Some exercises to help you uncover and tighten your lower abdominal muscles
Lower abdominal workouts target an area that is often neglected, your lower abs. This is where the unsightly belly bulge looms, and love handles appear. When people complain about their lower abs, it is usually fat that they are referring to. In order to lose fat in that area, you need to lose fat all over your body. This is how basic fat loss works.
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Here are a few exercises to help you uncover and tighten your lower abdominal muscles.
Alternating Supine Leg Walks/Leg Lifts
To start, lie on your back with both hands under your buttocks. Lift your legs so they are vertical. Tighten your abdominals so your midsection is stressed.
For Alternating Leg Walks, lower one leg until your foot is a few inches off the ground. Hold on for a few seconds and return that leg to the start position (vertical). Switch the leg you lower.
For Leg lifts, lower both legs so that the back of your feet are just above the ground, hold for a few seconds and return to the vertical position.
Scissors
To start this workout you need to lie on your back with your hands under your buttocks. Tighten both your lower abs and leg muscles, lifting your legs to about two feet off of the floor. Do not bend your knees and cross your right leg over your left leg. Open your legs back and cross your left leg over the right one. This is the scissor action. Repeat this 8 to 10 times, eventually building up to 15 times as your strength permits.
Double Leg Circles
Lie on your back with your hands under your buttocks. Lift both legs a few inches off the floor, rotating them in circles. Complete five circles in a clockwise direction and lower your legs to the floor for a few seconds. Raise your legs again and do five circles in an anti-clockwise direction. With time, increase up to 10 to 15 circles.
An ab workout routine is simply what abs exercises, how many sets and how many repetitions that you do regularly for your abdominal muscles. For example, you could decide to perform 3 sets of a certain workout one, 3 sets of another workout two and 2 sets of workout three.
There are a number of ways to design your ab workout routine but the first thing you must do is to clearly define the purpose of your workout. When you have defined your purpose, then you will need to motivation as key tool of execution.
SAMPLE ROUTINE
This sample routine is intended for starters and consists of three exercises.
1. Reverse Crunches
Simply lie flat on a workbench or floor with your hands at your side. Lift your feet off the ground, bringing your knees towards your chest. Raise your pelvis off the floor as you bend your spine towards your head. Hold on for about one second and then lower your legs back into the starting position with thighs perpendicular to the floor.
2. Plank
Begin by maintaining your body in a straight line while balancing on your toes and elbows. Remain in this position for 20–30 seconds steadily. Remember to keep your body straight. Contract your abs to help stop your back from aching. Your body may start shaking, never mind as over time it will stop. This exercise aims to strengthen your muscles and coordination. Aim for 30 seconds or more.
3. Floor Crunches
While lying on your back, bend your legs slightly with your hands behind your head. Breathe out and twist your torso forward, raising your shoulders off the ground. Hold for one second and return gradually to the floor.
When creating an ab workout, there are three major training techniques depending on how many workouts you do in a row before you take rests. It is also important to be familiar with a good number of workouts, from which you can select or design your routine.