If you are someone that wants to have a really stable core, lower ab workouts are absolutely necessary to getting that done. Runners, cyclists and anyone that would like to have a really toned midriff area would do well to take note of some of the lower ab workouts that are discussed below.
If you talk to many fitness experts, they will praise the traditional abdominal curl or crunch as the basic exercise of choice for the upper abs. It can be said that the reverse curl is the same thing for the lower abs.
A reverse curl requires that you lie with your back flat to the floor’s surface and bring your knees together with your legs bent such that your lower legs are parallel to the floor. From that position, bring your knees into your abs, slightly raising your hips off the floor. Hold the position momentarily and then release. Continue doing increasing numbers of repetitions of this exercise everyday to the point where you can really feel the burn and your lower abs will end up just fine.
Another great exercise that you can graduate to when the reverse curl has become easy and second nature is the abdominal plank. This ab workout will benefit your entire core, but it will also help the lower abdominal muscles. To complete this exercise, lie on your front with your body on top of your forearms and your palms flat and flush to the floor’s surface. From that position, push yourself up until you are resting your entire body on your toes and on your elbows.
Once you are in that position, hold the plank for as long as you can. You should try to hold it for at least 20 seconds, but anything longer than that up to a minute in length is definitely great news. After holding it for the target length of time, relax and then repeat the motion again. You should try to do around 5 reps each time you do this exercise for best results.
The barbell rollout is not for the faint of heart. You really need to be heading towards advanced lower ab workouts to consider this one, but you definitely can get a lot of gain towards your lower abs by doing this exercise.
Start from a normal push-up position at the top of the push-up, except with your hands resting on a long barbell. Then, slowly lower yourself out, pushing the barbell away until you are almost at the point of maximum extension. Hold it slightly and then return to the normal position. This is extremely difficult to do, but the extra effort comes with an extra reward. If you do a couple of sets of barbell rollouts each day, you’ll be amazed at how quickly and efficiently you can tone and sculpt your lower abdominal muscles. Do not try this workout until you are very sure of your abilities in this area though; instead, start with the reverse curl which is a lot easier to do and allows you to feel the burn if you do it right.