The Best Ab Exercises for Women

By Rojer @healthxwellness

Add one of these killer abs exercises to your workout and tone your tummy and lose your love handles for good.

Lets take a step back and discuss the best ab exercises for women. If you’ve already considered developing a great set of abs and searched around for information, you could think that there are very specific ab exercises for women that permit your body to tone and sculpt your mid-section. But actually the best ab exercises for women are actually the just like the best ab exercises for men!

Abdominal exercise can be easier than you believe. Both the upper and lower abdominal muscles have to be worked to get the best overall look and strength. There are a variety of crunch positions which will work but here are three of the best ab exercises for women who wish to get great results.

Reverse Crunch

While few women (or men for instance) enjoy doing abdominal crunches, the reverse crunch is really a targeted exercise just for the lower abdomen, often a trouble location for women. To perform the reverse crunch, lay on your back with your legs straight up in the air toward the ceiling. Carefully roll your hips up, lifting your buttocks off of the floor. Go back to your starting position and repeat. Be cautious to keep your lower back pressed firmly into the floor while performing reverse crunches to keep from straining your back. Perform three sets of 10 reverse crunches, increasing to 3 sets of 15 after the first few weeks of regular abdominal exercises.

Floor leg lifts

Another good abs exercise to operate the lower abs is to lie flat on the floor with your legs straight, hands to your sides or under your buttocks and lift your legs about 6 – 10 inches off the floor and hold for some seconds. Hold the position for as long as you are able to without straining your neck or arching your lower spine. Repeat as often as you can. While performing the exercises keep your abdominal muscles contracted and your lower back flat on the floor.

Leg Raises

Raise your legs up and slowly drive them down, almost touching the floor. If you’re a beginner you won’t have the strength to create your legs all the way down, that is perfectly fine, don’t worry about it. Just lower your legs so far as you can and as you get stronger you’ll be able to visit lower and lower.

The Plank

This exercise, often used as part of a pilates workout, is definitely an isometric abdominal exercise, meaning your muscles are in a particular position for a period of time. To perform the plank abdominal exercise, lie flat on the floor on your belly. Next, rise up on your hands and toes being careful not to put your buttocks in the air. Your goal is to keep your back flat throughout the exercise. Pull your stomach muscles in, as if someone is pulling on your belly button through your back. Hold it for about 5 seconds. Lower yourself carefully to the floor. Repeat 5 times.

Push-ups

In the end often think of push-ups as being an excellent arm and chest exercise, they’re also great abdominal exercises. Like the plank, push-ups work your entire abdominal region, plus you get a great upper body and back workout while you are at it! Exercises that efficiently work several part of your body at a time help keep your workouts short and also to the point. To do a proper modified push-up (often known as a women’s push-up), start with your hands and belly flat on the floor. Press yourself upward onto your knees. Don’t put your buttocks up in the air! There should be considered a straight diagonal line from your neck to your knees, not really a curved or arced one.

Bicycle maneuver

To complete the bicycle maneuver, start prone on the floor, lower back pressed to the ground, hands under your neck. Bring your knees as much as about 45 degrees and slowly pedal. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Keep your breathing relaxed.

Best Ab Exercises for Women

Crossover Jabs

A great abdominal exercise that works the sides of the waist, the oblique muscles, is really a crossover jab. Many women want to define their waist more and this exercise, which combines cardio with abdominal toning, is great for creating waist definition. Standing with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders and your toes ended up, bend your knees so you are standing in a slight squat position. Holding your fists directly before your face, turn your waist to the left while punching straight out to the left with your right arm. Quickly use the right and punch with your left arm.