Ab Exercises are one of those strength exercises affecting your abdominal muscles. You can even perform ab workouts at your home. These exercises work both the lower as well as upper ab muscles separately.
The abs is present in the abdomen and is located below the rib cage in the direction of the pelvis and at both sides. Although, it is not going to be easy to train the ab muscles, it is certainly achievable, if you would put in a little bit of effort to obtain good results.
Your body can turn and spin around either in the front or back or even to your side with the support of your ab muscles. In this way, your body is able to maintain its posture. Additionally, you will be able to flex your spine as well as lower the gap between the pelvis and ribs.
There are three different sets of muscles that are present in the abs known as the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis and the internal and external obliques. The rectus abdominis is commonly referred to as the six-pack muscle and it can be seen extending from the rib cage covering all the way up till the pubic bone. Linea alba is the connective tissue that separates both the pairs of the rectus abdominis muscles. The transverse abdominis is situated exactly behind the rectus abdominis and targets your lower abs. The core is mainly activated with the help of transverse abdominis. The internal and external oblique muscles play a major role in stabilization. While, internal oblique forms a part of the group of abdominal muscles to provide support to abdominal wall, the external oblique muscles help in pulling the chest completely downwards, which compresses the abdominal cavity. The external oblique muscle in a mild way supports the rotation of the spine.
The various ab exercises given below does not require any equipment to be used and can be done at your home. Before starting to perform these exercises, you should go for a warm up which can be done either by going for running or doing any other warm up.
Sit-ups
Sit-ups is one of the upper ab exercises that helps in strengthening your upper abs. The core can also be strengthened by performing sit-ups. Apart from that, there are many other benefits from doing sit-ups since it helps you to stay increasingly flexible as well as enhances your muscle mass.
How many sets are required to be completed?
You can do about 2 to 3 steps of 12-15 reps each.
Equipment to be used:
You may need a bench to hold your feet below or maybe one more person who can stand on your feet to do this exercise.
How to do this exercise?
- Firstly, you must lie down on your mat and keep your knees bent and your feet secured below a bench or any piece of heavy furniture.
- Now keep your palms a little above your ears or place your hands across your chest.
- The torso must be raised until your elbows or head touch your knees.
- While holding pressure on the abs, lower your body gradually back onto the starting position. Now, you have completed one rep.
While performing this workout, try to ensure that stability is maintained at all times by not going up and coming down at a rapid speed.
Crunch
The crunch is a great movement that helps in building strength in the upper rectus abdominis. By doing ab exercises such as crunches, pressure is created on the core muscles. At the same time, fat present in the body is also decreased.
How many sets are required to be completed?
You can do about 2 to 3 sets of 15 reps each.
Equipment to be used:
You can use a mat if needed. There is no need for any other equipment.
How to do this exercise?
- Keep your knees bent and lie down on your back by either using a mat on the floor or by doing directly on the floor.
- Your upper part of the body must be lifted off the floor about a third of the way.
- Now, you must try to rotate your upper body, in such a way that tension can be generated around your upper abs.
- Now, hold on for a few seconds and return to the position where you started in a gradual manner. In this way, you have completed one rep.
Side Crunch
Side Crunch is one of the ab exercises that is performed mainly to train both the internal oblique muscles as well as external oblique muscles. It helps in giving a proper shape to the body by raising the muscle tone of the body that is visible through the performance of this exercise.
Equipment to be used:
No equipment is needed. A mat can be used, if required.
How many sets are required to be completed?
About 2 to 3 sets can be performed comprising of 12-15 reps each.
How to do this exercise?
- Firstly, you must lie down on the floor keeping your knees in a bent position.
- Place your hands a little above your ears and keep your fingers on the side of the head.
- Keep your upper body raised up in the direction of any of your knees alternately. While doing this, you can work on making the right elbow touch your left knee.
- Curve your upper part of the body while changing your direction to cause strain on the upper abs.
- Now, hold on for a few seconds and subsequently come back to the point where you started in a gradual manner. In this way, one rep would be completed.
Toe Touch Crunch
This ab exercise is also recommended for growing your abs muscles. There are several forms present in toe touch exercise. This muscle is used at the time of doing crunches that makes it an important area to focus.
Equipment to be used:
No equipment is required. A mat can be used, if required.
How many sets are required to be completed?
You can complete about 2 to 3 sets of 12-15 reps each.
How to do this exercise?
- Firstly, you have to lie down on your back on the ground by stretching your legs well.
- Raise your arms and legs to a 90-degree angle by keeping your hands and knees on the floor.
- Keep your torso raised in such a way as to touch your toes with the help of the fingers.
- Squeeze both the lower and upper part of your body jointly in order to perform the movement.
- Now, come back to the position where you started. With this, a rep has been completed.
It is recommended for you to choose to try and do a mixture of at least three exercises that are mentioned above. In the beginning, you may perform about 2-3 sets of each exercise by taking a rest for about 60 seconds after completing every exercise. As and when you improve your strength and stamina, the number of reps to be performed for each set can be increased.
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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.
