtube or google it for proper form and technique!!
  • marie5282
    marie5282 Posts: 61 Member
    I love pilates. You might not feel it during the class, but afterwards and the day after, whoa! When I'm really good with doing it regularly, I can definitely see a difference in my waistline and ab muscles.
  • Bealach_Bug
    Bealach_Bug Posts: 52
    Flutter Kicks, Scissor Kicks. Mountain Climbers, Plank Variations. I hate doing them but they seem to be working!
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    Hula hooping!
  • Loftearmen
    Loftearmen Posts: 380
    How about something ACTUALLY EFFECTIVE? Standing Barbell Overhead Presses are probably one of the best ab builders out there. I also like box squats in the 8-10 rep range for abs.
  • BadAzzBea
    BadAzzBea Posts: 461
    Planks... on a bosu ball. tilting it to the left, to the right, in than out... makes me feel powerful.
  • mareeee1234
    mareeee1234 Posts: 674 Member
    Plank!
  • mareeee1234
    mareeee1234 Posts: 674 Member
    And like general strength training and lifting heavy I think is supposed to help the core as well! I'm only 2 weeks into weights so Ican't talk from experience when it comes to weights haha,

    but I think the plank and crunches has helped me, but ONLY cause its in addition to eating right and within my calories and doing other exercise!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Squats and dead lifts. Occasionally hanging leg raises.
  • shamah84
    shamah84 Posts: 110 Member
    P90X has some great ones. Ab Ripper X is definitely one of them :)
  • lp91413
    lp91413 Posts: 48 Member
    bump
  • chadgard
    chadgard Posts: 102 Member
    Many productive tasks also happen to be great core exercises. My favorite is splitting firewood. Great core workout, it's fun, good stress reliever, and it keeps you from freezing to death in the winter when the furnace is broken, but you can't afford to fix it because the refrigerator and stove also broke in the same week...
  • Loftearmen
    Loftearmen Posts: 380
    Many productive tasks also happen to be great core exercises. My favorite is splitting firewood. Great core workout, it's fun, good stress reliever, and it keeps you from freezing to death in the winter when the furnace is broken, but you can't afford to fix it because the refrigerator and stove also broke in the same week...

    It's good cardio too, especially if you use a wedge and a sledge instead of an axe.
  • cbarn025
    cbarn025 Posts: 939 Member
    Over head squat, planks, snatches
  • chadgard
    chadgard Posts: 102 Member
    Invariably, you need a wedge and a sledge at times, because of knotty wood that won't split nice. But wedge and sledge is much, much slower, if indeed you actually need that firewood to keep warm. 'Tis a tradeoff, a little less workout for a lot more wood. Now, folks always ask me why I don't use a wood splitter. That, of course, is noisy, unpleasant, seems like more work than the maul, and slower to boot (except for those knotty pieces that don't split well...), and has no health benefit.

    My recent discovery for using an axe/maul, though, that increases productivity as well as the cardio benefits, is using an old tire. You can put several pieces, or a piece that needs to be split several times, in the tire, and they don't fly (invariably one under the truck and the other into a pile of thorny brush) away, requiring you to stop and retrieve them to split again. You can split about as much wood in 30 seconds as used to take 10 minutes, and it really keeps your heart rate up! Doesn't hurt the lower back the way constantly bending over and picking up hunks of wood (invariably with bad form) does, either.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    Squats and dead lifts. Occasionally hanging leg raises.

    ^this
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
    Squats and dead lifts. Occasionally hanging leg raises.

    ^this

    This again but I'd also like to add

    Half kneeling Pallof Press

    Wide Stance Cable Rotations.

    I know you said lower abs but I LOVE these ones.
  • FitBeto
    FitBeto Posts: 2,121 Member
    Over head squat, planks, snatche raise

    Whats a snatch raise?
  • KaydaRN
    KaydaRN Posts: 48
    Weighted planks, I can feel my core engaged more with 25lbs on my back.
    I then turn over and use the 25lbs for seated side to side crunch.
  • jeannemarie333
    jeannemarie333 Posts: 214 Member
    I do crunches on my exercise ball and use variations with where I place my bottom and back so that I work upper, middle and lower abs - best of luck to you!! All of these suggestions are great :)
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
    planks and mountain climbers
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
    Hanging Leg Raises

    Planks (shirtless, for no other reason than motivation(look down))
  • xiofett
    xiofett Posts: 138 Member
    Many productive tasks also happen to be great core exercises. My favorite is splitting firewood. Great core workout, it's fun, good stress reliever, and it keeps you from freezing to death in the winter when the furnace is broken, but you can't afford to fix it because the refrigerator and stove also broke in the same week...

    It's good cardio too, especially if you use a wedge and a sledge instead of an axe.

    Amazingly good stress relief. I prefer a splitting maul and the wedge if needed. Old sycamore will give you one hell of a battle.
  • jaweiss1
    jaweiss1 Posts: 71 Member
    I have found that the Swiss ball crunch is the most effective ab exercise for me. Easy on the back too. I now do them with a 10 lb weight, held in my hands behind my head.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVBddP5oW8Y

    Do them slowly and try not to use your hip flexors.

    Also, front and side planks with reduced support are a nice supplement

    For the posterior chain - low back, butt and hamstrings - rack pulls, good mornings, GHD extensions and bam bams are great.
  • badzoe
    badzoe Posts: 132 Member
    I'm going to try some of these too.
  • JenNuma
    JenNuma Posts: 52 Member
    Bump!
  • Loftearmen
    Loftearmen Posts: 380
    Many productive tasks also happen to be great core exercises. My favorite is splitting firewood. Great core workout, it's fun, good stress reliever, and it keeps you from freezing to death in the winter when the furnace is broken, but you can't afford to fix it because the refrigerator and stove also broke in the same week...

    It's good cardio too, especially if you use a wedge and a sledge instead of an axe.

    So will hickory! I hate that siht!
    Amazingly good stress relief. I prefer a splitting maul and the wedge if needed. Old sycamore will give you one hell of a battle.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    flutter kciks.

    lay on your back. hands under your butt. and alternate your legs (bending them at the hips not knees). The faster you can kick them, the mroe tension you are doing.

    anotehr similar one that is fun to try with a friend is lay on your back, they stand at your head and you hold their ankles. You will your legs up to them andthey throw them down you have to "catch" your own legs before hey hit the ground and bring them back up to the partner.
  • divemunkey
    divemunkey Posts: 288 Member
    Kettlebells. All of the exercises work core intensely.
  • slowbubblecar
    slowbubblecar Posts: 91 Member
    I generally use an incline bench for situps but sometimes use the ab crunch machine at the gym.

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