The most important thing to always remember. Is to get abs to show in the first place, is to attain a low body fat percentage. If too much body fat is covering your ab muscles, no definition will show.
Try to perform the following exercises 2 to three 3 a week either before or after your other weight lifting exercises or on the off days, you’ll be well on your way to improving the looks and strength of your abs and core muscles.
*Remember: To really zero in on the ab muscles that you’re working, think about and feel the contraction take place.
Aim to maintain about 30 seconds of rest between sets, completing 3 to 4 sets of each of these exercises.
Leg raises
To do leg raises without equipment, lie on the floor on your back. Keep the lower back in contact with the floor and place hands to sides or under lower back for support. Lift legs upward as far as possible. Lower down to starting position slowly and with control. Make sure back stays flat on floor and abdominals are tight. The exercise is easier if legs are bent, harder if legs are straight.
The prone ball roll
The prone ball roll-outs are another great movement for targeting the lower abs as well as the hip flexors. To perform these simply place the feet up on an exercise ball while the body is face down towards the ground. While in this position you want to be balancing on the hands which are placed directly below the shoulders.
From there, slowly roll the ball in towards the body until you’re in a fully contracted position. Pause for a brief second at the top and then extend back out again to complete the rep. Note that this one may take a bit of practice to get your balance right on the ball so don’t give up if you struggle at first. If you keep at it, it won’t be long before you’re seeing the full benefits.
Exercise ball sit-up with a dumbbell
Regular exercise ball sit-ups are a great way to fully stimulate the muscle fibres in the abs, but for many of you, it’s no longer challenging enough. To up the intensity of this movement, add a dumbbell behind your head.
By placing it behind the head rather than over the chest as many people do with decline-weighted sit-ups, you lengthen the distance from the weight to the core, really adding to the difficulty.
As you move through the exercise, be sure to focus on the bottom half of the movement as this is where the muscles are extended the most, which will force them to contract harder.
Russian Twists On An Exercise Ball
Russian twists on the ball are an interesting exercise that is commonly forgotten about. To perform these lie again with the middle of the back against the ball but this time you want to hold a single dumbbell directly above you with both hands.
Once you’re balanced, slowly rotate the body (and dumbbell) to one side while keeping the arms fully extended.
After you’re as far as you can go while maintaining control and balance, lift back up to the starting position and then begin to twist to the other side.
*Also Note
The abs are one of the quickest-adapting muscle groups in the body, so it’s vital that you’re always trying something new to take them to the next level of development. Remember that one of the most critical elements to a successful ab routine is to always maintaining a focus on those ab muscles to prevent other muscles from helping out with the action.
