There are plenty of stomach exercises that a person can do in his lifetime. But, just by exercising the muscles present in the stomach, you will not be going to achieve fabulous abs. You have to understand your body more, so that you can decide how to start working on your stomach. There are several benefits that you stand to gain from doing the various stomach exercises, even as you could conveniently ignore the idea of getting a six-pack abs. As you continue to do stomach exercises regularly, you will be able to improve your body posture, since the muscles become stronger than before, apart from observing an improvement in your digestive system. You would also notice that your lower back becomes a lot more flexible than before. Those individuals who are planning to reduce their weight must set aside some time to work on their stomach muscles every day and start doing some stomach exercises as a part of their daily routine, so that they are able to witness noticeable results for their body.
Following are some of the stomach exercises that individuals can perform to get stronger abs for themselves:
1. Teaser:
Teaser is a remarkable and highly effective strength exercise that targets your external obliques, including the rectus abdominis and hip flexors. It is normally done by individuals using a mat. More commonly, it is one of the exercises that forms a part of Pilates workout. Basically, this exercise helps you in maintaining your spinal mobility and also allows you to remain flexible and maintain a proper balance. This is possible because while doing this exercise, both your back as well as the whole of your core is utilized completely, which actually helps you stay straight on to a V position on your sitting bones.
Equipment Required:
• A Mat
How to do this exercise?
• Start by lying flat on your back on a mat and by extending your legs long. Keep your arms extended over your head.
• Now, you can start raising your legs straight on to a 90 degree angle and continue to maintain the extension starting from the hips to your toes.
• Simultaneously, you can start lifting your head, including shoulders, neck and upper back upwards, while continuing to engage your abdominal muscles.
• Keep the arms extended at both the sides, while your palms should be kept facing upward.
• Start lifting your legs as well as torso a little more, so that you get in to an upright “V” position on your sitting bones. Your arms must be placed parallel to the ground, while you hold on to your shoulders down.
• You have completed one rep
You can do about 2-3 sets comprising of 10 reps by alternating between each of your legs.
2. Vertical Leg Crunch:
This is a wonderful stomach exercise that targets your abs as well as core muscles. It is also a complete body workout. It is more or less closer to the basic crunch exercise that some of you might have performed earlier. The only change is that your legs will be lying in a position that is perpendicular to the floor. By staying in this position, you are actually performing this exercise with a greater intensity as compared to the basic crunch exercise. This exercise not only targets your rectus abdominis muscles, but also the lower back and both your oblique muscles. For those individuals who are working towards achieving some stunning abs, in addition to building a stronger core, this exercise would help you to achieve the same.
Equipment Required:
• A Mat.
How to do this exercise?
• Start by lying on your back on a mat and keep the lower back pressed down against the floor.
• Now, keep your hands in a folded position at the back of your neck.
• Your legs must be brought up and now start extending the legs at a 90 degree position on to the floor, by keeping the knees slightly bent. Your lower spine is to remain flat onto the floor.
• Now, start contracting your abs, in order to get ready for the lift.
• Begin to gently curl your upper body and raise your shoulder blades away from the floor. Now, start breathing out when you are doing the upward movement and make sure that the legs are kept straight and are pointed up.
• You should continue to curl your body up by using the core muscles. You must also keep your chin up.
• As the shoulder blades move to the floor, you must stop and hold on to the position for a few seconds.
• Now, slowly begin to uncurl and lower your upper body. Start breathing in as you are moving downwards. The legs must not be allowed to swing to and fro and do not allow the legs to get back to the floor violently. It must be done in a slow and controlled manner.
• Now, the legs can be brought back to the starting position.
You can do 2-3 sets comprising of 10 reps in the beginning and increase the count after you get enough comfort from doing this exercise.
3. Oblique V-Ups:
This is an advanced exercise that can be performed by individuals who have just started to do some exercises in order to grow their abs. All you need is a mat for performing this exercise. You will get on to a lying position on your side and keep your body weight shifted while doing this exercise.
Equipment Required:
• A Mat
How to do this exercise?
• You must first lie down on your left side with your legs extended. Your left palm must be placed on the floor and the right fingers placed at the back of your ear.
• Now, start raising both your legs on to the ceiling at the same time, as and when the right elbow is being drawn by you on to your right knee. This will help your torso as well as legs to form the “V” shape.
• You have to pause for a while and start squeezing the obliques as much as you are able to and once again return to your starting position.
You can try and do about 3 sets comprising of 10 reps on both sides.
4. Cross-Leg Diagonal Crunch:
This is a good stomach exercise, especially for those individuals who are looking to grow their ab muscles present on both sides of their body. It primarily targets your oblique muscles and helps you in getting a slimmer waist.
Equipment Required:
• No equipment is required for performing this exercise.
How to do this exercise?
• Start by lying on your back and keeping your legs straight with your feet on the floor.
• Now, you must keep your torso as it is and start raising your hips and begin to move them slightly to your right. You can now lower them and straighten the legs once again.
• The left knee must be kept bent and you must begin to cross it over the right leg, with your left foot placed on the floor near the outer portion of the right knee.
• Now, you must crunch up and subsequently come back down.
You can try and do at least 30 reps on both sides.
Image Source: www.coachmag.co.uk
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
