subject: Lower Ab Exercise Utilizing your Legs [print this page] Lower Ab Exercise Utilizing your Legs Lower Ab Exercise Utilizing your Legs
You may not realize it, but your lower abdominal muscles are the ones who keep busy throughout the day, whether you're walking or jogging, bending or carrying. The lower abs, along with the back muscles, help you coordinate lower body movement and keep your balance while shifting your weight from one foot to the other or while turning around and shifting your entire weight on one side.
Because of the supporting role of the lower abs, most cardio exercises that involve your legs are also a good workout for your lower abs. But they are not all equally efficient. Jogging, for example, is one of the best ways of losing the belly fat and getting the abs sculpted. Kickboxing and tae bo are also extremely useful all the leg kicking and knee lifting pose a great pressure on your abs, which have to sustain the lifting, as well as the balance of the rest of the body during the lift or kick.
Except for the cardio, there are also several exercises that use your legs to work out your abdominal muscles. The reversed crunch is one of them. Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Slowly lift your feet off the ground and bring your knees in closer to your chest. As you return to the initial position, do not entirely relax your legs and abs. Only slightly touch the floor with your feet and then do another reversed crunch.
If you have a captain's chair in your home, or if you have a gym nearby, I warmly recommend you the leg lift exercise. Position yourself in the chair, with your arms on either side of the handles and straight standing posture. Leaning on the handles, lift your feet and bring your knees in, as closely as possible to your chest. You may find this difficult at first. But don't give up! Soon you'll even be able to lift your legs straight horizontally, which will be an even more efficient workout for your abs.
If you don't have a captain's chair, you can modify the exercise using a regular chair. As you sit on the chair, place your hands on either side of the chair and hold it tight. Lift your feet off the ground and bring your knees in as close as possible to your chest. As you become more advanced, start lifting your legs stretched out horizontally, forming a 90 degree angle with the floor.
The scissors are also a great way of working out your abs using your legs. Lie on your back, with your legs stretched out horizontally. Lift them both up till you form a 45 degree angle with the floor. Make small and fast scissor-like movement with your legs, moving them in opposite directions. Due to its speed and required precision, this can be a killer exercise. Luckily, it will be your fat that's killed and you'll end up with a wonderful sculpted ab.
