18 Best Ab Exercises For Women (Video)

How To Do A Plank

1. Begin in a desk prime place with shoulders stacked over wrists (gentle bend within the elbows) and hips over knees. Hand are planted firmly on the mat, weight evenly distributed between all ten fingers.
2. Then step each toes again and prolong legs lengthy, balancing in your toes. Pull up in your kneecaps and push again in your heels to maintain your core engaged.
3. Maintain this plank place, sustaining a straight line along with your physique, gaze barely in entrance of you.

Modification: Place your arms on a raised floor (akin to a chair, sofa, or countertop).

How To Do A Facet Plank

1. Begin mendacity in your facet, proper forearm on the mat, proper shoulder stacked over proper elbow.
2. Press into your forearm and raise your hips. Steadiness on the skin fringe of your proper foot, stacking your left foot on prime of your proper foot. Choice to stagger your toes if stacked isn’t comfy.
3. Place your left hand behind your head or prolong your left hand overhead. Deal with retaining your hips excessive and even (stacked over one another).

Modification: Drop the within knee to the bottom slightly than extending each legs.

How To Do Alternating Leg Lowers

1. Begin mendacity in your again. Press your low again firmly into the mat and take into consideration “wrapping” your belly wall round your core.
2. Straighten your legs and prolong them over your hips, the underside of your toes dealing with the ceiling.
3. Slowly decrease one leg in direction of the bottom, retaining each legs as straight as potential. Deal with retaining your decrease again pressed into the mat.
4. Hover your heel above the mat, then pull it again as much as beginning place.
5. Then repeat, this time alternating legs.

Modification: Bend each knees, shortening the space every leg travels.

How To Do Facet-To-Facet Leg Lowers

1. Begin mendacity in your again, decrease again pressed into the mat and core engaged.
2. Straighten your legs “up the wall” or stacked on prime of your hips. Legs are prolonged lengthy, toes flexed in direction of your face.
3. Slowly decrease each legs in direction of the bottom on the proper facet of the physique. Hold each legs as straight as potential whereas retaining your left shoulder linked to the mat.
4. With management, pull the legs again to beginning place and repeat on the left facet of the physique.

Modification: Carry out this train with knees bent, shortening the space every leg travels.

How To Do Boat Pose

1. Begin sitting on the ground along with your legs bent at 90 levels. Lean again barely sitting in your sit bones (two sitting bones and tailbone), retaining a pleasant lengthy backbone, shoulders down and again.
2. Place your arms behind your knees and raise your toes off the bottom. Bent legs are prolonged out in entrance of you.
3. Slowly straighten your legs out in entrance of you. Elevate the guidelines of your toes to eye-level or simply larger. Choice to increase your arms in direction of your toes as nicely.

Modification: Hold your arms on the again of your thighs, holding your legs throughout this pose to scale back the depth.

How To Do An Indirect Crunch

1. Begin mendacity in your facet, proper arm on the mat, left hand behind your head. Lengthen each legs lengthy, toes stacked on prime of each other. Brace your core.
2. Raise your head, neck and shoulders off the bottom whereas additionally lifting your legs up off the mat. Hold each legs straight as you elevate them, forming a “V” form along with your physique. Take into consideration bringing your left elbow to satisfy your left knee.
3. Slowly decrease again right down to the beginning place.

Modification: Hold each legs on the bottom for the whole motion, knees bent and toes collectively. Squeeze the core, and crunch by means of the facet of your physique to lift your head, neck and shoulders off the mat.

How To Do A Bicycle Crunch

1. Begin mendacity flat in your again, decrease again urgent firmly into the mat. Carry your legs to a raised 90 diploma bend.
2. Raise your head, neck and shoulders off the bottom. Place your arms behind your head and take into consideration urgent your head into your fingertips. 
3. Raise your proper elbow in direction of your left knee as you prolong your proper leg lengthy.
4. Slowly return to the beginning place and repeat on the opposite facet. Pulling your left elbow in direction of your proper knee as you prolong your left leg lengthy.
5. Proceed to repeat this ‘bicycling’ motion, alternating knee to elbow crunches.

Modification: Carry out with knees bent, decreasing the vary of movement.

How To Do A Useless Bug

1. Lie in your again flat on the ground, performing a slight pelvic tilt to press your decrease again into the mat. Raise your knees to kind a 90-degree angle (knees stacked on prime of hips).
2. Maintain a dumbbell in every hand and prolong your arms straight overhead towards the ceiling. Inhale, letting your stomach broaden.
3. Exhale, partaking your core. Lengthen your left leg and proper arm away out of your physique, decreasing the dumbbell in your proper arm in direction of the bottom with management. Left arm and proper leg stay in place. With management, inhale as you come to middle.
4. Then repeat on the alternative facet. Exhale as you prolong your proper leg and left arm away from the physique, decreasing the dumbbell in your left arm in direction of the bottom. With management, return to beginning place.

Modification: Carry out with simply your body weight as an alternative of including a dumbbell. Choice to scale back vary of movement of your legs, performing useless dugs with knees bent as an alternative of straight leg useless bugs.

How To Do A Bear Crawl

1. Begin in a desk prime place, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees, pelvis even.
2. Inhale as you let your stomach barely drop, elevating your gaze up as you breathe by means of into your stomach.
3. Exhale, drawing your stomach button in direction of your backbone. Tuck your toes beneath and raise your knees one inch off the mat, discovering a bear crawl.
4. Maintain this bear crawl place, then prolong your proper arm straight overhead, reaching out away out of your physique.
5. Return your proper palm to the mat and repeat on the opposite facet. Extending your left hand away from the physique after which returning it to the mat.
6. Proceed this sample, alternating which hand is prolonged.

Modification: Maintain a bear crawl for the timed interval.

Ab Exercises For Girls: Coach Ideas and Methods

Begin with the newbie model, and scale as much as extra superior variations if you really feel prepared. For reference, listed below are the most effective newbie ab workouts and superior ab workouts:

9 Newbie Ab Workouts

1. Incline Plank
2. Knee Down Facet Plank
3. Bent Knee Leg Lowers
4. Bent Knee Facet-to-Facet Leg Lowers
5. Assisted Boat Pose
6. Facet Indirect Crunch
7. Bent Knee Bicycle March
8. Useless Bug
9. Bear Crawl Maintain

9 Superior Ab Workouts

1. Excessive Plank
2. Facet Plank
3. Alternating Leg Lowers
4. Facet-to-Facet Leg Lowers
5. Superior Boat Pose
6. Indirect V-Up Crunch
7. Bicycle Crunch
8. Weighted Useless Bug
9. Bear Crawl with Arm Extension

How To Have interaction Your Core Throughout Ab Exercises

These are some widespread health teacher cues designed that will help you safely carry out core workouts:

• Pull your stomach button in direction of your backbone. Your stomach button is linked to your deepest ab muscle groups, which you need ‘pulled in’ when performing ab workouts.
• When performing a mat ab train, press your decrease again into the ground. This prompts your core muscle groups and protects your again from harm or pressure.
• Think about there’s a string between your hip bones. As you exhale, think about that string (or your TA muscle groups) are pulling your hip bones collectively.

How To Keep away from Neck Ache Throughout Ab Exercises

• Keep away from “pulling” in your neck. Any time your arms are behind your head, take into consideration urgent your head into your fingertips, slightly than utilizing your arms to “pull up” in your head.
• Think about there’s a tennis ball tucked beneath your chin. This creates house between your chin and your chest and avoids further neck pressure.
• Take modifications. Neck ache is usually a signal your core isn’t fairly robust sufficient to finish the train you’re trying.