Situps and Crunches Only: An Effective Ab Workout

In order to work your abs effectively, it is not necessary to invest in "current" equipment. Working your abs can be as simple as taking variations of crunches and situps to target every major area of your abdominals. Follow these five exercises for a complete ab workout.

1. The basic abdominal crunch is the first exercise. Lay your body flat and either place your hands across your chest or behind your head. If you place your hands behind your head, do not pull on your head, as this may cause neck or back pain. Simply force your shoulder off of the ground and elevate your chin to perform the crunch.
2. The hold is the second exercise in our routine. This exercise is performed like the crunch. However, hold your position at the top of your motion for a period of time, perhaps for a few seconds (and increasingly more for increased difficulty). You can extend your arms and interlace your fingers for increased difficulty.
3. The reverse crunch is the next exercise. Begin at the hold position from our previous exercise. Perform the exercise by bringing your legs upward, perpendicular to the ground. You may bring your legs up from a laying position if this is too difficult at first.
4. Next, we will move on to the bicycles exercise. Begin by laying flat with your hands behind your head. Bring up your leg towards your head and simultaneously bring the opposite (right elbow for left knee, and vice-versa) elbow into contact with the knee. Ensure your shoulder leaves the ground and that your other leg is extended. After your perform a set, you will need to do the other side.
5. Targeting the obliques with oblique crunches will complete the ab workout. These are performed similarly to normal crunches, expect you will need to bring one shoulder to the opposite knee. Try to come as close as you can to touching the opposing knee. After you perform a set, switch sides to work the other side of your obliques.

Do the best you can to complete a moderate number of reps and sets for your ability level. Keep track of your progress in order to set goals.