Let’s explore some simple abdominal exercises that you can do at home without any special items or equipment. Remember that these exercises are designed to help you strengthen your muscles, not to pump them professionally.
Exercise 1: Plank
On a rug or just on the floor, stand on straight arms and legs as shown in the figure, straighten your back. Hold your head and tighten your abdominal and buttock muscles. You can even just stay in this position for 30 seconds and all your muscles will work, but to enhance the effect, we suggest adding leg swings, as shown in the picture. Pull your knee towards your chest, while remembering to keep your back straight. Exhale. It is enough to do this exercise 20 times to feel good muscle work. Over time, it will be possible to increase the number of approaches to 2-4.
Exercise 2: raising and lowering the legs
Lie on your back and extend your arms behind your head. Find a palm rest and hook onto it. If there is no support, then extend your arms along your torso. Press your lower back to the floor and lift your legs up as shown in the figure. As you exhale, we lower our legs, while inhaling, we raise them. You need to lower your legs to the middle of the distance to the floor, i.e. not completely. The lower back should be pressed in any position of the legs. If you find it difficult to keep straight legs, then they can be bent at the knees. Do the exercise 20 times. Over time, it will be possible to increase the number of approaches to 2-4.
Exercise 3: swing the press
Lie on your back, put your feet on a chair or sofa, press your lower back to the floor, put your hands behind your head, elbows to the sides. Raise the upper body, straining the abdominal muscles and then slowly lower ourselves to the floor, but not completely. Without relaxing we rise to the top again. Raising the body on exhalation, lowering on inhalation. Repetitions – 20 times. Over time, it will be possible to increase the number of approaches to 2-4.
In addition to the three listed abdominal exercises, you can also do exercises for the oblique abdominal muscles.
Exercise 4: lower your legs to the sides
Lie on your back. Lying on your back with your feet together. Hands to the sides, palms on the floor. During the exercise, the shoulder blades remain firmly pressed to the floor.
Raise your legs at a right angle and lower your legs alternately to the left and right sides, maintaining the original position of the legs and holding them together.
You can make this exercise more difficult by locking a medicine ball between your thighs, or simply straightening your legs straight up. Repetitions – 20 times. Over time, it will be possible to increase the number of approaches to 2-4.
Exercise 5: standing bends with weights
This exercise sets in motion the oblique muscles of the trunk, called standing bends with weights for the oblique muscles of the trunk. This exercise makes the waist thinner and slimmer. Take dumbbells in your hands, or any heavy object and begin to perform oblique movements to the sides. Do 20 reps on one side and the same amount on the other. Over time, it will be possible to increase the number of approaches to 2-4.