It’s a common fitness dilemma: You’re banging out crunches and planks week after week but still not seeing the strength and muscle tone you want in your lower abs. That’s a sign it’s time to switch up your routine—starting with the trainer-programmed lower abs workout for women featured below.
All abs workout routines are not created equal—different abs exercises target different muscles of your core. But lower abs have a reputation for being difficult to isolate and target when working out, according to Kristina Earnest, CPT, a personal trainer and creator of the Kristina Earnest on Demand app. But the best lower abs workouts for women hit *all* of your core muscles, lower abs included. In fact, many of the trainer-selected moves below place all the emphasis on those lower abdominal muscles, so you can really feel the burn.
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Strengthening your lower abs can help ease lower back pain and improve posture, says Earnest. And that’s not all. ‘Working your lower abdominals will help stabilize your core and improve your balance,’ says Emily Fayette, CPT, founder of Healthy Hustle.
Meet the experts: Emily Fayette, CPT, is an Apple Fitness+ trainer, founder of Healthy Hustle, and former Flywheel instructor. Kristina Earnest, CPT, is the creator of the Kristina Earnest on Demand app. Simone Tchouke, CPT, is a Los Angeles-based functional strength coach.
What are the lower abdominal muscles?
Your core is made up of much more than those six-pack muscles, says Earnest. There’s the rectus abdominis, the obliques, and the transverse abdominis.
The lower abs are within the rectus abdominis, which is that superficial layer of muscle that runs down the front of your stomach, according to Earnest. These are the “six-pack” muscles people tend to visualize when they think about abs, she adds. The lower abs are considered the bottom portion of that muscle.
How to engage your lower abs
Pro trainers share their key tips for getting the most out of lower abs workouts for women:
- Use the mind-muscle connection. Just focusing on your lower abs as you move through the below exercises can help you to better activate them, says Simone Tchouke, CPT, a Los Angeles-based functional strength coach. Try picturing swimming at the beach: As a big wave heads toward you, hunker down and engage your core so you won’t get knocked over. Those are your lower abs, Earnest says. ‘That tightening of the core is going to help you get the most out of your session.’
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- Slow down. ‘When I have people do dead bugs, they often go really, really fast and they don’t feel it,’ says Tchouke. ‘But when I have them do it slowly, after 10 reps, they’re definitely going to feel the core.’
- Just breathe. You want to exhale during the ‘work’ part of the movement—so when you sit up in a crunch, for example. Remembering to breathe instead of holding your breath is enough to help you get more out of each exercise.
- Consistency is key. While everyone’s fitness journey is unique, Earnest notes that the lower abs can (and should be!) worked frequently, as either standalone core sessions or mindful engagement throughout other workouts.
10-minute lower abs workout for women
Time: 10 minutes | Equipment: Dumbbell, kettlebell, resistance band, mini band (all optional) | Good for: Lower abs
Instructions: Choose five moves from the list of trainer-selected lower abs exercises below. Perform each move for 50 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Repeat the entire five-move circuit at least twice for a comprehensive lower abs workout.
1 Plank
How to:
- Start on the floor in a quadruped position, hands directly underneath your shoulders. Step your feet back, one at a time to assume a plank position. For more stability, widen your stance with your feet.
- Maintain a straight line from heels through the top of your head, looking down at the floor, your neck should remain in a neutral position.
- Engage your abs, quads, glutes, and hold for the duration of time indicated above. That’s 1 rep.
2 Glute bridge
How to:
- Lie on your back with feet planted hip-width on the floor and knees bent.
- Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips off of the floor until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
- Pause at the top, squeezing the glutes a little extra for good measure.
- Lower back down with control to the starting position to tap hips on the floor before repeating. That’s 1 rep.
3 Split stance hinge with reach
How to:
- Stand with your feet hip-width and step your right foot back two steps behind you. Raise your right heel to balance on the ball of your foot, almost like you’re wearing high heels.
- Hinge forward at your hips with a flat back until your torso is parallel to the floor while extending your arms forward until your biceps are by your ears.
- Return to standing with control. That’s 1 rep.
4 Half turkish get-up
How to:
- Lie on your back with right leg and arm straight on the floor and at a 45-degree angle from body, left leg bent so foot is flat on the floor, and left arm extended up toward ceiling (elbow locked out) holding a kettlebell.
- Keep eyes on weight, press into your right arm, and sit up, coming onto the right forearm.
- Press through the right palm and left foot as you sit up taller and simultaneously shift the right leg under your body until the shin rests on the floor and forms a 90-degree angle with the left leg.
- While maintaining your eyes on the weight above, slowly reverse the movement to return to starting position. That’s 1 rep.
5 Staggered leg lower
How to:
- Lie on your back with hands at sides and legs extended, with a looped resistance band around ankles.
- Lift legs straight up to the ceiling so they form a 90-degree angle with your torso. Curl head, neck, and shoulders off of mat so gaze is at thighs.
- Keep legs straight and tension on the resistance band, but separate heels so the right heel is slightly lower than the left.
- Maintain the distance between feet and lower both legs toward the floor.
- Once the right foot is just above the floor, reverse the movement to return to start.
- Repeat, leading with the opposite foot. That’s 1 rep.
6 Bird dog
How to:
- Start in a quadruped position with your hands directly under shoulders and a resistance band looped around the balls of your feet.
- Draw your navel in towards the spine while raising your right arm and left leg, until they’re fully extended and form a straight line with your body.
- Keeping your core engaged and torso stable, bring your elbow and knee towards each other to tap below your navel . Extend back out. That’s 1 rep.
- Complete all reps on the same side, then switch sides and repeat.
7 Deadbug
How to:
- Lie on your back with arms extended toward the ceiling in-line with shoulders and legs bent to 90 degrees (knees above hips).
- Pressing the lower back into the floor and engaging the abs, slowly extend and lower the right leg and left arm (overhead) until they nearly touch the floor.
- Pause, then return to start and repeat on the opposite side. That’s 1 rep.
8 Frog crunch
How to:
- Lie on your back with your arms extended at your sides.
- Bring your feet into a tabletop position, with your heels pressed together.
- Extend your legs out at a diagonal, keeping your heels close together.
- Bend knees and draw heels in toward your butt. Extend legs back out. That’s 1 rep.
9 Flutter kick
How to:
- Lie on your back with your hands by your side.
- Straighten your legs and extend them at 45-degree angle.
- In a steady movement, alternate lifting the right and left leg for the duration of time indicated above. That’s 1 rep.
10 Assisted crunches
How to:
- Lie on back with legs in tabletop position (knees over hips), bent at 90 degrees, hands gently holding the backs of the thighs, just below knees.
- Engage your core to curl forward so that your head, shoulders, and upper back lift up off the ground and towards knees, as elbows bend outwards. Try to avoid using your arms to pull yourself up and forward—this movement should come from the abs!
- Lower back a few inches and then forward (i.e. pulsing), keeping upper back, shoulders, and head lifted. Continue for the duration of time indicated above. That’s 1 rep.
11 Scissor kick
How to:
- Lie on your back with your arms at your sides.
- Lift your legs to a 45-degree angle with the ground.
- Keeping your legs straight, cross one leg over the other.
- Continue alternating which leg is on top for the duration of time indicated above. That’s 1 rep.
12 Mountain climber
How to:
- Get into a high plank position with your arms straight, shoulders stacked over hands, body in a straight line from your head to your ankles, and core and glutes engaged.
- Keeping the core engaged and torso stable, raise your right knee toward your chest. Return to the starting position.
- Repeat with your left leg. That’s 1 rep. Continue alternating legs for the duration of time indicated above.
13 Side-to-side tap
How to:
- Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Lift your legs to a 45-degree angle with the ground.
- Keeping your legs straight and lifted in the air, tap your right leg out to the right. Pause for a moment, then return to center.
- Repeat on the other side. That’s 1 rep.
14 Side plank
How to:
- Lie on your side with your right forearm flat on the floor, elbow under shoulder, and both legs extended, forming a straight line from head to feet. (Feet can either be staggered for more stability, or stacked for more of a challenge.)
- Engage core and lift hips off the floor. Hold for the duration of time indicated above. That’s 1 rep.
15 Explosive knee drive
How to:
- Stand with feet hip-width, then step your right foot a couple feet behind your left foot.
- Bend your back knee and drive it forward and up as high as you can. At the same time, swing your arms with the opposite leg, like you’re running.
- That’s 1 rep. Continue for half the duration of time indicated above, then repeat on the other side for the remainder of time.
16 Lateral lunge knee drive
How to:
- Stand with feet hip-width, Then take a wide step to the side with the right leg. Hinge hips back and bend right knee to lower until right leg is bent 90 degrees.
- Transfer weight to the left leg as you drive the right knee up to hip height. That’s 1 rep. Continue for half the duration of time indicated above, then repeat on the other side for the remainder of time.
17 Toe touch
How to:
- Lie on your back, with your hands behind your head, legs straight in the air.
- Lift your arms and try to touch your toes, lifting your chest off the ground as much as you can.
- Lower arms and head back to the mat with control. That’s 1 rep.
18 Beast hold
How to:
- Start in a quadruped position, shoulders stacked over wrists, holding a mini loop resistance band (anchored to an object to your right) in your right hand.
- Pull the band taut as you lift knees off the floor and hover them for a few seconds.
- Lower knees and relax the band to return to start. That’s 1 rep.
19 Bicycle crunch
How to:
- Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed into your mat. Interlace your fingers and place behind your head. Float your legs up to a tabletop position.
- Lift your head and shoulder blades off of the ground.
- Straighten your right leg long while turning the upper body left and bring your right elbow towards your left knee. Switch and repeat on the other side. That’s 1 rep.
20 Standing Russian twist
How to:
- Stand with your hip-width, holding a single dumbbell horizontally between both hands.
- Lift your right leg up, so it forms a 90-degree angle.
- Keeping your lower body still, twist your body to the left. Twist to the right. That’s 1 rep.
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health U.K.
