Let's feed that gut some more
lower abdominal exercises

Ready for more lower abdominal exercises?

You'll start to realize by now that training those lower abs is hard work. While most traditional ab workouts like the good old crunch targets the upper abs, the really sticky area is the lower abs. So, let's continue with these exercises.

Also pay attention to the bit at the bottom of this article about combining exercises. It's a great way to keep your workout fun and challenging.

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Continued: trim your gut with these lower abdominal exercises

The sitting bicycle

No, you're not going to get on a bicycle (although that's good exercise too, provided you can stay on it and not drive into things like I do). In a sitting position with your legs stretched out in front of you, lock your hands behind your head (don't drag yourself upright by your neck, let your abs do the work) and lean back at about a 45 degree angle. Lift your legs about 5 or 6 inches off the ground. Now pretend you are on a bicycle and start pedalling with those legs. You'll soon feel the burn where you need it most. Also see the traditional bicycles exercise on the best ab exercises page.

Little jack knives

On the previous page we covered the full jack knife. The little jack knife works on the same principle, but is executed differently. Lie on your back, hands next to your body. Now sit up, pulling your knees up and into your abdomen as you do so. Your chest and thighs meet halfway. Stretch your arms forward if you have trouble balancing at first. Not the easiest of the lower abdominal exercises, but it targets the lower abs and upper abs in one go, just like full jack knives.

Rollback legups

Lie on your back, hands at your sides, palms flat on the ground. Now roll backward, lifting your legs and lower back off the ground. Pull your knees towards your chin (gently now, you don't want to bust your own lip!). Give those abs a nice squeeze as you bring your knees up, then go back to the starting position. Repeat as many times as you can.

The plank

Lie face down on the floor with your elbows supporting you, palms flat. Push yourself off the floor with your elbows and onto your toes. Keep going until your back is in a flat line angling up from your toes to your shoulders. Contract your abdominals and hold for about 30 seconds (you can increase this once you get used to the exercise). Feel the burn! Don't push your butt into the air, keep the straight line. Remember, let your abs do all the work. As you can see here, lower abdominal exercises aren't just about crunching and letting go. Holding a position for a while is also effective and something you have to bring into your routine. You can apply the "contract and hold" technique to almost all ab exercises.

Combining exercises

You don't have to stick to a script when exercising - you can write your own. Combining two or more exercises into one can present all sorts of new challenges.

For example, combine the bicycle and the leg scissors from the previous page. Pedal for 5 seconds, then lie down and do 5 scissors, sit back up and pedal again. Throw in a crunch while you're at it.

Magic! Personally I love combining exercises this way. Not just lower abdominal exercises, but also pushups, pullups, burpees, etc. It gives you a workout like you won't believe.

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