Effective and Safe Lower Ab Exercises
A common goal of both men and women is to get a flat, ripped stomach but unfortunately, most people perform workouts for abs improperly, which means all the hard work is wasted. Typically what happens is additional muscles are used when only the abdominal muscles should be the focus. If your goal is to have amazing abs, you need to learn a few things so lower ab exercises can be done correctly. Following a few simple guidelines would help you achieve the desired results.
A misconception about lower ab exercises is that the number of reps is a key factor to transformation. In reality, change occurs when the right muscles are targeted. When you are doing the best abs exercise and doing it properly, you would feel a burn in the lower abdomen. Keep in mind that if you overwork your lower abs, muscles become fatigued. When this happens, the effects of the exercise cannot be felt, which can lead to strain and excessive pain the following day. Most importantly, always pay attention to what your body tells you.
The most effective lower ab exercises would not only target the lower abdominal muscles but also the transverse muscles. This muscle group is known as the Transverse Abdominus, which runs in a horizontal pattern just beneath the muscles that run vertically and help to pull the pelvis upward to the navel called the Rectus Abdominus. These same muscles are responsible for pulling the navel into the spine.
A great lower ab exercise that can work on both sets of muscles begins by kneeling on the floor, placing the palms of your hands in front of you and flat on the floor. Next, use your lower abdominal muscles to pull the navel inward as far as possible. While doing this, keep the remainder of the body relaxed, which forces the lower abs to do the work.
Initially, the position would be held for 10 seconds, followed by relaxing but over time as you build strength and stamina, the goal is to hold the position for three minutes. When you first start doing any lower ab exercises, pay attention to posture and alignment to ensure they are done right. If you feel a pull on the lower abdominal muscles and not anywhere else, then you know the exercise is being done properly.
We would also recommend you do an exercise that begins with you lying flat on the floor, this time on your back. You would keep one leg straight on the ground while the other leg is in a bent knee position. Next, lower the bent knee down toward the ground while keeping the abdominal muscles taught. If the tight feeling stops or you start to experience discomfort or pain in the lower back, stop doing the exercise immediately.
It is common for a lower ab exercise such as this to become increasingly easy so you could switch things up by keeping both legs straight. As you lower the first leg, you would bring it toward the floor but only until the heel of the foot touches. Because more demand is placed on the lower abdominal muscles, you would begin to see greater results. For this exercise, we recommend three sets, each of 10 to 15 repetitions. The goal with any lower ab exercises is posture and alignment, but also slow, precise movements.
