The Three Best Exercises For Building Your Abs
One of the questions I hear the most often in my capacity as a trainer and all around fitness expert is how to best work the abdominal muscles (or abs).
Since I get this all the time, I’m going to try in this article to address a lot of these questions at once and give you a quick rundown on three of my personal favorite simple floor exercises for working out your abs.
1) Full Vertical Crunch. This one is great because it recruits all your ab muscles by getting your upper body and your lower body into the action.
Get on your back and bring your legs up so they’re pointing toward the ceiling. Put your hands behind your head (or just hold your ears) and raise your shoulder blades off the floor - this will contract your abdominals. While you’re doing this, stretch your legs upward as if you’re trying to get your heels on the ceiling (point with your heels not your toes).
What you want to aim for is to make your body into a “u” shape.
To end it: lower back into the starting position.
You can go at your own level, but aim for 10-15 reps with this one.
2) “Long Arm Crunch”. This easy to perform exercise will focus on your upper abs. Start out by Lying on your back (on a mat if you have one) with your arms stretched out in a straight line behind your head.
If your arms are touching or near your ears, you’re doing it right! Flex your abs to lift your shoulder blades off the floor. The ideal range is 10-15 reps per set.
3) Vertical Leg Crunch, This one is especially good for your obliques. Lie face up on the floor, legs straight up and knees crossed.
Lift your shoulder blades off the floor and contract your abs - in this exercise, imagine that you’re trying to touch your chest to your feet.
Go back to starting position and repeat 10-15 times per set.
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