We are constantly bombarded with what we should and shouldn’t be doing to get those perfectly defined abs. The top and bottom of it is that you will never have visible abs if your body fat is not low enough. That’s obviously where a healthy diet comes in. But what are the best exercises out there for defining our mid-section and bringing out those chiselled abs and ‘six pack’ that will set us apart from the crowd? Read on to find out….
1 – Exercise Ball Crunch:
A classic exercise that works the upper abdominal region the most. Simple but more effective than doing it on the floor as it allows you to stretch the abs and back more, allowing a greater range of motion.
Sit on the ball with feet flat on the floor before lying back until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor. Keep your hips on the ball. Breathing out, contract your abs to raise your torso to no more than 45 degrees. Count 2 seconds up, hold for 2 seconds at the top and lower to the count of 2 seconds. To make the exercise more difficult, bring your feet closer together or extend your arms behind your head.
2 – Reverse Crunch:
An effective exercise that targets the lower abdominal region because you’re bringing your legs towards your body rather than your body towards your legs. Great for home workouts as it does not require any equipment.
Lie on your back with your hands by your side, knees bent, feet together and about six inches off the floor. Keep your feet close to your hips as you curl your lower body towards your shoulders, rolling your hips and lower back slightly off the floor and breathing out as you do so. Squeeze your abs in the top position before lowering your legs back to the start position, remembering to do each repetition slowly.
3-Exercise Ball Side Crunch:
A variation on the standard ball crunch, this allows you to target your obliques, the diagonal muscles that feed into your abs from the side. The arc of the ball allows you to stretch your obliques at the start of the exercise, increasing the range of motion to make your obliques contract harder.
Lie on your right side against the exercise ball, arms positioned as above, legs extended and feet apart for balance. Slowly raise your body towards your left hip, breathing out and pausing in the top position before slowly lowering yourself down to the start position whilst inhaling. Repeat on the other side once the set is completed.
