Last week a few of you asked what abs exercises I recommend, so I thought I’d write a post about it. That way, you can see them all and figure out which ones you want to try.
Before I talk about the exercises, I just want to say that these are my favourites. That doesn’t mean they’re the best – it’s just that these are some of the things I find work best for me personally. It’s definitely worth trying a few different ones to figure out what you like and what you feel working the most.
It’s also important to remember that if you want to reveal any muscles then it’s your diet that’s going to make a difference.
We could all do 1,000 crunches a day hoping to build abs, but if you’re eating unhealthy foods all of the time then you won’t be able to reveal the muscle. I know it sucks to read that because cleaning up your diet is the most difficult part, but it sadly is the truth.
For tips on cleaning up your diet, check out my recent post about making generally healthier choices. Oh, and take your time and don’t get angry with yourself for finding it hard. It’s normal to struggle to improve your diet, but you can do it.
So, as promised, here are my favourite abs exercises. To save me writing it on every exercise (because I’m sure you won’t want to read it over and over again), always brace your abs during these exercises and ensure your back is in a neutral position. Oh, and keep breathing throughout.
These videos aren’t full on instructional, they’re just quick clips for you to see the exercises…
4. Ab roller
This feels weird at first but it’s a great exercise as you need to use your core to stabilise you. Go as low to the floor as you can without dropping your back towards the floor – so don’t let your lower back dip. If that means you can only roll out a small way, that’s fine.
3. Leg raises
With these, it’s important to remember not to allow your legs to swing because then your abs aren’t doing the work – you’re just swinging around. Focus on trying to slowly bring your legs up and then back down. Bending your knees makes this slightly easier.
If you give it time to get past how weird this move feels, these are great! Twist as much as you comfortably can and bring your legs up towards the sides of your body, again not letting your lower back drop towards the floor.
1. TRX pikes
These hurt. But they are worth the pain because they’re my absolute favourite abs exercise. When doing these, make sure you’re engaging your abs to pull you up and back down. Also remember not to allow your back to drop down to the floor, so keep your abs engaged throughout.
There are loads of other abs exercises I enjoy doing, but these are the ones I do most frequently. They all hurt, but that’s why I like them…because I know they’re working.
I don’t often work abs on their own because I lift weights and the majority of compound moves (so basically the big things, like squats, lunges, etc) involve your core to stabilise you, so my abs are always engaged. But these are my ‘go to’ exercises when I want to make my abs burn.
Hope this helps and please let me know if there are any particular things you want me to write a blog post about.
Also, thank you to my PT for filming these for me. Check him out on Instagram!
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