How To Do Lower Ab Exercises
Many people want those well-defined, chiseled abdominal muscles seen on many fitness magazines and exercise programs shown on television. The abdominal muscles are a tricky part of the body to tone and exercise, but the lower abs can prove to be very challenging. Here are ways to exercise the lower abdominal muscles.
Modified Crunches
Many of the muscles of the human body are attached to bones and joints, which makes them fairly easy points for toning and definition. The abdominals are support muscles, which means that they are not attached to bones and joints that facilitate movement.
ab exerciseA long-standing belief is that leg raises are the best way to target the lower abs. While the exercise works for some people, the exercise can cause serious lower back injury that may require rehabilitation or even surgery, especially if you’re wearing leg weights. Abdominal crunches are still your best bet, although you have to modify the exercise to target your lower abs:
Start with the basic crunch position. Lay flat on your back with knees bent, and keep your feet flat on the floor. Keep your hands just behind your ears for support; not on the back of your neck or head.
As you raise your upper body to the crunch position (do not perform a sit-up, because you’ll end up straining your back muscles), raise your legs toward your body. Keep your knees bent as you perform the crunch motion.
Slowly and gradually return to the starting position, and repeat as needed. Ten to 15 reps a day should give your ab muscles enough tone and definition.
Exercise Machines
You’ll have to perform a lot of crunches over a long period of time to get those six-packs. If you don’t have time or a lot of patience to perform exercise, you can use exercise machines to help you get definition in your abdominal region:
Targeted machines exert pressure directly on the abdominal muscles. A targeted machine does not strengthen your abs as much for support, but gives you a well-defined, ripped midsection.
Crunch machines assist your crunches. Most crunch machines are simple machines made with bent steel or composite bars, and use a rocking motion to help extend the range of, and add resistance to, your abdominal crunches.
That paunch on your lower abs is not only unappealing, but can also cause some problems with posture and back strength. With these tips, you can keep your ab muscles fit and trim for that sexy, fit midsection.