Abdominal Exercises for Women
Best Abdominal Exercises for Women
If you’re a woman looking for a toned and firm stomach, understanding the key abdominal exercises will be important. With so many different ab movements out there to choose from, it can get difficult sorting through which are going to work best to allow you to get to your end goal.
Are you better off performing abdominal exercises for women using an added resistance or perhaps the best way to go is using an exercise ball instead?
By taking the time to figure out the top abdominal exercises for women you can address these questions and ensure that you put together a great plan of action to achieve this goal.
Let’s take a look at the main ones that you must know about.
Plank on One Foot
The first of the best abdominal exercises for women is the plank movement, but a more advanced version where you’re going to lift one foot up off the ground as you perform the exercise.
By doing this, you’re essentially decreasing the base of support in which you’ll be stationed on, thus forcing the ab muscles to work harder than they ever have before.
After getting into the plank position, simply raise one leg directly up off the floor, hold that for about 30 seconds, then lower and repeat to the other side, taking a rest partway if you need to.
Prone Ball Roll Ins
The second one of the best abdominal exercises for women is a prone ball roll in. This is a perfect one for both boosting ab strength as well as enhancing the shoulder strength development since the upper body will get called into play to help you maintain balance.
To perform this one you’re going to place the hands directly below you and then put the feet up on an exercise ball behind you. You should now be in a flat position, similar to that of a plank only this time balancing on the hands and legs raised above the floor on the ball.
From there, contract the abs as you move the ball in towards the stomach until you’re as far as you can go, and then reverse the direction until you’re straight out again to complete the rep.
This one will really call upon your balancing abilities so you may have to do it a few times first to get used to the movement, but with enough practice, you’ll easily be able to complete it.
Twisting Decline Sit-Up
The twisting decline sit-up is another fantastic abdominal exercise for women to include in your workout routine. Note though that you should avoid using weight with this exercise as that could potentially increase the muscle size and cause you to appear wider in the waist – something most women definitely do not want.
Instead, perform the movement in a very slow and controlled fashion, which will ensure you place maximum tension on those ab muscles.
Simply get into a decline bench and begin lowering yourself down and up again, adding a twisting movement each time you come up and alternating between sides.
Lying Leg Raise
Finally, the last of the abdominal exercises for women is the lying leg raise. This movement is great for targeting the lower abdominal muscles, one area that proves to be quite problematic for most women.
For this one you simply lie flat down on the floor with the legs extended and then raise the legs upwards until they’ve reached 90 degrees. Pause there and then lower back down again to complete the next rep.
When doing this one note that you don’t want to let yourself lower the legs entirely to the ground, but rather keep them hovering above slightly in order to maintain the constant tension on the abdominal muscles.
So there you have some of the top abdominal exercises for women that you should be performing. If you can ensure that you get these into your own workout routine and then follow a calorie reduced diet to help shed any body fat that you currently have, you will be on your way to a slimmer and more toned stomach.
More about Training the Abdominal Region
- Best Methods for Females to Lose Tummy Fat
While abs exercises are great for strengthening your core abdominal exercises are only a small piece of the puzzle if you want to lose fat. Learn what you have to do to lose fat on your mid-section. - 100 Abdominal Exercises that are Great for Women
Find free exercise videos of exercises targeting the entire mid section from the upper and lower abs to the obliques and core muscles. Use these exercises in addition to the abdominal exercises for women and reap the benefits of a complete core workout program. - Health Supplements for Women
With excess fat surrounding the mid section there is no way the women’s abdominal exercises will show visible results. Health supplements could help drastically. - Best Lower Abdominal Exercises for Women
- Best Exercises To Burn Stomach Fat For Women
- Top 5 Best Abs Exercises for Women
- Top 5 Abdominal Exercises for Women
- Top 5 Ab Exercises for Women at Home
- Top 5 Tummy Toning Exercises for Women
Author Profile: Shannon Clark, BS, CPT
Shannon holds a degree in Exercise Science and is a certified personal trainer and fitness writer with over 10 years of industry experience.
Comments
Category: Exercise, Weight Training, Women's Fitness
Join us via your favorite social media platform.