Women are designed in such a way that fat deposits are more often formed in the lower abdomen and on the hips, which cannot but worry the fairer sex. And this is quite physiological, but modern girls cannot help but fight it. Therefore, let’s look at the top 11 most effective exercises for the lower abs for girls, which can be performed both at home and in the gym.
1. Lying leg raise
One of the simplest, but very effective exercises, is performed lying on the floor without any equipment. An important requirement in the execution technique is a stable position of the lumbar spine. To help the abdominal muscles, which are not sufficiently prepared to ab the lower back to the floor, you can place your palms under your buttocks. To reduce the load, you can work on one leg at a time.
2. Pulling the knees to the chest with the ball while lying down
This exercise can be performed without equipment, especially for beginners. But a more effective option is to pull your knees to your chest using a fitball held between your ankles. During the entire exercise, the fitball should not touch the floor. Hands can lie on the floor along the torso or under the buttocks, helping the abdominal muscles fix the lower back. When straightening your legs, the angle of your legs relative to the floor can be 45 degrees or higher. As you exhale, you need to pull your knees to your chest without losing the ball. You can also use any ball at your disposal.
3. Pulling your knees to your chest on a fitball
This is a rather difficult exercise because it requires good stabilization of the body and preparation of the deep muscles of the body. In this embodiment, all the main muscle groups work statically, but the dynamic work is performed by the rectus ab and transverse abdominal muscles, especially their lower part. When performing knee-to-chest pull-ups, it is important to maintain balance and not fall to the sides. In the starting position, the knees should be on the ball, this will provide a sufficient range of motion when pulling the knees.
4. Leg raises with fitball
This version of leg lifting is performed in the same way as in the first exercise, but the amplitude is already significantly reduced due to the volume of the ball, which should not touch the floor. During the entire approach, the abdominal muscles should be tense, fixing the lower back. At the bottom point of the movement, the legs form approximately 45 degrees, and at the top, they become 90 degrees. You can also use a simple soccer or medicine ball instead of a fitball.
5. Reverse crunches
This is one of the most effective isolation exercises for the lower abdomen. It is performed both while lying on an inclined bench and on the floor. Its distinctive feature is its short amplitude with a strong impact on the lower part of the rectus ab muscle. When pushing the pelvis up, it is important to perform a short movement exclusively with the abdominal muscles. Upward thrusts of the pelvis should not be accompanied by high lifting of the pelvis and lifting of the lower back, jerking and falling to the floor.
6. Leg raises on parallel bars
Leg lifts can be performed indoors or outdoors – on specialized sports grounds or school yards. The only difference between parallel bars in the gym and street bars is the presence of cushions for resting on the forearms, which provide maximum comfort when performing the exercise. Street equipment has only two parallel bars, which involve performing the exercise while standing on straight arms. This option is suitable for physically fit women. An important condition is a stable position of the torso and prevention of swaying of the whole body.
7. Leg raises on the horizontal bar
Leg raises are often used in CrossFit or street workout. This technique is suitable for trained athletes, if we talk about the technique with the feet touching the crossbar. In other cases, you can raise your straight legs until they are parallel to the floor or bend your knees. This will reduce the load on your abdominal muscles. But the difficulty here will lie in something else – weak ligaments and arm muscles will not be able to hold the body hanging for a long time, so you should prepare the upper shoulder girdle so that the arms do not get tired until the abdominal muscles become tired.
8. Fold
This exercise is performed using a technique reminiscent of a “book”. Here the rectus ab muscle is fully engaged, but the lower part of the abs is worked out no less intensively in the fold due to the dynamic movement of the legs. The exercise can be performed both on a bench, holding the edges of the bench, and on the floor, resting your palms. The pace should be quite vigorous, but concentration on the abdominal muscles is important since helping with your hands and feet can significantly reduce the load on the rectus ab muscle.
9. Plank running
The dynamic version of the plank allows you to strengthen not only the external abdominal muscles but also the internal ones, including the transverse muscle. The lower abs receive significant load here by throwing the knees towards the chest, simulating running with high knees. For those who find it difficult to perform the exercise at a fast pace, you can replace the option by pulling up one knee at a time at a slow pace, this will allow you to concentrate on working your abdominal muscles without disrupting your breathing rhythm.
10. Plank jumps
The next variation of the plank is jumping back and forth. The technique also involves dynamic jumping. By jumping with your feet forward, your lower abs work intensively. This is also an effective fat-burning exercise, but it is not recommended for those who have pain in the knees and spine.
11. TRX Knee Tightening
For training in the gym, as well as at home if you have loops, you need to use one of the main options for developing strong abs, especially the lower abdomen, namely pulling up the knees in TRX. This technique is similar to the fitball exercise described above, but the advantage of loops is that there is no risk of falling and injury as with a ball. The important point here is to avoid sagging in the lumbar region.
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