Lower Ab Exercises With Weights

Getting a perfect set of washboard abs is a dream for many people, but achieving it is not a simple task by any means. The perfect six pack abs are obtained by rigorous training and regular exercising, coupled with complete knowledge about your body and consuming a healthy and balanced diet. Many people often opt to use weights when performing these exercises in order to strengthen their lower abs. Them and the upper abs combine together to give you that six pack, and you need to perform different kinds of exercises in order to develop both sets of muscle groups.

Since time immemorial, people choose to perform hundreds of crunches each day, in order to build their abs, using only their body as resistance. This is a healthy and recommended way to strengthen your abdominal muscles, but doing it using weights is a trend that is witnessing a surge in popularity nowadays. It goes without saying that the effect this has on the development of the abdominal muscles is much more visible and certainly more long-lasting than performing your crunches the regular way.

When you are performing these exercises, the level of resistance that your body has to come up against is greater. So, let us first understand the relevance and the significance of increasing this resistance against the body. Just like any other muscle group of your body, your abs will also get strengthened further by adding a greater amount of resistance. Progressive overload of the amount of weight lifted adds to the development of the muscles, and the abs are also susceptible to this particular condition. By performing these exercises, you are speeding up the strengthening and development process of your abdominal muscles.

The most popular means of weights that you can use are ankle weights. These are strapped to your ankle, and increase the amount of force you need to exert while performing your stomach crunches. This will add resistance to your lower body and enhance the effect. If you are looking to add resistance to your upper body, then you can also use dumbbells.

Lower Ab Stretches
Now that you have understood the importance of adding resistance to your abs workout regime, here are 3 of the best lower ab exercises that you can perform everyday. To strengthen the lower abs you have to wear ankle weights while performing these exercises.

Bicycle Crunches
You need to lie flat on your back with your hands behind your head. Now lift your head off the ground, and, at the same time, lift your legs off the ground, using your hips and your butt as a pivot. Now you must swing your upper torso from left to right, while simultaneously bringing your right knee towards your chin, so that your left elbow and your right knee are touching each other. All this while, your left leg must be 45 degrees in the air, and stretched out absolutely straight. Now repeat this motion so that your right elbow and your left knee touch each other. The number of repetitions you do, the amount of weight you attach to your ankle and the speed at which you rotate your body, will all depend on your personal preferences and stamina. Keep your shoulders off the ground at all times.

Leg Raises
This is possibly the simplest one that you can perform. All you need to do is attach the weights to your ankle, lie flat on your back with your arms and hands on your sides, and keeping your knees bent at a slight ankle, lift both your legs in the air together till they are absolutely vertical. Hold your legs there for a few seconds, and then gently lower them back on to the ground. Remember to keep your back completely straight though, as failure to do so could result in a severe pain in the back.

Reverse Crunches
This is perhaps the most common of them all. Once you have fastened the weights around your ankle, lie straight on the ground with your hands by your sides. Now lift your knees up and hug them against your chest, as far back as you can. Now slightly lift your tail bone, or your butt off the ground and hold this position for 2-3 seconds, before you revert to your original position. The key to this exercise is lifting your tail bone off the ground in the proper manner. You can also use your hands for support while you perform this exercise.

As you can see, all the above lower ab routines that will be beneficial for you, are simply regular lower abdominal exercises that are performed with weights tied around your ankles. The heavier the weights, the greater the resistance. And the greater the resistance, the stronger your lower ab muscles will become.