4 Fantastic Ab Workouts

In today’s health conscious age, getting fit and staying fit are extremely important to a lot of people. And when you ask people what they want most out of working out, most will say a toned and flat stomach is near the top of their list. And while a healthy diet and lifestyle are most important to shedding those pounds and revealing that six pack, here are 4 great ab workouts that can help you along the journey.

1. Bicycle Crunch

(source: gym-inspiration.com)

This is a great ab exercise for a number of reasons. First of all, it not only builds core strength, but can also help tone and strengthen your thighs as your legs are always in motion. Secondly, it is one of the few ab exercises that works all the muscles in the core, including really working your obliques! Also, it is a relatively easy exercise that even beginners can complete, but everyone who does it (even workout veterans) will feel the burn.

2. Plank

(source: womenshealthmag.com)

This is one of the most common and popular workouts to strengthen core, and for good reason. This is an exercise that involves maintaining a flat position (similar to a push up, but on your forearms and elbows) for as long as you can. While this seems like a fairly easy task as no movement is required, you will realize within the first few seconds that it is not as easy as it looks and is actually an incredibly great way to build ab and core strength.

3. Medicine Ball Russian Twist

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This is one of my personal favorites and a staple in every single ab workout of mine. This involves taking a regular Russian twist exercise and adding extra weight in the form of a medicine ball. This exercise not only strengthens the abs with the twisting motion of the core, but also is believed to build explosiveness in the torso.

4. Ab Wheel Rollout

(source: oxygenmag.com)

Now this one requires an ab wheel, but those are relatively cheap to find and there are other things you can use as substitutes such as a barbell. This one is great because it can have a variety of different difficulty levels. For example, you can do it from the knees (easier) or from the feet (harder) and can also choose how far you actually roll out. However, if you have lower back issues, this can cause some strain on the lower back, so be cautious before trying these out, but if you are healthy enough to, you should definitely give them a try.