I have yet another fitness post for you all! Today I want to talk about basically my favorite part of my body to train. ABS! I know lots of people hate ab day, but I love it because it gets me pumped up to eat healthier and strive for healthier me. BIG DISCLAIMER: Training your abdominal muscles will not guarantee success. You also have to eat a well balanced diet as well not neglect the muscles behind the abs you actually see. Please see my Best Leg Exercises post for my other disclaimer.
With that said, my favorite ab exercises are..
~ 1 ~
Crunches
What? How could these horribly, pain inflicting, deadly monsters be number one? Well I think they are the most effective, in my opinion. I personally am not the number one fan of average crunches because they hurt my neck and back, but there are many variations of this simple exercise. I love using an exercise, doing toe crunches, and adding weights.
~ 2 ~
Plank
I have always loved planks because I, personally, am really good at them. Something about the challenge of holding such a difficult position for longer increments of time excites me and is almost a competition against myself. Make sure when you attempt a plank you keep a straight line from your head to ankles, keep your elbows/hands under your shoulder, don't move your booty up/down, and don't let your ankles slip and slide.
~ 3 ~
Bicycles
This is one of the exercises that kills me concerning abs. For some reason they tire me out super quick. But that is more of a reason to love this awesome exercise. There is not much to it, but they are still extremely hard on your abs. I think they work your abs more than mountain climbers.
~ 4 ~
Leg Lifts
These killer yet simple little lifts can be absolute killer to your abdominal muscles. The worst part is that in my school the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) instructors will use them when the class is misbehaving. Remember with any exercise on the floor in which you are using your abs ensure your back lays flat on the floor.
~ 5 ~
Oblique Crunches
This move is portrayed in several different ways. Honestly, they all work about equally. They tighten your waist and make you look slimmer, plus your obliques {the side of your tummy} will work super hard during this. Even just holding a plank on the side makes them work to keep you stable and help you balance yourself.
~ Bonus ~
Russian Twist
I just had to add this because I really love ab exercises and this is one of my favorites {hence why it is on this list}. I typically do these with my legs up and a weight of seven pounds. They are super awesome and you definitely feel these rotations the next day. As you get better you can slowly start lifting your legs up, then adding weight, and then doing both.I hope you all try these exercises out. Let me know in the comments what your favorite part to exercise is!
xoxo, Ana
