A strong, tight stomach not only makes you feel and look better, but also according to the American Council on Exercise, "is essential for maintaining good posture, alleviating lower back pain, preventing injuries, and improving performance in other athletic pursuits." Constantly vary your workouts, so your body can never adapt--this keeps your body challenged to strengthen the muscles. You can vary how often you do ab-specific exercise, the duration of the workout, and the actual exercises.
Plank
The plank builds total core strength (abdominals and back strength), as well as coordination and stability. The plank works the erector spinae, rectus abdominus (abs) and transverse abdominus, according to ACE.
Start by lying on the ground, with your elbows directly beneath your shoulders, and hands in front of you in fists or flat on the ground. Press your hips up into the air so that your weight is balanced on your toes and on your elbows. Squeeze your gluteus, engaging your abdominals and supporting your back at the same time. Keep a straight line from your shoulder joint, to your hip joint, all the way down to your heels. Work on holding the plank for 20 seconds at a time, and focus on tight abdominals, tight gluteus and good alignment.
Sit-Ups
ACE identifies the rectus abdominus (abs) and transverse abdominus as the primary muscles in the sit-up, and the obliques as stabilizers.
Lie flat on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Before doing the sit-up, roll your hips towards your abdominals, so that they are engaged before performing the exercise. Have your arms outstretched overhead. Take a deep breath, as you exhale, bring your arms overhead, until you're sitting up with good posture (no rounded back) Touch your heels with your hands, or elbows past the knees. As you lower back down, inhale and return your arms back overhead.
ACE advises keeping proper form during the sit-up to prevent stress and lower back pain. If performing the sit-up too quickly, you may use your hip flexors to help sit up which "tilts the pelvis anteriorly, increasing the stress on the low back and should be avoided."
Bicycle Crunches
Bicycle crunches are one of the top three abdominal exercises, based on the amount of stimulation in the rectus abdominus and the obliques, according to ACE.
Lying on your back, start with both feet off of the ground, knees pulled toward your chest. Lift your shoulder blades off of the ground and place your hands behind your head. Keep your elbows pointing to the side, not pointing forward towards your knees. As you twist your upper body to the left, extend your right leg out, touching your right elbow to your left knee. Come back to center, bringing your right leg back to the starting position. As you twist to the right, extend your left leg, touching your left elbow to your right knee. Return back to center, pulling your left leg in. Try to keep your shoulder blades off of the ground.
Flutter Kicks
The 2Athletes site, designed for training and strengthening athletes, identifies flutter kicks as a full core workout due to the level of isolation. The primary muscles being worked are the lower abdominals in the rectus abdominus.
Place your hands under your hips, or keep them at your sides flat on the ground. Pull your knees in, feet off the ground. Point your toes straight up in the air, and then lower your legs down to a 45-degree angle from the floor. Crunch your upper body, tightening your abdominals and keeping your back flat on the ground. With pointed feet, and straight legs, tap your left foot on the ground, than right foot, and repeat.
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