Lower Abs Exercises for Strength

Lower abs exercises should be a key part of any physical fitness program. To get those abs into shape, include the following lower abdominal exercises into your routine.

Lie flat on your back on the floor. Place your arms by your sides. Bring your knees up and start pedaling in the same motion you would use on your bicycle. Make sure that you pedal both clockwise and counter clockwise.

To increase the intensity of this exercise, put your fingers next to your ears. Slow down your pedaling enough so that you can lift up your shoulders and twist, touch your right elbow to your left knee and then your left elbow to your right knee. Repeat.

Assume the push-up position with your legs supported by your toes. Your upper body can rest on either on your hands, palm down, or on your elbows. Whether you are on your palms or your elbows, they must be inline with your shoulders. Pull in your abdominal muscles and hold. In order to do this exercise properly, your head should be held parallel to your spine.

Lie down on the floor with your arms next to your sides. Lift your legs straight up until they are perpendicular to your body and then slowly lower them down again. However, don't allow your legs to touch the floor between reps.

Tips for Lower Ab Exercises

• Sometimes you can substitute other muscles for abdominal muscles when doing abdominal exercises. When you realize that muscles other than your abs are taking over, stop. Check your form and then concentrate and focus on using the right muscles. If you realize that your abs are tired, give your body a break, literally.
• Abdominal muscle exercises should be focused more on control and less on quantity. If you are doing a bunch of reps, but doing the reps incorrectly, you really aren't doing your best for your ab muscles. However, if you do fewer reps slowly and under control, you will probably reap greater benefits.
• If your lower back starts to hurt, stop. Are you doing the exercise correctly? If not, look at your form and then start again. If your form is ok, your abdominal muscles may already have had enough and it's time to quit.