LOWER ABS

Bent Knee Abdominal Hip Raises

Exercise Advice: Begin by lying on a mat on your back with your hands at your sides and your knees bent with your feet raised two inches off the floor. Bring your pelvis up and your knees up toward your chest, contracting your abdominals and hold for a two second count. Return to the start position and repeat until failure.

Decline Abdominal Crunches

Exercise Advice: Using a decline bench, position yourself with your feet locked in at the top. Place your hands on either side of your head, without locking your fingers. Raise your body slowly while you contract your abs. Crunch up, bringing your elbows to either side of your thighs. At the top of the movement, flex your abs for a one-count and then slowly lower your body back to the starting position. Be sure to keep at least an inch or two of space between your back and the bench at the bottom of the movement. Also, for added muscle building, hold a weight plate across your chest for added resistance.

Reverse Decline Crunches

Exercise Advice: Using a decline bench, lie on your back with your head at the top of the bench, near where your feet usually go. Next, hold the top of the bench with both hands. Hold your legs straight out together in the air, parallel to the floor using your abs to hold them there. Slowly bring your pelvis up and in towards your chest, having your abs control the movement. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position, always keeping constant tension on your midsection.

Exercise Ball Abdominal Pull Ins

Exercise Advice: Using a large exercise ball, begin in a push-up position and place your shins on top of the exercise ball. Keep your back completely straight and pull your knees in towards your chest. Allow the ball to roll forward under your ankles. Be sure to contract your abs at the peak of the movement and then straighten your legs, rolling the ball back to the starting position.

Flat Bench Abdominal Leg Pull Ins

Exercise Advice: Sit on a flat bench with your legs off the end. Place your hands to your sides, grasping the edge of the bench with each hand. Extend your legs straight out and lean your back at a 45 degree angle. Bring your knees in toward your midsection, making sure that your abs are doing the work in a slow and controlled fashion. Return to the starting position.

Flat Bench Abdominal Leg Raises

Exercise Advice: Lie flat on your back on a bench with your legs off the end, remaining parallel to the ground. Place your hands back next to your head and grab the edge of the bench. Keeping your legs as straight as possible, raise your legs as high as possible, making sure that your abs are doing the work. Lower legs back down to the start position and repeat.

Hanging Knees To Chin Raises

Exercise Advice: Hang from a pull-up or chinning bar with your knees slightly bent. Work your abdominals by bringing your knees up toward your chest. You should finish the chin and crunch at the same time. When fully contracted, your knees will be pulled up to your chest. Slowly reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

Hanging Abdominal Leg Raises

Exercise Advice: Hang from a pull-up bar with your legs straight down. Raise your legs by bringing your knees up toward your chest, but only until even with your waist. Focus on having the movement be slow and controlled and concentrate on using your abs to bring your legs up. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Hanging Knees To Head Raises

Exercise Advice: Hang from a pull-up or chinning bar with your knees slightly bent. Bring your legs up and try to touch your knees to your elbows. Lower your legs as SLOWLY as possible until you reach the starting position and then repeat. This exercise is similar to Gorilla Chin Crunches.

Parallel Bar Abdominal Knee Raises

Exercise Advice: Position yourself on some parallel bars, holding yourself up with your elbows and forearms with your legs hanging straight down. Use your abdominals to pull your legs up toward your chest. As your knees come to your chest, ever so slightly roll your upper body down toward your knees. Be sure to squeeze your abs at the top of the movement for a one-count.

Lying Reverse Abdominal Crunches

Exercise Advice: Lie on the floor on a mat with your hands under your rear end, palms down and your legs stretched out straight. Simply bring your knees up toward to your chest and, as you do this, bring your chin to your chest so as to meet your knees at the peak of the movement. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Reverse Abdominal Crunches

Exercise Advice: Lie on the floor on a mat on your back. Place your arms by your sides with your feet up and your thighs perpendicular to the floor. Using your lower abs, bring your knees to your chest while simultaneously tucking your chin to your chest. Return slowly to the starting position and repeat.

Abdominal Flutter Kicks

Exercise Advice: Start by lying flat on your back on a mat with your arms by your sides and your palms down. Extend your legs fully with a slight bend in your knees. Lift your heels about 6 inches off the floor. Make small, rapid up and down scissor-like motions with your legs. The key is to focus on having your midsection do the work and to keep your abs constantly contracted throughout the exercise.

Medicine Ball Leg Raises

Exercise Advice: Start off with a very light medicine ball to get the form of the movement down. While Laying down on an exercise mat, securely hold a medicine ball over your head and stretch out your arms and legs. Crunch upwards keeping your arms straight and raise your feet to your hands. Slowly place the medicine ball in between your feet and lower your body into the starting position while keeping your feet just off the ground and the medicine ball between your feet. Crunch back up, raise your legs and grab the medicine ball from your feet. Finally, lower your legs and upper body to the starting position. This is a very tough ab exercise, so make sure to start off very light and focus on perfect form.

Inverted Exercise Ball Leg Pull Ins

Exercise Advice: Using an exercise ball, get into a pushup position and place your feet on top of the exercise ball. Slowly raise your butt up in the air and crunch your abdominals in tightly while flexing your midsection at the top of the movement. Slowly lower your body down to the starting position and repeat.

Weighted Hand To Leg Ab Crunches

Exercise Advice: Grab two dumbbells and lie flat on an exercise mat with your arms and legs fully extended. Slowly raise your right leg and right arm at the same time to perform an ab crunch. Try to keep your arm and leg straight throughout the movement. Focus the tension on your abs and flex your stomach at the peak position. Repeat with your left leg and arm.