Ab Exercises

Improve Your Stomach's Appearance With Ab Exercises

Here are ideas for supplemental workouts for your abs. These ab exercises will tone your stomach.

Abdominal Leg Lifts: Begin lying on exercise mat or carpeted area, with legs together, knees slightly bent (throughout entire exercise). Lift legs to 90-degree angle. Hold. Gently let legs back down to start, but do NOT come in contact with floor. For more back support, place hands under your buttocks.

Hanging Leg Lifts: With legs straight down, hang (with gloves if preferred for firmer grip) from a horizontal bar with hands part a little more than shoulder-width. Lift legs up slow and steady to chest, bending hips and knees. Hold. Lower to starting position. For change in routine, twist hips to either side, touching your obliques or side abdominal muscles.

Ball Crunches: Balance your back on an exercise ball (or wheeled ottoman), feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Hands behind your head, but no pulling. With back and head straight, do crunches, pulling together abdominal muscles and lifting your shoulders several inches. Hold crunch at top. Return to start, slow and steady.

Ball Side Overs: Lying sideways over exercise ball (or wheeled ottoman), balance with feet reaching floor. With hands behind head and not pulling, and with head, neck and body straight, raise upper body slow and steady - as high as you can. Hold. Lower down to below starting position, bending with ball's help. Stop. Return back to beginning position. Switch sides and repeat.

Kneeling Crunches: with toning bar or rope (with pull-down machine), kneel towards machine with cable angled away from the rack while you crunch down. Pull bar or rope down to just above forehead. Crunch down, slow and steady while exhaling and maintaining same position for rope or bar. Hold. Return to start position with abs doing return.