Exercises For Lower Ab Workouts

Lower ab workouts are important for helping you get the abdominals you want as well as helping increase spinal stability and prevention of injury especially for the lower back. If you want to improve your body shape, it is important to know that workouts alone will not result in losing fat in that area and that to lose fat you should also follow a sensible diet plan as well as doing exercises.

Lower ab workouts can be difficult at first as they do involve more concentration and muscle control than other exercises. Due to this some people cheat in lower ab workouts, making them not so effective. Here are some tips to help make your lower ab exercises more effective:

1. If you feel pain in your lower back stop immediately. Feeling pain in your lower back means that either your lower abs aren’t strong enough to perform the lower ab workout exercise or that you are not performing the exercise correctly.

2. When lower abdominal muscles get fatigued it can be difficult to feel them working. It is a sign to stop and rest when you cannot feel your lower abs working.

3. Do each exercise in a slow and controlled manner. Performing lower ab workouts too quickly will increase your momentum and decrease muscular control, minimizing the effectiveness and increasing the usage of muscles that should not be used.

4.The lower ab workouts are not about how many repetitions you can do – they are about working the correct muscles. Do slower, more controlled repetitions to get the maximum benefit from the lower ab workouts.

5. Remember to breathe whilst performing lower ab workouts. Many of the exercises require some of your abdominal muscles to be contracted throughout the exercise. Your initial reaction will probably be to try to hold your breath or take very shallow breaths but you must work on taking deeper breaths while performing the exercises. When performing lower ab exercises, exhale when your muscles are shortening/tightening and inhale while your muscles are lengthening/stretching.

Below are some examples of exercises for lower ab workouts:

1. Exercise for the Transverse Abdominus -

- Lie face down on the floor or on your hands and knees. The kneeling version of this lower ab exercise makes it easier for you to feel your belly button being pulled in but lying flat on the ground makes it easier to feel if you are using other muscles.

- Pull your belly button in as much as you can just using the lower abdominal muscles and try to relax throughout the rest of your body.

- Hold the contraction until you cannot feel it anymore or you start feeling other muscles contracting more. If this is difficult, try to hold the contraction for 10 seconds to begin with. Repeated up to 10 times. Increase the time of the contraction as the exercise becomes easier.

2. Flattening the lower back against the floor. This exercise helps to strengthen and build endurance in muscles that support and protect the low back from injury. Here is what to do:

- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Try to relax as much as possible. There should be a small space under your lower back from the natural curve in the spine.

-Activate your lower abdominals to flatten your lower back until you feel pressure against the floor.

- Some pelvic rotation will occur for the back to flatten completely, but make sure to use the abdominal muscles to create this motion.

- Holding this contraction for 10 seconds and increase this period as you get better at the exercise.

3. Abdominal Leg Lowering.

- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Try to relax as much as possible. There should be a small space under your lower back from the natural curve in the spine.

- Keep your lower abdominals tight and your back flat throughout the exercise. If you stop feeling tightness in your abdominal muscles or feel any pain in your lower back, stop the exercise.

- If your lower back starts to arch while you lower your leg, stop lowering your leg and raise it back up. Arching in the lower back is a sign that the lower abdominal muscles are not strong enough to perform the exercise at that position.

- There are four basic difficulty levels of this exercise:

1. Single-leg lowering with a bent leg: One leg is kept on the ground and the other leg is kept in a bent position throughout the exercise. The leg that moves should start with the thigh perpendicular to the ground. Lower the leg until the foot almost touches the floor. Raise the leg back to the starting position and repeat. Perform this exercise with both legs.

2. Single-leg lowering with a straight leg: The same exercise as above, but the leg that is moving will be kept straight instead of being bent.

3. Double-leg lowering with bent legs: This is a more difficult variation where both legs will move at the same time and follow the same technique as the first variation of this exercise.

4. Double-leg lowering with straight legs: This is the same as the third variation, except the legs are straight instead of bent. This is by far the most difficult variation. If your lower abdominals are not strong enough, this exercise can cause back pain. Start off with smaller movements; as your muscles get stronger, your legs will get closer to the floor.

Each of these lower ab workout exercises can be performed for 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps each. Ankle weights can be added to any of the variations to make them more difficult.

4. The Plank. Good for developing overall core stability, working the lower and upper abdominals and lower back muscles all at the same time.

- If you feel pain or excessive tightness in the lower back stop the exercise as this means some of your muscles are not strong enough or too tired to do the exercise properly. You will need to build up your strength and endurance by doing the previous exercises if you experience pain until your muscles can do this exercise properly.

- Lie on the floor with your elbows on the ground and your shoulders directly above your elbows. Your feet should be in the same position as if you were doing push-ups.

- Activate your abdominal muscles and lift your body off the ground whilst keeping your belly button pulled in towards your spine. Try to stay as straight as possible from your legs to your shoulders, while your forearms and feet support your bodyweight.

- Hold this position as long as you can while maintaining good form and the contraction in your abdominals. Perform 1-3 sets and focus on increasing your endurance over time. When you can perform this exercise for more than 1 1/2 -2 minutes at a time, you can increase the difficulty by lifting one foot slightly off the ground. This will also increase the demand of the leg that is still on the ground. Alternate legs between sets.

These exercises for lower ab workouts will help build a solid foundation of lower abdominal strength, endurance, and function and they will also help prevent lower back problems. These exercises will tone the muscles and make them look better but your diet habits and overall exercise program are what will impact how good your abdominals look most. To get fantastic abdominals and get the figure of your dreams you need to follow a proper diet and exercise program.

By: Laura E Matthews

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