Abdominal Exercises for Women: 5 Effective Ab Workouts

Consumer Info

Website Info

Subscribe To This Site

Abdominal Exercises for Women: Flat Tummy, Flattering Results

A daily or thrice-weekly routine of abdominal exercises for women will not only help you firm and tone your stomach but will also help to condition and improve tight lower back muscles to help prevent low back pain and injury.

The Abs Include Several Muscles

Ab muscles are thinner than other muscles and they can be difficult to isolate and work effectively. The muscle group that makes up the abs include: the main rectus abdominis (“the 6 pack”); the external obliques (“love handles”) which facilitate spine and lateral flexion, and rotation; the internal obliques which help stabilize the pelvis, compress the abdomen, and assist in spine flexion; and the deep transversus abdominis which is something like a corset holding in your innards and works as a respiratory muscle helping to expel air from your lungs.

There are ab machines and wonder gadgets that make great promises to flatten the tummy, but the best abdominal exercises for women are actually the easiest to do. The “crunch” and its many variations are not only simple to perform, these movements target the rectus abdominis and obliques, and eliminate the strong hip flexors which often override the abs and try to do the heavy lifting.

The Exercises

Crunch abdominal workouts can be done every single day. Your abs will get leaner, tighter, and stronger – and never bulky. Plan to do 8 to 10 repetitions for a “set,” and do 2 to 3 sets per exercise. Focus on contracting the abs tightly as possible during every rep, and do each motion slowly, always in control.

Here is a sample of crunch workouts that make up the core of abdominal exercises for women:

The Crunch – Lie on your back on the floor with your feet flat on the floor and knees bent. Your hands can be on your chest or at the side of your head, just don’t lock them behind your head and pull it up during the exercise. To begin, roll (“crunch”) your torso in a curling movement, lifting your shoulder blades without raising your lower back from the floor. Keep the tension on the abs, hold the top position for a few seconds while taking a few breaths, and return to the start position. Crunch in a slow, controlled fashion, concentrating not on speed but on keeping the tension on the abs. Don’t anchor your feet either as this will likely cause the hip flexors to activate.

Compare Abdominal Equipment at Amazon

Ball crunch – These effective abdominal exercises for women can be done on any size of exercise ball. Sit on the floor in front of the ball with your feet flat on the floor and knees bent. With your back on the side of the ball, roll yourself back over the ball, allowing your back to arch. This stretches the abs, increasing the difficulty of the crunch, and it requires the abs to help balance your torso. Round your back completely over the ball with your head at a downward angle, then crunch up. Squeeze the abs hard during the motion!

Bicycle crunch – Lie on your back on a mat with your hands beside your head and knees bent, keeping your lower legs parallel to the floor. With your right hand over your right ear, use a pedal motion to bring your right elbow to your left knee contracting the oblique muscles on your side. Hold for a few seconds, then return to the start position. Crunch to the other side, left elbow to right knee. Sexy Abs

Captain’s Chair – Using a VKR (vertical knee raise) station, stand on the foot holds and grab the handles with your forearms resting on the pads. Step off and dangle your legs with feet together. Slowly lift your knees to your chest. Hold the position for a few seconds then return to the hanging start position. As with any crunch exercise, be sure to contract as hard as you can at the top position of the exercise. Keep other muscles relaxed, and focus on just the abs. (It isn’t recommended that you do Leg Raises on the VKR machine at this time, as that exercise brings in the hip flexors and won’t be as effective on the abs alone as the Captain’s Chair exercise.)

Stomach vacuum – Not all of the highly effective abdominal exercises for women involve the crunch. Here is a simple exercise you can do daily, anytime, anywhere. To do the stomach vacuum, stand straight and take a deep, long breath. Then blow out all of your air and suck in your abs, hollowing out the stomach area. Hold the contraction for 30 seconds, and keep breathing. Even though this exercise seems to target the rectus abdominis only, the deeper ab muscles are contracting and relaxing with each breath. When the deep muscles are briefly in that relaxed state (exhaled), the rectus abdominis bears down harder. The vacuum works effectively to slim your waistline — as long as you to do ab tightening exercises on a regular basis.

Remove the Fat to See the Abs

These abdominal exercises for women will not only strengthen the abs but help decrease the size of your waist. But before you can show off your sexy abs you must also get rid of any excess stomach flab known as subcutaneous fat. Diet and cardio exercise are necessary for eliminating fat from all areas of the body, not just the tummy, and it is only after this flab is removed that your skin will become more taut and will show off an attractive set of abs.

Home Gym Workouts: Tips for Your Training Regime

Return from Abdominal Exercises for Women to the Home Gym Reviews Index Page