Some Ab exercises from beginner to advanced

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.