Alternative Lower Ab Workouts

When it comes to getting six-pack abs or anything resembling them, the natural instinct is to focus on workouts that target the midsection. Unfortunately, doing reverse crunch ups to slim and tone the lower ab only works if your abs are your ONLY problem at the moment.

[When the rest of you looks like this, then you can focus only on lower ab workouts!]

That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you keep reading you’ll find alternative lower ab workouts that you can use to achieve awesome abdominal results AND prevent exercise boredom!

The Basics

Before we begin let’s start with a few weight loss basics, you know those things that are always true about weight loss no matter your goals. First on this list is a healthy and well-balanced diet. This means lean proteins, fresh veggies, increased fiber and reduced carbohydrates (reduce…not eliminate!). Regular exercise is also crucial to abs worthy of the beach, emphasis on REGULAR. Finally, whether it’s a lower ab workout, thigh workout, or upper body workout…successful weight loss requires lots of the clear stuff–water.

Keep reminding yourself of these basics for real weight loss success.

SURFING

What better way to sneak in a lower ab workout than a day at the beach? Surfing, whether at the beach or your local wave pool, is a great way to work your lower abdominal muscles and improve overall balance. Surfing is such good exercise that many big chain gyms offer “surfing classes”, and you don’t need a board or a wetsuit to sign up!

[Simply learning to surf is a good lower ab workout and an all-round full body workout.]

In addition to the great cardiovascular exercise you get, surfing is a great upper body workout in general. If your lower abs still haunt your dreams, think of all the surfing motions that’ll give you a great lower ab workout. Treading water works plenty of arm and leg muscles, but your core is also responsible for helping you stay afloat during the dreaded–but inevitable–wipeout!

Specifically however, making the transition from sitting to standing AND keeping your balance on the surf board require superb core strength. If you’re not a good surfer, treading and balancing will give you one of the best lower ab workouts you’ve ever had…seriously. If you’re a seasoned surfer, these repeated motions will help tone your lower abdominals. If that doesn’t work see THE BASICS, above.

SWIMMING

Ah swimming, how my abs love/hate thee, let me count the ways.
1. Swimming is not only a total lower ab workout, it is a full body workout that works!
2. Just regular swimming strokes can burn fat and build muscle, which makes it an efficient and complete lower ab workout.
3. Swimming is relaxing, which makes it the perfect escape after a looooooong day.
4. The butterfly stroke is not only super fun, but the stroke mostly likely to help develop lower abs.
5. Breathing is essential, which is great, but more importantly proper breathing helps maximize your swim for weight loss!
6. 50 meters of backstrokes is the most relaxing cool down EVER.

BICYCLING

Bicycling, in addition to being environmentally friendly, is a great lower ab workout. Think about it; you use your core muscle to maintain balance on the bicycle and you specifically use your lower abs to help your legs maintain the cycling motion. Bicycling is good cardio so you get a hand burning that belly fat keeping you from having the belly you want.

Honestly there are plenty of health and weight loss benefits of bicycling, but the things you need to do to ride a bike safely, also happen to give you an awesome lower ab workout. What’s even better is that bicycling is good for all levels of physical activity, and it’s the perfect excuse to burn a few calories while getting more milk!

Bicycling is accessible to just about everyone. Whether you want to explore the city on a real bike or catch up on your soaps/sports while you cycle, the choice is yours.

ROCK CLIMBING

If you love the great outdoors but are simply terrified of falling, add indoor rock climbing to your lower ab workouts for an adrenaline-charged way to give your workout a boost. Good balance and superb core strength are matters of life and death when rock climbing in the great wide open, but on a less scary scale, indoor rock climbing is a good alternative to the everyday lower ab workout.

[Rock climbing has lots of choices--tighten your abs or plummet to your death. A great incentive, but maybe indoor rock climbing is a good place to start?]

Don’t believe me? Strong abdominal muscles help keep you on a rock when your feet begin to slide, and those same muscles make it easier to regain your footing after said slip. In addition, practicing for outdoor rock climbing will give your lower ab workout the added pressure of flight or fight.

Give any of these alternative lower ab workouts an added dose of difficulty by keeping your abdominal muscles tightened when you move from rock to rock. Sometimes the difference between reaching that next rock and falling in front of the gym hotties, is tightening your ab muscles. Getting a good lower ab workout doesn’t have to involve standard gym equipment. With a little creativity and the use of a good search engine, your abs will be looking good in no time.