Lower Ab Exercises

Everyone has their trouble spots when it comes to putting together the kind of a body they want to have.  A good set of lower ab exercises can help target  that darn stubborn spot right below the belly button that refuses to fall into place for so many of us.

The muscle we’re dealing with here is called the rectus abdominis, and it’s the ribbed series of muscles that make up the “six-pack” of abs that everyone is chasing after.  Specifically, we’re trying to affect the lower section of that muscle.  It’s divided into sections by a series of tendons that create that characteristic ribbed appearance, and we want to target the bottom section of those muscles.

The right lower ab exercises can help snap that poochy belly back into place.  It’s a little tricky to isolate this area, but here’s an exercise you can try to work the lower ab area.  You don’t need any special equipment or anything like that, and you can do it on the floor of your living room if you like.

SIX INCHES

Start off by lying on your back.  Place your hands beneath your lumbar spine- your lower back- to support that area.  The last thing we need is for you to strain your back!  Once that’s done, simply lift your feet off of the floor and hold  your heels about six inches off of the ground.

Now’s the hard part.  Keep your feet up off of the floor and hold it there for as long as you can.  Believe me, you’re going to feel this one pretty quickly.  As you get stronger and stronger, you’ll be able to hold your feet up for progressively longer periods of time.  Try to hold your feet up for thirty to sixty seconds at a time, for a series of six to ten times.

There’s some other lower ab exercises you can do for this difficult area.  This next one is really tough to do, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really effective for keeping you out of Mom Jeans or Fat Guy Pants.

REVERSE CRUNCH

This is one of the more difficult lower ab exercises. Once again, lie on your back, but this time, as you raise your feet in the air, raise them all the way up so that they point at the ceiling.  Here’s the tricky part.  You want to actually lift your pelvis up into the air so that your legs continue to go straight up at the ceiling.

It’s a weird sensation, and a tricky move to master.  Trust me, you’re not going to get it on the first try.  You’re going to have to mess around with this one a little bit to get the right feel for tilting and lifting your pelvis up in just the right way to tighten up the lower abs.  But, once you get the feel for it, you’ll definitely feel the strain in those stubborn lower abs.

You’re not going to be able to do a lot of these at first.  That’s okay.  The lower ab muscles are some of the hardest muscles to isolate, and as a result, they’re often the most underdeveloped muscles a person has (along with the rear shoulder, but that’s another ball of wax).  So struggle with them for a bit, and soon enough, you’ll get a feel for these two lower ab exercises.

After these lower ab exercises, say goodbye to the poochy belly!