Abdominal Exercises

Abdominal Workouts

If you want a set of six pack abs, we have put together a great series of exercises to flatten your stomach. Above you will also see a link to a page that contains all these ab exercises in some routines for you. Hope this information helps.

Abdominal Exercises

Ab Exercise: Crunches:

These hit mostly the upper Abdominals. Place your hands behind (support, but don't pull) your head and curl your upper torso forward, bringing your rib cage toward your pelvis until you feel a contraction in your abs. Holding your hands down by your hips is an easier version. Pause for the contraction and slowly return to the starting position. Exhale on the contraction - this breathing advice applies to all abdominal exercises.

Abdominal Exercise: Reverse Crunch or hip roll:

Lie face up on a flat bench with your hips and knees bent. Grasp the bench behind your head with both hands. Keeping the angles in your hips and knees fixed, contract your abs to pull your hips upward until your lower back is a few inches off the bench. Hold for a moment, then lower and repeat.

Below you see the version done lying on the floor which is more difficult becasue you can not pull with your arms.

Abdominal Exercise: Smith machine, Swiss ball hip rolls:

Set the bar low in the smith machine, just below the top of the Swiss ball. Sit on the ball and roll out so that you have to reach back and grab the bar as you lie on the ball. You should be about 2-3 feet away, stabilizing your self by holding the bar and flexing everything! Using only your abdominals, stretch your pelvis down as low as it will go and then do a hip roll. Legs straight is the hardest.

Abdominal Exercise: Leg raise off bench:

Sit on the end of any bench. Raise your feet off the floor a couple of inches so you balance on your glutes. Keep your legs fairly straight and raise your legs up in a arc towards your head. At the top postition, you should look like a v. Lower and repeat. Its important to suck in your abdominals so you form a c with your stomach and keep the pressure off your lower back. Think abdominal leg raise, not back killer! If you are just starting to work your abdominals they may be a little weak and you can hold onto the bench on either side of your glutes. Advanced ab guys...dont even think about it!

Abdominal Exercise: Decline Situps:

Go over to where everyone else does decline bench press, hook your legs in and just sit there. From this position, slowly lay back until your upper body is about a foot off the bench and pull with your abdominal muscles until you are sitting back up! Advanced guys, go ahead and lie all the way down, but watch your back.

Here is a demonstration of the normal situp. Simple but still effective.

Abdominal Exercise:V-Sit:

Sit down. Lift your legs and balance on your glutes. You should look like a v. Lie down flat, arms on the floor straight behind your head and legs straight out. From here pull with your abdominals untill you are back up in the v position and touch your toes. This is a really hard abdominal exercise.

Abdominal Exercise: Russian Eights:

Do a v sit and hold it. From this position, take a medicine ball and pass it through your legs in the center. Down through the center, around the left leg, down through the center and around the right leg. You are drawing a figure eight around your legs. I love this abdominal exercise!

Abdominal Exercise: Russian Punch:

Do a v sit and hold it. From this position, take two 3 pound dumbells and do alternate punches towards your feet keeping your elbows close to your sides. Each punch counts as a half rep.

Abdominal Exercises

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