Best Ab Workouts For Women with 5 Beginners Core Exercises is found here. These are the top 5 core and ab workouts for women who are looking to build abdominal muscles. No crunches necessary.
For many women, achieving a lean midsection is no easy feat. Men and women’s muscles are significantly different. Hence, women tend to be wider through the pelvis and have a longer waist. As women, this can make it challenging to get those flat, firm abs that so many of us want.
First of all, I am getting into an exercise routine for core strengthening and want to work on my abs. So I went out and researched these exercises. I am a beginner and need a “beginners” starting point so I don’t hurt myself. My goal is to find exercises that I can do that doesn’t just require crunches and funky moves that are most likely to throw my back out or even worse. On this Note, here are my favorite Ab exercises to start off with.
Best Ab Workouts For Women – Beginners Core Exercises.
Bird-Dog Crunch – Workout 1
Targets: Abs, hamstrings, glutes and shoulders.
First off, Stronger abs don’t develop overnight. How to activate your core is the thing your gonna have to learn first. And is very crucial to core strengthening.
Instructions:
- Start on the floor on all fours, hands placed directly underneath your shoulders And hips in line with your knees.
- This is your starting position.
- Lift your right hand and extend your arm straight out in on you, keeping it shoulder height, while simultaneously lifting your left leg and extending it straight back. Your whole body should be in a straight line from right fingertips to left toes.
- Bring your left leg to touch your right elbow under your stomach. Extend your leg and arm out again. Return to starting position. Repeat on the other side. Do five reps on each side 3 times each week.
Modification: If you’re unable to maintain form, simplify this movement by forgoing the crunch. Instead, extend your arm and opposite leg out and hold for three seconds, then switch sides.
Standing Bicycle Crunches – Workout 2
Targets: Obliques, rotational muscles.
First of all, Do traditional crunches cause you discomfort? Personally, they hurt my neck. This is an easy exercise to do if you are a Beginner. At times I do this one with my arms at my side instead of behind my head (due to neck pain). Also you can do this Laying down as well.
Instructions: Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Place your hands behind your head (or at your side).
- With a tight core, straight back and relaxed shoulders lift your right leg and raise your right knee. And lower your left elbow towards your right knee. In a slight and slow Twisting motion.
- Return to the starting position
- Repeat on the opposite side. Do five reps on each side.
Modification: If rotating your upper body downwards is too difficult, simply lift your knee to your chest while keeping your upper body still, alternating legs.
Laying Crunches – Workout 3
Instructions: Lay on back on floor or mat.
- Place your hands behind your head while laying on your back.
- Lift your right leg and raise your right knee. And lower your left elbow towards your right knee. In a slight and slow Twisting motion.
- Return to the starting position
- Repeat on the opposite side. Do five reps on each side.
Modification: If rotating your upper body is too difficult, simply lift your knee to your chest while keeping your upper body still, alternating legs.
Plank with Glute squeeze – Workout 4
Instructions:
- Get on the floor, prop yourself up on your forearms, and flex your toes. Your body should form a straight line.
- Contract your abs and glutes tightly. Hold this for 15 seconds, then rest by lowering your knees to the ground for five seconds. That’s one rep. Do 10.
Seated Leg Lifts – Workout 5 (Best Ab Workouts for women)
Targets: Abs, hamstrings.
Don’t be fooled by this basic-looking leg lift. Beginners to even more advanced folks will start feeling the burn after a few reps. First of all you can do this sitting on the floor. Or (my favorite) Sitting in a chair.
- Sit on the floor, legs extended straight out in front of you. Keeping your core engaged, lean back slightly. So you’re able to place your hands on either side of your glutes.
2. Take a deep breath and lift one leg six inches off the ground Hold for five seconds, and then put it down. Repeat with the other leg. Continue alternating for one-minute straight, then take a 20 second break. Repeat for five rounds.
Modification: To make this exercise easier, lift one leg at a time without stopping to hold each one extended for five seconds. Need more of a challenge? After lifting a heel, bring your knee into your chest, then extend your heel back out and lower down. Repeat on the opposite side.
Four Ab Muscle Groups That As Women We Need To Strengthen To Get Those Abs – Best Ab Workouts for women.
First off, visible abdominal muscles aren’t impossible to achieve as women. However, you will need to commit to doing more than standard sit-ups. Best Ab Workouts for women target four muscle groups in your core. Here are those as follows.
1. External Abdominal Obliques
The external obliques are the muscles in your sides that you can feel just beneath your arms, along your ribcage.
2. Internal Abdominal Obliques
The internal obliques are stabilizing muscles that lie underneath your external obliques.
3. Transversus Abdominus
These are the deepest muscles. They run horizontally around your midsection.
4. Rectus Abdominus
These muscles run from your sternum down to your pelvis. They help flex your spine as you walk. They’re also the most superficial muscles in your abdomen, and the ones you see in “six-pack” abs.
Essential Ab Exercises
To properly target and tone all four muscle groups, it’s important to perform a range of stabilization exercises. Training these core muscles will also stabilize your spine and pelvis to improve your posture and reduce or avoid back pain. Best Ab Workouts for women (above) will help you accomplish this.
Unlike traditional crunches or sit-ups, stabilization exercises that target the core work more muscles and burn more calories. Complete these abdominal exercises two to three times a week for a stronger core.
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In conclusion, this is the main reason why I created this page. My story as follows. I woke up one morning and realized that I am getting older and more stiff. Where have all the years gone? I don’t exercise as much as I once did. I can’t even touch my toes anymore. Well… Let’s face it, I’m no spring chicken anymore. And I’m getting older. I really need to work on my core muscles and get limber as well.
This is my exercise routine and I hope it helps those Women out there that are having the same difficulty as me, in getting limber and strong again. This focuses on core strengthening that I am doing. I will have another post out there revolving around stretch exercises (and getting your body to limber up again) here soon.
References: healthline.com, dailyburn.com, spotebi.com
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