Lower Abs...?

Question

What is the best workout for the lower abs? I've been using that ab roller wheel thingy alot over the last couple years and it works good but seems to miss my lowest abs.

Answer 1

Leg lifts (instead of using the upper body to do sit-ups, lift the legs to a 45 degre angle instead while lying on your back) are the best way to go. Or you can hang from a pull-up bar and lift your legs (keep them straight) to a 90 degree angle...hold for 3 seconds and hang straight...repeat until you can't do anymore...rest for 1-2 minutes and do it again...5 reps, 3 times a week at least. Sit ups do generally work the lower abs, but the leg lifts really intensify the focus on the lower abs...and dang you can really feel the burn!!

Answer 2

Working the muscle with a variety of exercises, reps and weight will help ensure that you are doing everything necessary (from a training standpoint) to achieve a tight midsection. Have you already been doing this without progress? Then the answer lies in your nutritional program. That will be tackled in another article. If you are in decent shape and have no physical limitations, give this workout a try.



Hanging Leg Raise 15 reps 3 sets

Kneeling Cable Crunch 25 reps 3 sets

Reverse Crunches 15 reps 3 sets

Crunches 25 reps 3 sets

http://www.fitnessdiet.info/bestlowerabworkout.php

Answer 3

The abs are not a single muscle wall - there are major muscle groups there and the transverse abdominal muscles are the lowest and major muscle group of the lot!

Any woman who has had a baby will know these muscles - or lack thereof -- instead of referring to them as 'the transverse ab muscles' we call them 'the baby bulge'!

When we do crunches it's easy to feel the upper group working but we often don't know what it feels like to work those 'lower abs'.

The transverse muscle lies in the deepest section of our core. It runs from the ribs to the hips (in a transverse/horizontal manner) and is responsible in helping the diaphram work.

To feel your transverse muscle there are a couple of exercises that are really good.

1. Leg lift (as mentioned in other posts) - lie on your back with your hands at your side (tucked slightly under your butt) to stabilise yourself. Lift one leg at a time (or both together) off the ground a few inches WITHOUT rocking your hips or arching your back.

2. Using an Ab Roller (or something similar) perform a crunch with your legs lying flat. You'll feel your lower abs working.

3. Prone Holds (otherwise known as a plank hold) - as if in a press up position (either resting on your elbows or hands) maintain a press up position without letting your back sag. You should pull your belly button to your spine - or pretend there is a string running from your belly button and someone is holding you up. Maintain this hold in 30 second sequences, extending the time.

4. If you can't manage a Prone hold, lie on your back with your hands comfortably at your side. Pull your belly button to your spine. If you were to feel your sides you will also feel your oblique muscles contracting -- they are all part of the same group.

5. Stand tall and straight. The idea is to tuck your bottom in by contracting your abs and rolling your hips forward slightly. You're not just clunching your butt cheeks - but rolling your butt 'under'. When you contract your abs to achieve this, these are the lower abs, transverse abs or baby bulge!

Answer 4

lv_consultant is correct and Rappson2003 is completely incorrect. leg lifts for the lower abs? lol...they only stimulate the RA isometrically and the muscles of the hip flexors do the majority of the work in the movement

funny I don't see any "lower abs" in the pictures below, some of you people don't know jack about the human body

http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/RectusAbdominis.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectus_abdominis_muscle

Answer 5

OMG Yes, I am a gym/football geek. You bet I have a toned chest, biceps, and working on my abs. Get your hand on me girl.

Answer 6

If you lay on your back with your hands by your side or under you bum then raise your feet up and down without touching the ground keeping your toes pointed and together helps with lower abs.

Answer 7

no such thing as the lower abdominal. the rectus abdominis is a single muscle and you can't isolate part of a muscle. muscles either contract as a whole or they do not contract at all.

now to "see" the entire abdominal wall with out flexing you need to reduce your current level of body fat. fat is the pelvic area is the last to go in terms of fat loss. you need to clean up your diet and increase the intensity at which you exercise to increase the metabolic rate

Answer 8

sit ups? Try Turbo Jam, the workout

Answer 9

sit ups defently... for upper and lower abs
it's true :)

Answer 10

hang from something and lift your legs or lie on your back and lift your legs....sorry too tired to get into perfect detail.....but usually has legs involved