If you are looking for a way to incorporate your core into your daily workout, I find it helpful to train my abs two to four times a week with three key exercises. Whether you want to train your abs or not, these three workouts can be easy to add into your workout and will surely be a good start to improving your physique.
- Medicine Ball Bounces
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For this exercise you can sit down on the mat with your legs crossed and up in the air or your feet on the ground. You then rotate your core back and forth, bouncing the ball on the ground. If you want to try a more basic approach, use a medicine ball with handles and bring the ball across your body back and forth without bouncing it. I suggest you do this exercise for two to three thirty second intervals with a ten second rest in between.
- Sit-ups
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Sit-ups are one of my favorite exercises. All you need to do them is a mat and a sturdy wall to place your feet up against. Then you can either cross your arms against your chest or place them above your head as you lay down and then squeeze your abs as you “sit-up”. To get the most out of your sit-ups three to five minutes is sufficient or three one minute intervals with quick rests in between.
- Leg Lifts
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Leg lifts are a fairly new form of ab engagement that I have been working with lately. They mainly focus on your lower abs. To perform this exercise you must lay flat on a mat and keep your hands behind or head or by your side and squeeze your lower abs which should help you lift your legs so that they are perpendicular with your body. Make sure your back is not arched and is flat against the ground while completing this exercise. Then slowly lower your legs, feel the burn, and complete the same process again. I would recommend trying four to five sets of ten leg raises with a quick rest in between each set.