Stomach Exercise Guide

Stomach exercise routines should include specific attention on the transverse abdominals, which are a muscle group that often gets neglected. They’re the core muscles that lie below the rectus abdominus. Most abdominal exercises target the vertical abdominals and the rectus abdominus, with little attention paid to the transverse abdominals. Even crunches, which most people consider to be the staple of stomach exercises, do nothing for the transverse abdominals. But these muscles are critically important to target, however, because they connect to both the rectus abdominus and the lower back muscles to form a girdle for the entire abdomen.

Any stomach exercise routine aimed at flattening your belly should include the transverse abdominals as a focus. Using the following stomach exercises, you can work on your transverse abdominals and really make progress on that flat tummy. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Pelvic Tilts

This stomach exercise requires lying on your back on a flat surface, such as the floor or a bench. Use a mat or towel to cushion your spine. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Raise your pelvis (and only your pelvis) off the floor, hold momentarily, and then lower it back down. Repeat for an entire set. Maintaining a controlled movement is crucial to this exercise. This will allow you to use your abdominal muscles, rather than your body’s momentum, to do the work on the exercise. Also, be sure to keep your upper body on the floor throughout.

Crunch-less Crunch

This stomach exercise is fairly simple, but can also be challenging. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

Scissor Kicks

This stomach exercise also requires lying on the floor. Position your hands under your butt, keeping your back pressed against the floor. Slowly raise one leg to a height of about ten inches, then slowly lower it back to the floor. As your lower one leg, raise the other. Repeat this motion for an entire set. Maintaining control throughout is important, not allowing momentum to get the better of you. Your upper body should remain on the floor through the entire move.

These abdominal exercises are key to flattening your tummy, and pregnant and post-partum women will find them particularly effective. There are other stomach exercises that target the transverse abdominals, but the three exercises above are definitely challenging enough to get you started.

By: Nicholas Tan