From our collection of the best ab exercises, these exercises are especially suitable for beginners. Moreover, they are free.
If you are eager to improve your midsection, what are some of the best exercises for beginners?
Let's find out.
While improving the functional strength of your midsection, you'll improve how you look and how you feel.
Additionally, improving the strength of your midsection is your best insurance against lower back pain.
In this section of the website we include all our pages on:
Core Exercise
Selecting Core Exercises
Best Ab Exercises for Beginners
However, before you actually do anything, please ensure that you understand what you are doing.
Before trying the Best Ab Exercises
Have you eliminated any false beliefs you may have picked up about using the best ab exercises? Do you understand how training your midsection differs from training many of your other muscle groups?
If not, please read our core strength exercises web page. We list the many myths about midsection exercise as well as the key difference between core exercise and exercise for other body parts:
Do you understand how to warm-up your midsection or core? Do you understand how frequently to train? Do you understand how to select and perform the best ab exercises?
The 4-point Transversus Abdominis Tuck is one of the best ab exercises for beginners.
If you have an exercise ("sticky") mat, use it. However, no special equipment is required for any of these initial four best ab exercises for beginners.
Initial position: Get down on the floor in a 4-point stance: position your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. The tops of your toes are on the floor straight behind your knees.
Movement: Inhale while you let your lower abdomen hang down towards the floor; hold for ten seconds. Then inhale while you draw your belly button towards your spine, holding the top position for ten seconds.
Do not contract any other muscles such as your buttocks or hamstrings during this exercise.
Take your time. Do half a dozen reps.
The Pelvic Tilt is another one of the best ab exercises for beginners. It's also very simple.
Initial position: Lie on your back on the floor (or an exercise mat). Let your arms lie comfortably on the floor at your sides. Bend your knees and keep your feet on the floor with your heels about half a foot from your buttocks. Keep your knees pointing towards the ceiling.
Movement: Contract your lower abs while gently pressing your lower back towards the floor. Hold your back against the floor for ten seconds and then release and rest for ten seconds.
Take your time. Do half a dozen reps.
Do not contract your upper abs during this exercise. Be patient, this can be more difficult in the beginning that you might imagine.
If you want, you can fold a towel until it is about as thick as your hand and place it under your lower back. Doing so will help you feel the lower position of this exercise.
Best Ab Exercises: Obliques
Side bends (side flexion) are one of the best ab exercises for the obliques. Since a weight is used, they are suitable for intermediate and master trainees as well as beginners.
Beginners should use a light dumbbell (or equivalent).
We recommend working up to an empty barbell in a power rack and then to a barbell loaded with plates. If you set the safety bars in a power rack properly while grasping a barbell in the middle and standing sideways in the rack, you'll be forced to keep the bar level. That won't happen if you simply use a dumbbell. (You may also use a low pulley on a cable system.)
Initial position: While standing with your feet together or comfortably close together, grasp a dumbbell or barbell in your right hand. Keep your hand next to the outside of your right leg with your palm facing the leg. Hold the dumbbell or barbell level to the floor. Put your left hand on your left hip and keep it there throughout the movement.
Movement: Pull your belly button in towards your spine and lean to the right. Without letting your right hand drift in front or in back of your right leg, bend over to the right. Without twisting or flexing your spine, contract your left side to stand up and return to the starting position. Do 8 to 12 reps in a controlled manner. Then do 8 to 12 reps to the left side with the weight in your left hand and the movement reversed.
Work up to doing two sets.
Ensure that when you are bending to the side you are keeping your hand in the same plane as your two legs, in other words, that you are not letting your hand drift forward or backward. The most difficult movement down and up is the correct one.
If you don't proceed slowly at first, this exercise will give you DOMS (delayed-onset muscular soreness).
Best Ab Exercises: Upper Abs
You probably already know that Floor Crunches are one of the best ab exercises. What you may not know is how to perform them properly.
Initial position and posture: Lie on your back on the floor. With your knees bent and pointed towards the ceiling, keep your feet flat on the floor with your heels about half a foot from your buttocks. Put your upper arms straight out to the sides from your shoulders; touch your fingertips to your jawbones. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Throughout the movement, keep the cervical spine in a proper neutral position and keep your lower back pressed against the floor.
Movement: Contract your upper abs while raising your vertebra from the top, one vertebra at a time. Pretend that your chin is moving towards the ceiling. Once you have raised yourself as far up as you can (which won't be very far off the floor), slowly lower yourself one vertebra at a time to the starting position. Work your way up until you are able to do 12 reps.
Eventually, do three sets of 12 reps.
Do not let your chin drop toward your chest.
Let's Do It!
You now understand how to perform four of the best exercises. These are suitable for everyone especially beginners.
Enjoy your free workout routines!
If you are just getting started, you may perform this routine daily. If you perform them properly, slowly, and consistently, you'll soon have improved midsection strength (and a decreased risk of lower back pain).
