Lower AB Toning Exercises

Toning your lower abdominal muscles is simple. Any abdominal exercise that involves movement or stabilization at your lumbar area works your lower abs. Exercises that flex your upper spine also work your lower abs, although these emphasize your upper abs. The upper and lower abs refer to the rectus abdominus muscle that runs lengthwise over the stomach.

Leg Crosses

The leg cross is a lower abdominal toning exercise. The inner and outer thigh muscles also work during leg crosses. What makes this a lower ab toning exercise is the need to press your lower back down while your legs move. Putting your hands under your buttocks makes this easier. Alternatively, you can hold your arms next to your ears and in line with your shoulders to work your abs harder. To perform this exercise, lie on your back and put your arms in either position. Bring your legs 45 degrees from the floor and straighten them. Squeeze your abs to press your lower back down. Then, raise your head and shoulders toward the ceiling. Your arms can be raised too, if they started by your head. Open your legs outward and then bring them together, crossing your right over left and then left over right with each repetition. You may increase the difficulty of this exercise by holding a stability ball over your head. The upper body is kept still during the leg crosses.

Scissors

The scissors is similar to leg crosses, but your lower body works in a different plane of motion. The leg crosses challenge your abs to stabilize your back by moving your legs horizontally and working your thighs, but the scissors has your legs moving vertically. Your hip flexors engage to move your legs during the scissors. To do the scissors exercise, lie on your back with your legs straight and your hands under your buttocks. For a greater challenge, extend your arms overhead. Holding a stability ball between your hands makes the scissors exercise even more challenging. Then, lift your arms, head and shoulders off the floor. Lift your legs straight toward the ceiling. Alternatively kick your legs up and down without touching the floor. Keep your legs straight and your lower back flat.

Abdominal Barbell Rollouts

Abdominal barbell rollouts work your lower abs and core to maintain a flat back throughout the exercise. You will need a barbell with round plates on the end so you can roll the barbell forward and back. To perform this exercise, kneel on the floor with a barbell in front of you. Grab the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and your arms straight. Bend forward at the waist so your back is parallel to the floor and your knees and hips line up. Then, roll the barbell forward and bring your hips down until they are a few inches from the floor. Extend your arms in front of you so your upper body and thighs hover off the floor. Roll back to the starting position to complete a barbell rollout.