10 Of The Best Lower Ab Exercises

After any ab workout, it’s common to feel that spicy burn, but then realise only the upper section of your core feels like it’s on fire. The lower area is feeling just fine. So many ab exercises have a focus on upper abdominal strength, neglecting those lower muscles which are incredibly important for developing the strength of your entire core.

Having a strong core - top to bottom and side to side - can improve your overall athletic performance, mobility, stability, posture, spinal health and the ease of which you move around in daily life - not to mention lowering your risk of injury. If parts of your core are weak, you can end up relying on other muscle groups to take on the load during tough exercises or heavy lifts (in your workouts and in daily movements), putting your body under unnecessary strain and increasing your risk of injury.

Need another reason to give your core some extra love? One 2019 study found that core strength and endurance improved running ability, exert more force and power, perform push-ups and lifts, and exercise with better quality movement.

How long does it take to get abs?

If you’ve been training consistently and feel like you have a strong core but you’re wondering why you can’t see your muscles - don’t worry, the strength of your abs and the visibility of your abs are not correlated. Having visible abs is genetic for some, but for most people, visible abs will be pretty unlikely without a low body fat percentage - achieved through nutritional discipline, consistent training and a calorie deficit.

While improving your body composition may be a meaningful goal for you, we would never recommend gauging your progress or success by whether your abs are popping or not. There are plenty more empowering fitness metrics and achievements to have as your goalposts.

Best exercises for lower abs

So, back to those lower abs - one of the trickiest parts of your core to target but one you shouldn’t ignore. To make sure you’re feeling the burn all over, these are 10 of the best lower ab exercises.

With any of these mat exercises (or any core mat exercise) remember to focus on your form and think about keeping your back flat and glued to your mat for maximum core engagement. In a movement like leg raises, check your ego at the door and only lower your legs as low as you can with your back remaining imprinted on the mat. When you feel it start to arch, bring your legs back up. You want to make sure you’re working your core, not your back. 

Leg raises

1. Lie on your back on a yoga mat. Extend both legs straight up in the air and engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine or thinking about pressing your back flat against the floor. This is your starting position.

2. While keeping your legs extended, slowly lower your legs towards the mat, as far as they’ll go with your back staying flat on the mat. If you can lower them all the way down, stop just above the floor without touching your heels to the mat.

3. Slowly raise your legs to return to the starting position. Repeat.

Hip lifts

1. Start by lying straight on your back on the floor and place both hands underneath your coccyx bone. Extend both legs and engage your abdominal muscles by drawing in your belly button to your spine. This is your starting position.

2. Keeping your feet together, slowly raise your legs off of the floor until they form a 90-degree angle with your hips.

3. Allow your hips and lower back to lift off of the floor and press your feet upwards towards the ceiling.

4. Slowly lower your legs to return to the starting position. Repeat.

Hanging bent-leg raises

1. Hold onto a bar, rings or chin-up machine handles and let your body hang. This is your starting position.

2. Using your abdominals, bend your knees and bring them in towards your chest.

3. Extend your knees to return to the starting position. Repeat.

Mountain climbers

1. Place both hands on your yoga mat shoulder-width apart with both feet together behind you, resting on the balls of your feet. Gently draw your ribs to your hips to engage your core. This is your starting position.

2. Keeping your left foot on the floor, bend your right knee and bring it in towards your chest.

3. Extend your right leg to return to the starting position.

4. Keeping your right foot on the floor, bend your left knee and bring it in towards your chest.

5. Extend your left leg to return to the starting position. Continue alternating between right and left, picking it up to a running pace if you can.

Jackknives

1. Lie on your back on a yoga mat. Extend both legs and engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. This is your starting position.

2. While keeping your legs extended, slowly raise your legs upwards until they form a 90-degree angle with your hips. At the same time, bring your arms forward and upward towards your feet, slowly lifting your head, shoulder blades and torso off the mat.

3. Slowly lower your arms and legs to return to the starting position, but without lowering your feet fully to the floor. Repeat.

Hundreds

1. Start by lying flat on your back on a yoga mat. Bend your knees and position your feet firmly on the mat. Imprint your spine into the mat and bring your legs into tabletop position, ensuring that your knees are stacked over your hips, your toes are pointed, and your shins are parallel to the floor. Rest your hands gently on your knees. This is your starting position.

2. Tuck your chin into your chest as you gently draw your ribs to your hips to engage your core. Then elevate your head by raising your shoulder blades and upper back off the mat, ensuring that your core remains engaged to prevent the ‘doming’ of your abdominals. At the same time, extend your arms by your sides with palms facing down, ensuring that your arms are parallel to the floor.

3. Pulse your arms up and down - just a couple of inches per pulse - counting five pulses as you inhale and five pulses as you exhale. 

4. Continue pulsing for 100 pulses if you can!

Hollow hold

1. Start by lying flat on your back on a yoga mat. Bend your knees and elevate your legs into tabletop position, ensuring that your shins are parallel to (in line with) the floor. Brace your abdominals by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. This is your starting position.

2. Extend your arms above your head and extend your knees so that your legs are angled to approximately 45-degrees - forming an arc or boat shape with your body. Elevate your legs more to reduce the difficulty or lower your legs more to increase the difficulty. 

3. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds or as long as you can, breathing deeply throughout and ensuring that you keep your abdominals braced to prevent discomfort in your lower back.

Scissor kicks

1. Start by lying flat on your back on a yoga mat with your arms by your sides and palms on the floor. Imprint your spine into the mat, then lift your head and shoulders off the mat. 

2. Lift your left leg up towards the ceiling, then swap your legs, lowering your left leg down to the mat as you lift your right leg up. 

3. Continue alternating between right and left in a scissor motion, keeping your heels off the mat at all times if you can. 

Dead bugs

1. Lie on your back on a yoga mat with your arms extended up towards the ceiling and palms facing toward your feet. Bend your knees and bring your legs into a tabletop position, ensuring that your knees are stacked over your hips, and your shins are parallel to the floor. This is your starting position.

2. Gently draw your belly button towards ribs to engage your core. 

3. Draw your left arm back and down toward the floor, alongside your head. At the same time, extend your right knee and hip to lower your right leg towards the floor. 

4. Raise your left arm and right leg to return to the starting position.

5. Draw your right arm back and down towards the floor, alongside your head. At the same time, extend your left knee and hip to lower your left leg towards the floor. Once again, ensure that your arm and leg are lowering at the same speed and that you maintain a neutral spine.

6. Raise your right arm and left leg to return to the starting position. Continue alternating between left and right.

Flutter kicks

1. Start by lying on your back on a yoga mat. Engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine and raise both legs off the floor. This is your starting position.

2. Lift both feet off the floor by a couple of inches, then start to make small alternating flutter kick motions with your feet, never letting your feet touch the floor. 

3. Continue alternating between right and left.

Stronger core, stronger you

If you’re looking for more ab workouts, a Sweat 7-day free trial is the perfect place to start to get your body moving. Check out the On Demand section where you can browse by muscle group or use the search bar to find what you’re after!