Reverse Crunch

Lay flat on your workout surface. Get in the crunch position with hands behind your head. Your head and shoulders should be just lifted off the floor. Have your knees pointing up in the air. You can keep your feet in the air horizontal to your workout surface or you can tuck them by your hips. Without moving your upper body, pull your knees to your head using just your torso. Be sure to squeeze and hold the position for a moment before you release. The movement should be controlled and be sure not to rock. As you bring your knees to your head breath out and as you lower back down to the starting position breath in. The reverse crunch targets the lower abdominal muscles.

Pulse Ups

Pulse ups work your abdominal or your six pack muscles. Start out laying flat on your back with your hands close to your sides with your palms down for stabilization. Pull your belly in (contract your abs in quickly) and squeeze your glutes to lift your hips off the ground about 4 to 6 inches. Your legs should pulse up straight in the air. Be sure to use your abs to pull your hips off the ground and not your arms and upper body. Also keep your legs steady and stable they should not swing back and forth. Done right, you will definitely feel the your abs burn during this one. Be sure to breath out as you pulse up and breath in as you come back down.

Bicycle

There are two popular versions of this exercise. The easier version focuses more on your lower abdominal muscles and hip flexers. Start out laying flat on your back. Bring your legs up 90 degrees from the ground. bend your knees so that your calfs are parallel with the ground. Start the workout by doing alternate legs kicks using the same motion you would to pedal a bicycle. At the bottom of each leg motion or pedal, your leg should be straight but still off the ground about 30 to 45 degrees. About halfway through the exercise time it a good practice to reverse your pedaling direction, which sometimes trips people up a bit because most people are not use to pedaling in reverse. Placing your hands under your glutes makes the exercise easy. Placing your hands behind your head makes it harder. Non-beginners often do not like this version because you end up feeling a lot of the burn in your hip flexers and not your abs.

The second more challenging version of the bicycle works the lower abdominal muscles and hip flexers like the first version but also gets the upper abs involved for a pretty killer ab exercise. Repeat the same starting position for the first version but this time put your hands behind your head and slightly lift your shoulder blades off the ground like you are doing a crunch. When you begin pedaling your legs, rotate your torso and bring the opposite elbow to the knee that is currently in the up pedal position (the bent knee). Repeat with the other leg and other elbow as you go through the pedal motion. It is alright not to actually touch your elbow to the opposite knee when doing this exercise but reach like you are trying to. Be sure to keep your shoulder blades off the ground as you do this exercise. You will definatley feel the burn in your abs when doing this version.

Double Crunch

This exercise targets both the lower and upper abdominal muscles. It combines the classic crunch with the reverse crunch. Lay flat on your workout surface. Get in the crunch position with hands behind your head. Your head and shoulders should be slightly lifted off the floor. Have your knees pointing up in the air. You can keep your feet in the air horizontal to your workout surface or you can tuck them by your hips. In a controlled motion using only your torso, pull your knees toward your head and raise your shoulder blades off the ground thrusting your head towards your knees. Be sure to squeeze and hold the position for a moment before you release. The movement should be controlled and be sure not to rock. On each repetition when you squeeze in be sure to exhale then inhale as you release.

In & Outs

In & outs give the center abdominals a great workout! You can also feel it in the hip flexors. In & outs are done on the butt. Start out with legs off the ground at about 30 degrees. They can either be straight out or have a slight bend at the knees. Your upper body and torso should be straight and about 50 to 70 degrees off the ground. To complete a repetition, bring your upper body and hips up towards each other until they almost touch. Hold it for about a half second. As you bring your hips up bend your knees. return to the starting position in a controlled motion to complete the repetition. Be sure to breath out as you bring your hips up and breath out as you return to the starting position. When your first start doing this exercise it can be a little tough to balance so feel free to put your hands on the ground beside  your butt. As you gain experience try doing it with your hands straight up in the air to put even more resistance on your abdominal muscles. When done correctly, in & outs can really make your abdominal muscles burn.

Banana

The banana exercise focuses on the center abdominal muscles and hip flexors. Start out laying flat on the ground with your legs straight out and your arms straight back like your stretching after waking up. Lift your legs off the ground about 20 degrees. Lift your arms and upper shoulders off the ground so that your shoulder blades are just touching your workout surface. The banana is a static exercise so you just hold the up position for the duration of the exercise. You can add some movement to it by rocking back and forth (not side to side). be sure to hold the banana shape as you rock. Do not to swing your legs up.

Lying Leg Raises

This ab exercise is used extensively in the military and focuses on the lower abdominal muscles and hits the hip flexors. Start out laying flat on your back with your legs straight out in front of you. Begin the exercise by raising your legs straight up in the air in a controlled manner. Now its up to you how high you want to raise them, but it should be somewhere between 45 and 70 degrees from the ground. One thing you want to avoid is swinging your legs up and letting gravity or the elasticity of your body determine how high to raise them. Instead you should set a height in your mind and bring your legs up to the height and stop them there in a controlled motion. Arm placement affects how challenging this workout is. For instance if you place your hands underneath your glutes the exercise becomes a lot easier (good for beginners). The further you move your arms from your legs the harder the workout becomes. Advanced users should place their hands behind their head, but without putting pressure on the back of the head when raising your legs. Adding a bend to your knees makes the exercise easier. Conversely, you can make the exercise harder by pointing your toes (or by wearing heavy shoes). Be sure to breath out as you raise your legs and breath in as you lower your legs. 

Pendulum

The pendulum is a fun abdominal exercise that works the whole gauntlet of abdominal muscles, not just the popular six pack muscles. Start out by laying flat on the ground. Put your arms out to the side so they 90 degrees from your side and you are in the shape of a T. Place your palms face down on the ground to prevent your shoulders and upper body from moving. Bring your legs up in the air 90 degrees from the ground so the bottom of your feet are towards the sky and your body is in an L shape. Begin the pendulum by bringing the left or right side of your legs down to the ground in a controlled motion using just your torso. Try to maintain the L or 90 degree postion with your legs as much as possible, but it is alright to let them slip a bit as you go down. How much just depends on your flexibility. Bring them down as close to the ground as possible without moving your upper body (remember just your torso). Once there is low as possible to the side raise them back up to the starting position in a controlled motion. Repeat the same motion but this time bring them down to the other side. As you repeat the motion moving side to side your legs kind of look like an upside down pendulum. One common mistake people make when performing this exercise is they begin swinging their legs too fast and begin to involve their upper body in the movement. Remember to move in a controlled motion with just your torso. 

Swim

This exercise focuses on the lower back. Start out by laying flat on your stomach with your arms out in front of you and your legs straight back with toes pointed like a pencil. Then in a controlled motion raise your arms and legs off the ground so all your weight is resting on your chest area. When you lift your arms they should be straight out in front of you like your flying. When you lift your legs they should be straight back and you should be squeezing your glutes. Once you get your legs and arms off the ground begin flapping your arms up and down and kicking your legs up and down like you are swimming. When kicking and flapping, you want to raise your legs and arms up as high as you can in your comfort zone. When kicking and flapping you want to avoid your arms and legs making full contact with the ground. They should either not touch the ground or just graze the ground while kicking and flapping. If you begin to get tired towards the end of your swim exercise duration pull your arms in a bit and don't point your toes. This will make the load on your lower back muscles a bit lighter.

Superman

This exercise focuses on the lower back. There is a couple of different versions or ways to do this exercise. Start out by laying flat on your stomach with your arms out in front of you and your legs straight back like a pencil. Then in a controlled motion raise your arms and legs off the ground so all your weight is resting on your chest area. When you lift your arms they should be straight out in front of you like your flying (get it like superman). When you lift your legs they should be straight back and you should be squeezing your glutes. You should feel the burn in lower back as your lower back muscles contract to hold your arms and legs off the ground. At this point you could make this a static or a repetition based exercise. For rep based hold the up position for 2 to 3 seconds, lower back down, and then repeat. The static version (the one I prefer) you simply hold the up position for a set time period, 30 to 60 seconds. When doing the static version, if you find yourself struggling a bit towards the end you can bring your arms in a bit to reduce the weight load on your lower back muscles.

Now if your new to core workouts and are unsure of your lower back strength you can alternate between just raising your arms off the ground and just raising your legs off the ground. Do a rep where you just raise your arms off the ground, hold it for 2 to 3 seconds, and then lower them back down. Next rep raise your legs off the ground, hold it for 2 to 3 seconds, and then lower them back down. 

Leg Climbs

Leg climbs target mainly your center six-pack abdominal muscles, but they also increase your flexibility. Start out by laying on your back. Bring one leg off the ground about 45 degrees. Use your arms and hands to literally climb up your leg and touch your toe (if you can not touch your toe just get as close as possible). After touching your toe climb back down until your shoulder blades just touch your workout surface but your not fully laying flat. This will ensure constant contraction on your abdominals during the entire workout. Next bring your other leg up in the air about 45 degrees, at the same time lower the first leg. Be sure that one leg is always off the ground. Repeat the climb on the other leg to complete one repetition. Technically you can use as many hand grabs as you want from both arms to do the climb. Personally, I use one hand grab to climb and the other hand to touch the toe. On the next repetition I then switch hands. Breath out and you climb up and breath in as you climb back down.

Vertical Crunch

The vertical crunch targets your abdominal muscles and is similar to the center crunch. Start laying on your back flat on your workout surface. bring your legs up 90 degrees in the air so that the bottom of your feet are parallel with the ceiling. Put your hands behind your head. During the exercise your hands should just provide support for your neck, they should not be pulling the head up. To do the vertical crunch use your abdominal muscles to pull your head, shoulders, and upper chest straight towards your hips. Do not twist your torso. Your neck should remain straight. Come up until your shoulder blades and upper back are off the ground and hold it for about a half to one second. At the same time you bring your upper body up, press your heels up towards the ceiling creating a U shape. This will create an extra burn in the lower abs compared to a center crunch. Come back down in a controlled motion until your shoulder blades are just touching your workout surface, but your not laying flat. This ensures your abdominal muscles are always contracted during the entire exercise. That is one repetition, from there just repeat. Be sure to breath out when you lift up and breath out when you go back down.

Long Arm Crunch

The long arm crunch works your upper abdominal muscles. It is similiar to the center crunch except you have your arms out stretched behind you. This adds more resistance to the exercise. Start out laying flat on your back. Bent your knees and bring them up until you have your feet flat on the ground. Put your arms out stretched behind you like you are stretching after waking up. Clasp your hands together. To do the long arm crunch use your abdominal muscles to pull your head, shoulders, upper chest, and out stretched arms up off the ground towards your hips. During the movement your arms should remain out stretched and move with your upper body. Do not twist your torso or pull your arms in. Your head and neck should move with your upper body (neck remaining straight). Come up until your shoulder blades and upper back are off the ground and hold it for about a half to one second. Come back down in a controlled motion until your shoulder blades are just touching your workout surface, but your upper shoulders and arms are still off the ground. This ensures your abdominal muscles are always contracted during the entire exercise. That is one repetition, from there just repeat. Be sure to breath out as you go up and breath in as you go down.

Back Extensions

Back extensions target your lower back. Start out laying on your stomach with your legs straight back. Bend your elbows and with your palms down and place one hand on top of the other. Rest your chin on top of your hands. Using your lower back muscles lift your legs and upper body (including hands and arms) straight up off the ground as high as possible. Just use your hands to support your head and neck, do pull your head and neck up with your arms. Hold the up position for a couple seconds and then lower back down to complete a repetition. To include your obliques in the exercise, in the up position move horizontally to your left or right and then back to center. Lower back down to complete the repetition then when you raise up again shift to the opposite side horizontally.

Side Crunch

Side crunches work the interior and exterior obliques. They are a great way to work off the love handles. Start out by laying on the right or left side of your body. The arm that is closet on the ground can either be laid out on the ground perpendicular to your body or tuck it in close to your body with the elbow on the ground and forearm against your stomach. Place the hand of your other arm behind your head. Your legs can either be bent at the knees or straight out. Having the legs straight out creates more resistance on the obliques. Using your obliques, lift your upper body and legs up vertically towards each other. Your weight should be on your hip and torso when in the up position. Hold the up position for a half to full second and lower back down. To maintain muscle contraction, try not to lower all the way down back down. Be sure to breath out as you come up and breath in as you go down. After your do one side, flip over and do the other (do not worry the app recognizes exercises with two parts).

Forward Plank

The forward plank or just plank works your whole core, including your abdominal muscles and lower back. A forward plank is done by doing the up position of a push-up except instead of being on the palm of your hands and the tips of your feet you are resting on your elbows. From your neck down to the heels of your feet should be a straight line. Your butt should not be sticking up in the air and your pelvis should not be sagging down to the ground. The forward plank is static so you just hold the position for the duration of the exercise. To switch things up you can do the forward plank in the push-up position. This will take some resistance off the core and place it on the upper body (mainly the pectoral and tricep muscles). Another variation is to switch back and forth from resting on the elbows to the push-up position throughout the duration of the exercise. This will really work your pectoral and tricep muscles as well as your core.

Side Plank

The side plank works your whole core but with an emphasis on the obliques. Start out on your left or right side with your weight on your elbow and the side of your foot (do not rest on your ankle). There should be a straight line between your arm pit and the side of your foot. The side plank is static so you hold the position through the duration of the exercise. If you want to add some movement to the exercise you can move your hip that is closet to the floor down so it just barely touches the floor (do not put your weight on it to maintain muscle contraction). Then bring it back to the up position. repeat this throughout the duration of the exercise. Be sure to move in a controlled fashion. After your do one side, flip over and do the other (do not worry the app recognizes exercises with two parts).

Vertical Scissors

Vertical scissors or, as its known in the P90X world, fifer scissors focuses mainly on your lower abdominal muscles and your hip flexors. It will also increase the flexibility of your hamstrings. Start out laying on your back with your legs straight in front of you. Start the vertical scissors by lifting one of your legs up into the air in a controlled manner so it is 90 degrees from the ground. Lift the other leg up a couple of inches so it is hovering above the ground. Then switch the postion of each leg in a controlled movement to complete a repetition. During the exercise neither leg should touch the ground so that the abdominal muscles are always contracted. The leg lifted straight into the air, 90 degrees from the floor, should be straight. If you are not flexible enough, make it as straight as possible. Your flexibility will increase if done regularly.

Flutter Kicks

This ab exercise is used extensively in the military and focuses on the lower abdominal muscles and hits the hip flexors. Start out laying flat on your back with your legs straight out in front of you. Lift both legs straight up off the ground about six inches. Begin alternately kicking each leg straight up in the air. Now its up to you how high you want to go up on each kick, but it should be somewhere between 45 and 70 degrees from the ground. One thing you want to avoid is swinging your legs up and letting gravity or the elasticity of your body determine how high to raise them. Instead you should set a height in your mind and bring your legs up to that height and stop them there in a controlled manner. When bringing a leg down from a kick, be sure to stop at six inches above the ground (starting position). Arm placement affects how challenging this workout is. For instance if you place your hands underneath your glutes the exercise becomes easier. The further you move your arms from your legs the harder the workout becomes, but doing this does put more strain on the lower back. Adding a bend to your knees also makes the exercise easier (may be necessary if your not real flexible). Conversely, you can make the exercise harder by pointing your toes (or by wearing heavy shoes). Remember to breath through out the exercise.

Center Crunch or Crunch

The center crunch or just crunch targets your upper abdominal muscles. To do the crunch lay flat on your back. Bend and bring your knees up until you have your feet flat on the ground. Some people like to put their knees in the air and cross their feet, which is fine too. Personally I like the feet on the ground because I feel like you get a larger range of motion for the exercise. Put your hands behind your head. During the exercise your hands should just provide support for your neck, they should not be pulling the head up. To do the crunch use your abdominal muscles to pull your head, shoulders, and upper chest straight towards your knees. Do not twist your torso. Your neck should remain straight. Come up until your shoulder blades and upper back are off the ground and hold it for about a half to one second. Come back down in a controlled motion until your shoulder blades are just touching your workout surface, but your not laying flat. This ensure your abdominal muscles are always contracted during the entire exercise. That is one repetition, from there just repeat. Be sure to breath out as you come up and breath in as you lower back down.

Crunchy Frog

Crunchy frogs give the center abdominals a great workout, but can be a bit tricky at first to get the balance down. crunchy frogs are done on the butt. Start out with legs off the ground at about 30 degrees. They can either be straight out or have a slight bend at the knees. Your upper body and torso should be straight and about 50 to 70 degrees off the ground. Your arms should be straight out to your sides inline with the top of your shoulders. To complete a repetition, bring your upper body and hips up towards each other until they almost touch. As you bring your hips up bend your knees. At the same time bring your arms in around your shins like you are trying to hug your legs, but without using your arm strength to hold your legs in position. Hold it for about a half second. Return to the starting position in a controlled manner to complete the repetition. Breath out as you come up and breath in as you go back down. Once you get the balance down, crunchy frogs can really make your abdominal muscles burn.

Mason Twists

Mason twists are great core exercise because they work your obliques and center abdominal muscles. Start out sitting on your workout surface with your knees bent so that your feet are flat on the ground. Lean your upper body back so that it is about 50 to 60 degrees from the ground. You don't want your lower back to be straight for this. Instead slouch a bit so that there is a C curve in your spine. Clasp your hands together in front of you like your making a two hand fist. Lift you feet off the ground so that the only body part on the ground is your butt. With your hands clasp, begin twisting your arms and torso from side to side. On each twist hit your knuckles to the ground beside you obliques. If you can not quite reach the ground with your two hand fist just get as close as possible. The Mason Twist is an exercise where you will definitely feel your obliques and abdominal muscles burn. If you do not feel the burn re-check your form.

Crossover Crunch

The crosssover crunch works the obliques and center abdominals. Start out laying flat on your back with your legs straight out in front of you and your knees bent so your feet are flat on the ground. Bring your right leg up and place it across your left thigh so that your right ankle is resting on your left thigh just above the knee. Place your hands behind your head. Bring your shoulders up so that your shoulder blades are just touching the ground . This will ensure a constant contraction on your abdominal muscles.  To do the crossover crunch, bring left shoulder and elbow to your right knee using only your torso. You can use your left elbow touching your right knee or coming close to it to signal the top of the crunch, but be sure your left shoulder is coming off the floor and you are not just swinging your elbow around. At the top of the crunch, hold for about a second. Bring your left elbow and shoulder back down to the starting position to complete the repetition. After doing the left side switch and do the right side. Remember to breath out as you come up and breath in as you go back down.

Cross Leg Situps

Cross leg situps or wide leg situps work both the abdominal and oblique muscles. It also improves flexibility in the back and hamstrings. Lay down on your back with your legs straight out in front of you. Spread your legs apart from each other so that the length between your feet is wider than your shoulder width. The exercise is done by bringing your upper body up to the sitting postion, touching your toes on one leg with the opposite hand, coming back down, and repeating on the other leg. When coming up for the sit and toe touch, the hand and arm that is on the same side as the toes your going to touch should be placed behind the head. Your other arm should be outstretched behind you when in the down position. It should follow your upper body up to the sitting position and then be used to reach out and touch your toes. As you come up from the down postion to do a toe touch, be sure to keep your lower body and legs on the ground. If you can not touch your toes just get as close as you can. You do want to feel a little stretch in the hamstring. Be sure to come up in a control manner especially when you start to stretch for the toe. No jerky movements. Do not forget proper breadthing, out when you are coming up and in as you return back down.

Half Curl

The half curl works the abdominal muscles and also the hip flexers. Start out laying on your back with your legs down in front of you. Bend your knees and bring them up until your feet are flat on the ground in front of you. Bring your upper body up about 45 degrees from the floor. Curve your lower back like your slouching. Put your arms straight out in front of you and keep them there for the whole exercise. Use your abdominal muscles to bring your upper body up 90 degrees from the floor. As you move your upper body up to 90 degrees, your lower back should straighten out so that when you reach the top your upper and lower back are straight. Return back to the starting position to complete a full repetition. Breath out as you come up and breath in as you go back down to. 

V-Sit

The v-sit is definitely one of the more hardcore abdominal exercises. You maintain a constant strong contraction on the abdominals throughout the exercise. Start out sitting on your workout surface with your knees bent so that your feet are flat on the ground. Put your arms straight out in front of you. Bring your knees up further and lift your feet off the ground and balance all your weight on your butt. Your upper body should be at least 45 degrees or a bit higher from the ground. Your hips should also be 45 degrees or higher from the ground. Make sure your knees are bent and your calves are parallel to the ground or hanging down. To do the v-sit, bring your feet up in a controlled movement until legs are straight. At the same time you will have to lower your upper body towards the ground to maintain your balance. Return to the starting position to complete a repetition. Be sure to keep your arms out in front of your upper body during the whole movement. As you lift your legs up and move your upper body down you want to breath out. Breath back in as you return to the starting position. When you first start with v-sit the balance part can be a little tricky but once you get it down this is a great exercise to make the abdominals burn.