Strong, toned abdominal muscles improve your appearance, posture and movement quality, and protect your lower back muscles from injury. Efficient abdominal workouts require perseverance, along with meticulous form and a keen attention to detail. When planning abdominal workouts, choose quality over quantity. Avoid jerky movements, and concentrate on smooth, controlled form. For best results, perform these exercises in sequence.
Before You Begin
Your abdominal muscles are like the shy kids in the classroom. They know they are supposed to participate but can't get a word in when the hip flexors, back and neck muscles insist on doing all the work. Before you begin your abdominal workout, perform exercises to stretch your overactive muscle groups. Slowly turn your head from side to side to loosen your neck muscles. Lie supine and draw your knees to your chest to relax your back muscles. A Styrofoam roller provides effective hip flexor release. Lie prone, with the roller under your hip flexors, and let your weight sink down into the roller. Hold the position for about one minute.
Abdominal Muscle Preparation
Abdominal exercises are more effective when you consciously activate your core muscles. The transversus abdominus is a deep core muscle that compresses the diaphragm during the exhalation phase of a breath. Voluntarily contracting the abdominal muscles also activates the transversus abdominus. Some trainers use the four-point drawing-in maneuver to teach their clients how to activate their core muscles. Kneel on all fours, maintaining a straight line from the top of your head to the base of your spine. Take a breath in, and then as you exhale, draw your belly in without moving your spine. Breathe normally, but hold the abdominal contraction for 10 seconds. Relax and repeat. Perform five repetitions.
The Cat
The cat exercise teaches you how to coordinate movement with core activation. It also mobilizes your spine for the more challenging abdominal exercises. Kneel on all fours. Inhale to prepare, and as you exhale, tilt your pelvis and round your upper back. Remain in position and take a small breath in, maintaining the abdominal contraction. Exhale and return. Perform 10 repetitions.
The Plank
Activating your abdominal muscles when your spine is in a flexed position is relatively easy, but many people lose core control when their spine is upright. Since this is when your abdominal muscles are supposed to support your posture, learning to use your abdominals when your spine is extended is crucial to posture and lower back health. The plank exercise strengthens your deep core stabilizers. Assume a prone position, propping yourself up on your elbows and forearms, and curling your toes under, as if you were about to do a pushup. maintain a straight line from the top of your head to the base of your spine. Draw your belly in, and hold the position for one to three minutes.
Oblique Planks
Your obliques, which make an "X" across your abdominal wall, are responsible for rotation. Assume the plank position. Inhale to prepare. Exhale, draw your belly in and shift your weight toward your right little toe, dropping your right hip toward the floor. Inhale and return to center, and then repeat to the other side. Perform 16 repetitions, or eight to each side.
The Bicycle Maneuver
The American Council on exercise lists the bicycle maneuver as one of the most effective abdominal exercises. Lie supine with your legs bent and lifted to a 45-degree angle. Sink your lower back into the floor, and then place your hands behind your head to support your neck. Inhale and nod your head to place your neck in correct alignment. Exhale and lift your head and shoulder from the floor. Take a small breath in, and as you exhale, rotate your upper torso to the right. Simultaneously extend your left leg, pressing your left hip firmly into the floor. Return to center and repeat on the other side. Perform 20 repetitions, or 10 to each side.
References
- PT on the Net: Abdominal -- 4-Point Drawing-In Maneuver
- NISMAT: Physical Therapy Corner: Low Back Pain and Lumbar Stabilization Exercises
- "Spine": The Relation Between the Transversus Abdominis Muscles, Sacroiliac Joint Mechanics, and Low Back Pain; C.A. Richardson, et al.; February 2002
- Abs-Exercise-Advice: The Plank Exercise: One of the Best Ab Exercises!
- American Council on Exercise: New Study Puts the Crunch on Ineffective Ab Exercises
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