If you were like I was just a few months ago, then you most likely have just finished your usual week of doing hundreds of crunches and spending several hours with useless ab gadgets in hopes of seeing the fat melt away from your waist. If you are also like myself, then you have realized that none of these things are an efficient lower abs workout. If you want to see any results in your midsection you must take time to learn a proper lower abs workout, which simply cannot be accomplished with crunches, or fancy (but worthless) “Abs-pumping” exercises and machines. A good lower abs workout consists of tried and true exercises that target your midsection and help burn the fat away. Here I will outline the best lower ab workout that many strength trainers have been using for many years.
You will want to start out any lower abs workout by stretching well. This will get the muscles loose and warm so they are ready to be worked. Start by laying flat on the floor with your hands by your side. Bring your arms and hands in so that they are right below your chest similar to “push-up” position. Push up from the ground leaving your waist and legs firmly pressed to the surface. Keep your legs extended, tilt your head back, curve your spine, and hold the stretch for around 10 seconds – repeating repetitions as necessary. This is a very good stretch that will target your midsection and make sure that you don't experience any cramps during your lower abs workout. After you are finished with your exercises, I advise you do this stretch again to pull and elongate your ab muscles. This will help even your abs out and prevent that “scrunched up” look, that some develop when training their abs.
The first exercise in the lower abs workout is the reverse curl. In order to do a reverse curl, start out by sitting on an inclined board or bench. Lie face up on the board with your top half (torso) elevated. Then, grab the sides of the boards or the feet hooks by your head for support. Start your motion by bringing your legs in by flexing your hips and bending your knees inwards towards your shoulders. Continue in one smooth motion until your hips leave the board, afterwards, release slowly letting your legs and hips return to their original position. Its important in this lower abs workout to put the focus on your lower abs and your hips – they should be doing most of the work in lifting your body weight upwards. In order to achieve more resistance you may increase the incline, or strap a couple of small weights to your ankles.
The second exercise in the lower abs workout is the v-sit. In order to do a v-sit, start out by laying face up, flat on the floor. Keep your hands flat facing down and relax all your muscles. Start your motion by simultaneously raising your knees and your torso until your hips and knees are flexed and your thighs are close or touching your chest. Hold this position for about a second, then release and lower your torso and legs back to the ground where you started. For added difficulty in this lower abs workout you can try to not rest your torso and legs on the floor in between repetitions. Instead you would keep your torso and legs about an inch above the ground at all times.
When doing any of these exercises it is important to keep two things in mind. The first is that in order to see results you have to stay consistent. So once you have a lower abs workout thats working for you – stick with it! The second thing is that you should not overdo anything. Try to give your abs at least one day to rest in between your lower abs workout if they are sore after the first. This will give them time to flush out the fat, break down, and rebuild stronger than they were the first time. When deciding repetitions for the exercises, try stay with in the general range of about 10 repetitions per set, and about 3 sets per exercise. You can modify this slightly as you progress.
So now that you have a great start to your lower abs workout – go try it! Also, if you are serious about getting those sexy abs you have dreamed about, you might want to check out the link below for more awesome information on a great lower abs workout. You may reprint this article for your blog, ezine, or mailing list, as long as you keep all the content, links, resource box, and author bio exactly as it appears here. With a little effort, you too will be able to achieve that trim stomach you want in no time at all!
