A Few Quick And Easy Ab And Core Exercises For The 'Crunch' And Burn!

With spring or summer fast approaching people tend to get into the swing of things with their fitness workouts a bit more, aiming for that summer body. Whatever the reasoning is, it’s always great to get moving and doing something to keep fit. Some people may just want to move a little and work up a sweat while others may have as a goal to get abs. If you are planning to get those abs visible, remember to start with your diet and keep a close eye on your calories that you consume and expend. Once you have that down, have a look at a few basic ab and core exercises below. You can pick and choose from them and add certain exercises into your workouts as you feel.

Simple Crunch

Just lie on your back, and make sure that your knees are bent and feet planted. Similarly, keep your arms crossed across your chest. Then raise your chest using your abs, and lower down. Here, your upper abs will already feel near to fatigue but try to hold each rep’s top posture for a minimum of one second to make them work.

Bicycle Crunches

In bicycle crunches you need to lie on your back, keep your hands near to your temples and keep your legs raised while setting your knees at a 90° angle. Next, take your right knee up towards your chest at the same time raising your chest and twisting, so your left elbow touches your right knee.

Then, lower down and do the same on your opposite side. Throughout this exercise make sure that you keep your shoulders and feet off the floor to force your abs to act hard to steady your upper body.

Flutter Kick

Lie on your back with your legs straight, and your arms should extend out at your sides. Then, you need to lift your heels nearly 6 inches off the ground and quickly kick your feet up and down in a swift, scissor-like wave. Be sure to keep your lower back pushed flat on the floor.

Lateral Plank Walk

For this workout, take a high plank position with your palms flat on the ground, keep your hands shoulder-width apart, your shoulders should be stacked directly above your wrists. Extend your legs behind you, and keep your core and glutes engaged.

Next, take a step to the right starting with your right hand and foot and then following with your left hand and foot. Make sure that you maintain a plank position as you move. It will count as a single rep.

Russian Twists

Sit holding a dumbbell, weight plate, medicine ball or kettlebell with your arms extended and feet off the floor. And then, once everything is under your control, swiftly twist at the chest, turning from your side to side, maintain control throughout each rep.

Hollow body hold

For the hollow body hold, get into the same position lying on your back as you would for the flutter kicks. Raise your arms above you and backwards so that your biceps are in line with your ears and your shoulders are slightly off the floor. Left your legs slightly off the floor and press your lower back down into the floor and hold the position for counts of between 5 – 50 seconds.

Hardstyle Plank

It is one of the easiest exercises, as all you need for it is a plank. Rest on a forearm plank position with your elbows aligned underneath your shoulders, and your hands balled up in fists. Well, you know the routine. The key is to squeeze your entire body and take deep breaths. Keep the glutes tights and lower back rounded with a pelvic tilt.

Ab-wheel Rollout

If a stronger core and defined abs are your goal, an ab wheel rollout is the key. This exercise strengthens your abs while keeping your spine neutral. Hold an ab wheel with a firm grip and start to roll.

Also, keep your back straight and engage your core. Slowly return to the starting position. The more strength you have in your abs, the better you will execute this exercise.

Hanging Leg Raise

If you are a regular gym-goer, this one’s for you. Stand in a dead hang position from a pull up bar with your legs straight. Now use your abs to raise your legs so that they are parallel to the floor, hold for a second, and then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.

You can also try the knee raise and knee twist positions while performing this workout. This simple yet powerful exercise will activate all your muscle fibers in the lower abs and keep them engaged throughout.