3 Effective Lower Ab Workouts - How To Build Your Lower Abs Fast!
You will get much stress in your lower abs by doing leg raises from different angles. I see that most people in the gym are working mostly their upper abs. Their are doing lots of sit-ups with additional weight and crunches with machines or flat on the floor. These are good exercises to strengthen your middle and upper abs, but the problem is the weak lower abs and incorrect training techniques.
Ab exercises for lower abdominals gives you the nice burn especially in your lower abs and the top on your thighs as well. You don't need to do 20 different ab exercises to blast your abs, instead pick up 3 exercises, that works in each upper, middle and lower area. If you have tendency to have problems to develop lower abs, always do the exercises for lower abs first and keep the focus of lower abs.
Training your abs is a little bit different than for example training chest or biceps, but not much. You don't need any special techniques to develop lower abs as well as upper abs. I recommend you to follow strict technique and concentrate to slow controlled reps. Sometimes I see, that people are doing the movement by jerking with their body.
1) Reverse crunches
This is on of my favorite and best lower ab workouts. I and many other athletes have achieved great result performing this ab exercises slowly and under control. This exercises has many variations, but in my opinion it's best done lying on the bench press bench that allows you to take a firm grip at the end of the bench.
This is a basic exercise for lower abs, that anyone can do it anywhere. You can perform this comfort at home by lying on the floor. Or hanging by your hands from a bar or resting on your forearms on a hanging Leg raise bench instead of lying on a bench. The technique will be the same. In the example, I'll show you how to build your lower abs by doing leg raises on a bench.
Execution: Lie on your back on the bench take a grip from the rack (at the end of the bench) behind your head with both hands for support. Bend your knees so that your butt is slightly off the bench. Bring your knees up as fat toward our face as you can without lifting your pelvis off the bench. Bring your knees towards to your face, rounding your back and crunching up toward the rip cage. Hold this position for a moment and squeeze the ab for full contraction. Lower your legs slowly back to the starting position, until your lower back is resting on a bench.
2) Leg raises
Leg raises are the king of all lower ab workouts and it shouldn't be neglected! Even though leg raises works your abs only indirectly, you should include leg raises to your workout routine. No matter what expert says, Many athletes including bodybuilders have gotten great results by doing leg raises. Leg raises are not only emphasize your lower abs, but tighten your hips, buttocks and lower back.
You may want to bent knees during the exercises to lighten the stress to your hip flexors, (the muscle that raise and lower the legs). I use both variations. There are more variations, how you can perform leg raises. Hanging leg raises are very strict and intense exercises, that hit your lower abs hard. To make it more comfortable, support your back against the wall for example. To add more resistance, you can perform this exercises on a incline board. In the example, I'll show you, how to do leg raises in a vertical bench.
Execution: Position yourself on your arms on a vertical bench. Hold your upper body steady by supporting your back on vertical pad. From a starting position, bend your knees and bring them as high as you can as you would trying to reach the shoulders with your knees, until your hips are fully flexed. At this position, your hips are slightly off from the back support and your abs fully flexed through full range of motion. While squeezing your abs hard, hold this position for a second or two and with your knees bent, lower them again to the starting position.
3) Bicycle exercise
This is the third and final lower ab workout of the 3 best exercises for lower abdominals. Bicycle exercise on a floor will develop both, lower abdominals, obliques and intercostals. This exercise is effective, because you hit each side separately. I always do this exercises at the and of my ab workout. It is best done without counting reps, instead do each set in 30-60 second periods depending of the experience levels and goals. My advice is that you first train with less time and then gradually increase the time.
Good news is, that you don't need any special equipments or tools to complete this ab exercise. In any case the best option is to perform this exercises by lying on the floor. Use a special exercise mat or carpet as a berth to make this exercise to be more comfortable.
Execution: Lying on your back on the floor, put your hands behind your head and place your knees to 45-degee angle, so that your soles are slightly off the floor. This is a starting position. Now begin a pedal motion, bringing your knees one by one toward your opposite elbow. Bring your knee as far as you can, until it will touch to opposite elbow. Then bring your knee to the starting position and simultaneously bring the opposite knee towards the opposite elbow.
Tips: Any variation of an exercise forces the muscles to respond in new and different ways. These ab exercises are confirmed to be the best lower ab workouts. The research has shown, that these 3 exercises activates more muscle in your abs, than for example regular crunches. It has been tested with the EMG (electromyography) equipment, which tests the amount of muscle activity. There were tested 13 common ab exercises and the above three are on the top 6, taking into consideration that these exercises build your lower abs and help you to get flat stomach.
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