Top 10 Abs Exercises

Do you want to get flat six-pack abs? Get ready to put your abs in shape with the best abs exercises. Learn how to make the exercises properly for maximum effect and avoiding injuries. Abs workout videos and further tips will help you out to understand everything better.

Have in mind that any exercise can result in personal injury if not performed properly. Not all exercises are suitable for everybody. Before trying a new abs exercise take into account factors as flexibility, strength and overall health to determine if a given exercise is appropriate for you.

Let's have a look at the top 10 abs exercises that will help you achieve a flat stomach.

Crunch



A crunch begins with lying face up on the floor with knees bent. The movement begins by curling the shoulders towards the pelvis. Crunches mainly exercise the abdominal muscles. The hip flexors may also be engaged. Crunches have lots of variations, some of which are reviewed more in details in the other exercises below.

A common mistake when doing either crunches or sit ups is to primarily use hip flexors instead of abdominals. For either exercise, make sure the ab muscles are the primary ones being used.

When doing crunches or sit ups the hands can be behind or beside the neck or crossed over the chest. You must avoid pushing your hands against the head or neck because this may cause injuries.

Sit Up



For a proper sit up, lay with your back on the ground, knees bent and feet on the ground. Cross your arms over the chest or place finger tips behind your ears. Bring head and chest up to full sitting position, without jerking the head. Neck should be slightly flexed forward. Return head all the way to the ground and repeat. Sit ups involve using other stabilizing muscles in chest, back, neck and hips.

Sit ups and crunches are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are some noticeable differences between these two exercises. Sit ups tend to involve more muscle groups so they can be avoided if someone has a neck or back issue. Crunches rely less on these muscle groups and in this case crunches would be better than sit ups. Crunches in general are more popular over sit ups because the movement is smaller but with the same effect as a sit up. Some people are having a hard time sitting all the way up regardless of abdominal strength.

Reverse crunch



Lay down on your back, position the legs in 90 degrees. Bring the elbows slightly in and perform crunches while pushing your knees towards your chest. You can further extend your legs away before pushing them in towards the mid section. The transfer abdominals, which are the deepest abs, are used during this exercise.

Abdominal Twist



Abdominal twist or the so called Russian twist is performed in a leaned back sitting position. Your knees are bent. Grab your hands or get extra weight for additional pressure. Twist your body left and right. Keep your legs together or crossed for more stability. To make the exercise even harder you can use a V-Sit where you lift your legs up.

Leg raise



Lay down on your back and put your hands down on your sides. Keep your head relaxed on the floor. Your legs are straight during the whole exercise. Bring up your legs in the air in a vertical position and release them slowly back to the floor. You can lower the legs half way or all the way down. Try not to touch down the floor between the repetitions. You breath in as you lift the legs and breath out while they go down. This exercise is working on the transfer abdominals.

The Pilates 100



Lay down on your back with your knees bent. Lift up your shoulders and stretch your hands forward. Make sure your eyes are looking towards your knees to protect your neck. Move your hands quickly up and down.

Heel Touch



Lay down on your back with your knees in table top position. Lift up your shoulders and stretch your hands forward. Twist your body left and right to touch the heels of your legs one after another. This exercise is working on the obliques.

The Bicycle



Lay back down on your back with the hands behind your head. Position one of your legs extended and the other leg up bent in the knee. Start shifting one leg with the other as if you were on a bicycle. In the same time lift your opposite shoulder towards the knee that is closing in. This exercise focuses on the internal and external obliques.

Flutter Kicks



Lay down on your back, keep your hands down on your sides. Make sure your back is straight on the floor. The legs also stay stretched during the whole exercise. Move your legs up and down one after each other like scissors. You also work on your legs and core.

Plank



Get into pushup position and bend your elbows to lower your forearms to the floor. Hold your torso parallel with the ground. Hold the position with abs braced for as long as you can. This exercise is also working on your core. The planking exercise has lots of variations.

The standard plank exercise can be made harder by lifting your legs up. Keep the core strong as you slowly alternate lifting each leg. You can also bent the knees on the sides of your body.



Another variation of this exercise is the side plank. Stay on one of your sides and support your body on your elbow while your forearm is laying down. Keep your body straight and your legs strong. You can add hip lift to the side planking to make it harder.

Exercises are not used only to lose weight and achieve a beautiful figure or strong muscles. Working out helps you stay in a good health condition and maintain your metabolism.

Have fun with the best abs exercises and stay in a good shape. Don't forget to stretch your body in the end of your trainings.