How to Work Your Abs at Home
Many people do exercises to strengthen and firm their abdominal muscles or abs. When a person performs ab exercises they work muscles like the external obliques (on the side of the abs) and the rectus abdominis (toward the center of the abs). While there are a number of weight machines and apparatus that a person can use to work the abs at the gym, there are some exercises that can be performed at home.
Instructions
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Find a space in your home for exercising. Commit to doing two or three ab exercises three or four days per week. Vary your exercises in each workout to focus on different areas of your abs.
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Start out with the sit up. Place your feet under a bed or have someone hold your ankles. Keep your knees pointed up. Cross your arms in front of you, exhale and slowly raise your upper body up toward your knees, keeping constant tension on your abs on the way up. Inhale as you lower your upper body back down. Do one to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions, then gradually increase your repetitions as your abs get stronger.
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3
Lie on the floor with your knees pointed upward and arms at your side. Assume the crunch position by placing your hands on the side of your head and slowly raise your head and shoulders off the ground. Squeeze your abs at the top of the movement, then lower yourself back down. Do one to three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions.
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Start out in the same position as the last exercise, lying on the floor with your knees pointing up and arms at each side. Raise your feet off the ground and slowly bring your knees up toward your chest while bracing yourself with both arms. Exhale as you raise your legs and inhale as you lower them. This exercise is called a reverse crunch. Do one to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.
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Lie on the floor and place both hands behind your head. Slowly lift your right knee up as you lift your head off the ground and twist to your left, touching your left elbow to your right knee. Lower your right leg as you lie back down, then raise yourself back up and touch your right elbow to your left knee. Try to keep both legs off the ground as you alternate them in a bicycle motion. Do one to three sets of five to 15 total repetitions.
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Place a chair about two feet from a bed. Turn the chair sideways so the back of the chair is to the right or left of you as you sit down. Brace your feet under the bed. Slowly lower your upper body back until it is parallel to the floor, then lift yourself up 45 degrees, keeping constant tension on your abs. Do one to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.
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Tips & Warnings
Start out with one set of each exercise until you get used to them. You only need to do two or three exercises per workout. Gradually build up to two or three sets of each exercise. If you have never done ab exercises before, you are likely to be very sore for a few days. Eventually, you will not get as sore doing ab exercises as your body gets used to them.
If your goal is to lose stomach fat, cut your calories and consume less fat in your diet. Ab exercises alone will not help you get lean. Cardiovascular exercises are also needed.
