You want to have toned abdominal muscles? Then you need to do the most effective abdominal exercises for women.
We all dream of a beautifully trained belly. But let's be realistic: A survey has shown that for 80% of all German women the belly is the number 1 problem zone.
Unfortunately, along with the buttocks and thighs, the abdomen is particularly prone to fat deposits.
Especially when we do little sports and food is one of our biggest hobbies :)
But that's over now. So, not with food, but with a little sport. With the right exercises, you'll quickly get back into shape.
Table of contents
The main rules for effective abdominal training for women
The poster child for physical fitness par excellence are visible straight abdominal muscles. Most effective abdominal exercises for women do not have to have a six-pack as a goal. For us women, abdominal training is much more about a defined middle.
If you want your ab workout to be really effective, you need to follow a few rules.
So you can finally burn your belly fat!
1. don't forget to warm up and cool down
Whether it's ab workouts, butt exercises, or leg exercises, you should never miss out on warming up and warming down!
At the warm up you prepare your body and mind for the workout. Your muscles warm up, you get your circulation going, your heart rate rises and you're ready to really get going. A typical warm-up exercise is the jumping jack.
For abdominal exercises you need to warm up well for at least 5 minutes!
Most effective abdominal exercises work the muscles very hard. The muscles burn. You can hardly move and lie there like a shrimp. But still, you should invest a few minutes now.
This will help your heart rate to come back down and stretch your abdominal muscles slightly. Burning and trembling disappear and your face color returns to normal :)
The best stretch we tell you right after the abdominal exercises for women.
2. take small breaks during the abdominal workout
During the rounds and after each exercise, be sure to take a short breather. In this break, your abdominal muscles briefly recover from the workout and you can catch your breath.
The pauses are between 15 and 30 seconds long, depending on the fitness level.
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3. do not forget to breathe
This may sound a bit strange. Nevertheless, it is the case that, especially in the case of really violent Bodyweight exercises likes to hold its breath. But that is not a good idea.
It is much better to try to continue breathing calmly and constantly. This makes many abdominal exercises easier.
4. watch your cross
If you have very weak abdominal and back muscles, you may develop a hollow back during certain exercises.
You can avoid this by tightening your buttocks, pushing your hips forward and pulling in your belly button. Keep this tension throughout the exercise.
5. perform the exercises slowly
Instead of doing 30 reps at full speed, take it down a notch. Always do exercises slowly for effective abdominal training! This is the only way to really do something good for your body.
The biggest mistake many make in abdominal training is that they don't tense the core.
6. do not forget about the back
A beautifully trained abdomen always has a strong counterpart. In this case it is the back. If you train only the abdomen, you can get bad posture and pain.
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7. give the abdominal muscles a rest
Breaks after and during the sessions are very important. Our muscles need time to regenerate. And this can take between 48 and 72 hours, depending on the muscle.
What this means for you: Don't do abdominal exercises every day, alternate the muscle parts. On the 2nd day you could go running and on the 3rd a unit Butt exercises insert. Then on the 4th day you'll be ready for the abdominals again.
8. variety brings it
When you do effective abdominal training, variety is important. The body quickly gets used to the load.
This means for you: Vary the abdominal exercises regularly. Perform other exercises - so you can target as many muscle fibers as possible at the same time.
9. sweat it out
To burn body fat, you need to work up a sweat. Even if it's hard for you after a long day at work. Now it's time to sweat! Only those who go to their limits burn a lot of calories. Attention: Go to your limits but not beyond!
10. start gently with abdominal training
If you are a total beginner, you should first try to strengthen your core muscles with strengthen simple body weight exercises. These include squats and especially planks. Once you have built up the first abdominal muscles, you can further strengthen the muscles with special abdominal exercises.
Most effective abdominal exercises for women - 19 exercises for abdominal training
There are simple exercises that are made for beginners. These are presented at the very beginning of the workout.
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1. sit ups
Oh yes, the beloved sit ups. We just can't get around them. :)
You train: the straight abdominal muscles
- Lie on your back and bend your legs.
- The hands are on the back of the head.
- Lift the upper body slowly (!) and without momentum (!) from the floor. Work with the strength of your abdominal muscles!
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2. hip rolls for the lateral abdominal muscles.
To be able to train lateral abdominal muscles, exercises that are associated with a rotation are ideal.
You train: the lateral abdominal muscles
- Stretch your legs in the air. You can either have your hands parallel to your body or stretch them away.
- Tighten the abdominal muscles.
- Now tilt the legs very slowly to the right side.
- Then bring it back to the starting position and tilt it to the left.
3. abdominal training for beginners
Grab a light weight. Clamp it between your knees and you're ready to go. A bottle of water is enough for this. Especially as an abdominal muscle training beginner you should not overdo it!
You train: The straight abdominal muscles
- Sit down on the mat. Place your hands behind your body and raise your legs bent.
- The bottle is stuck between the knees.
- Lean back and stretch your legs forward. Squeeze the bottle tightly with your legs.
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4. leg lift in sitting position
Looks super fun and easy huh? It's not that easy after all.
You train: the straight abdominal muscles
- Sit on the mat and lean your upper body back slightly.
- If you put your hands to your sides, it will help with balance.
- Now very slowly lift your right leg as high as you can. It must always be stretched.
- Lower it again without putting it down and lift it one more time. Do the repetition as many times as you can before changing legs.
5. folding knife
Now it's getting a little more strenuous! The jackknife is one of the abdominal exercises for home, which is more suitable for advanced users.
You train: The straight abdominal muscles
- Lie flat on the mat. Stretch your legs through. And give the arms stretched behind the head.
- Raise your arms and legs slightly off the floor. Inhale.
- As you exhale, lift your upper body and legs. Bring the arms forward - as in the photo.
- Slowly lower your legs and upper body until your back touches the floor again. Do not put down head and legs!
- And back up to the position as in the picture.
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6. reverse crunch for beginners
This exercise is perfect for you if you are looking for the most effective abdominal exercises and you are just starting to work out.
You train: the straight abdominal muscles
- Lie on your back. Your hands are parallel to your body.
- Raise the legs from the floor at right angles. The knees point to the ceiling.
- Lift your pelvis off the floor and pull your legs towards your chest.
- Attention: The 90° angle of the legs remains!
7. reverse crunch advanced
Unlike the reverse crunches for beginners, now you also lift your upper body off the floor.
You train: the straight abdominal muscles
- You lie on your back. Place your hands on the back of your head. Push your elbows to the side as far as you can.
- Angle the legs and lift them off the floor so that the thighs point upright.
- Exhale while lifting your chest off the floor.
- Bring the knees towards the forehead in a controlled manner.
- Lower the legs and chest back to the starting position.
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8. lateral sit ups
With sit ups you can strengthen not only the straight abdominal muscles. With a small variation you train the lateral abdominal muscles.
You train: the lateral and straight abdominal muscles
- Lie down on the mat and bend your legs.
- Lift the upper body from the floor and try to get to the right shoe with the right hand.
- Lower the upper body again and now touch the left shoe with the left hand.
9. side crunches with crossed legs
You train: The lateral and straight abdominal muscles
- Angle the legs. Place the left foot just under the right knee.
- The arms are on the back of the head.
- Lift your upper body off the exercise mat. So that the right elbow touches the left knee.
- And lower again. First do the crunches on the right side and switch to the left side.
If this is too easy for you, you can lift both legs off the floor while doing this.
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10. bicycle crunches for beginners
If you are a beginner looking for the most effective ab exercises, you can also simplify many exercises a little. This makes it a little easier, especially at the beginning. Perfect for the first 2-3 training sessions.
You train: the straight abdominal muscles
- Lie on your back with your hands parallel to your body.
- Put both legs in the air.
- Now start cycling. To do this, stretch and bend your legs alternately.
- Both legs are in the air throughout.
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11. advanced Bicycle Crunch
Now it gets harder. This home ab exercise is not suitable for beginners.
You train: the lateral and straight abdominal muscles
- Place your hands on the back of your head.
- Lift your legs off the floor.
- Pull the right leg to the left elbow. For this you also lift the upper body off the mat.
- Tip the elbow and knee briefly, then switch sides.
12. the scissors
The scissors is a very good exercise for those who are just getting into abdominal training.
You train: the straight abdominal muscles
- You start lying on your back. Hands parallel to the floor.
- Put both legs in the air. Begin to move the legs against each other in a scissor-like motion.
- Make sure that your back touches the floor. And that you do not form a hollow back!
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13. leg lift lying down
You train: the straight abdominal muscles
The prone leg raise is an abdominal exercise that many beginners fail. Although the exercise looks simple, you need some abdominal muscles for it.
- You start lying on your back. The hands are parallel to the body.
- Now lift your legs very slowly and tucked.
- And slowly lower again.
Make sure that you do not form a hollow back. It's easier if you put your hands under your buttocks.
14. lateral planks for beginners
If you want to do something for the lateral abdominal muscles, it is best to use planks. But not normal forearm support, but one-armed and lateral.
You train: The lateral abdominal muscles
- Your elbow is under your shoulder.
- Lift your hips off the mat until your body forms a straight line.
15. advanced lateral planks
If you are already a bit more confident, you can of course make simple lateral planks more difficult. Very important: body tension!
- In contrast to the simple lateral planks, you now lift the upper leg stretched into the air.
- Raise it as high as you can. Hold the tension a little and then lower the leg again.
- Do as many repetitions as possible - without sagging.
16. stretch and tighten legs
For this exercise, grab a table, a bench or an armchair. In an emergency, a sofa will do as well.
You train: The straight abdominal muscles
- Sit at the edge of the table.
- Lean the upper body slightly back and raise the legs.
- Hold on with your hands.
- Angle your legs, slowly pull them towards your chest and then stretch them straight forward.
17. climber as abdominal exercise
The mountain climber is a typical full-body exercise. You work the buttocks, arms and abdomen.
You train: The straight abdominal muscles
- Place your hands under your shoulders.
- Alternately pull the left and right leg to the chest.
- You are allowed to step on the gas and work up a sweat during this exercise.
18. diagonal plank
Quite a bit of balance is required for this Plank variation.
You train: the straight and lateral abdominal muscles
- Start in the full plank position. The hands are under the shoulders and the back is straight.
- Stretch the left arm and the right leg.
- Hold the position briefly and then switch leg and arm.
Make sure your back is straight and you tighten your stomach!
19. planks and knees tighten for the abdominal muscles
Plank variations of all kinds are perfect for abdominal training. In addition to the abdomen, they train the entire body.
You train: The straight and lateral abdominal muscles
- You start with a normal plank. Make sure your body forms a line and you keep the tension nice.
- Now alternately pull the right and left knee to the elbow.
- Tighten the abdomen so that it does not sag and you fall into the hollow back.
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Why women should do most effective abdominal exercises
Yes, such a tight belly is quite sexy. But it's not just about the look. Effective abdominal exercises are the basis of your fitness.
- Without a trained abdominal musculature you can Do not lift heavy weights, do not do push-ups and no kettlebell exercises perform.
- A toned and flat stomach is not only beautiful, but also healthy. When you look at most effective abdominal exercises you relieve your back. Not for nothing, you have to for back pain also the abdominal muscles strengthen.
- Together with the back muscles, the muscles in the abdomen stabilize the spine. This ensures a nice upright posture, can prevent back pain and protects the internal organs.
- A trained torso relieves the joints during jogging
To make your abdomen sexy defined and no more back pain, we show you effective abdominal workouts for women. And ones that you can easily do in your living room. You don't need a gym for a toned midsection.
With these exercises for the abdomen nothing will stand in the way of your slim waist.
As you can see, the most effective abdominal exercises are worthwhile for both women and men!
How to make your abs visible
The lower the body fat percentage, the more clearly the abdominal muscles are visible. For us women, the first contours of the abdominal muscles appear at a body fat percentage of 18-20%.
Yes, we women have it hard. Our body fat percentage is naturally much higher than any of the men. For the same result, we have to work out and exert ourselves much more. We have to go extra hard and with effective abdominal exercises for women.
In order for us to lower the body fat percentage, the basal metabolic rate must be increased and the calorie intake adjusted.
Almost 75% of your training success in abdominal exercises for women is due to nutrition. In the long term, only a Switch to a healthy diet help. But that does not mean very low calorie and low carb! With too low calorie diet and too little carbohydrates you do not get strong muscles. That is: Healthy carbohydrates, lots of protein and no convenience foods!
Tip: Try the Shape Shake from Foodspring. It provides sufficient protein, helps to lose weight and build muscle.
The most effective way to increase your basal metabolic rate is through an intense full-body workout.
Why effective abdominal training alone does not work
If you think that by doing the most effective abdominal exercises for women you will get a toned stomach, we have to disappoint you. Because this is one of the biggest myths around the flat stomach.
You can do thousands of sit ups and crunches. This is an effective abdominal workout that shapes great abdominal muscles. But you won't get a flat stomach from it. Just because you're building muscle doesn't mean you'll melt the fat.
So doing sit ups doesn't help you get rid of body fat. They help you build muscle. But in order to see them, you first have to get rid of the excess fat. As long as fat lies over the six-pack, it will be nothing with the flat stomach.
This is also what many studies say. In one study, 24 participants had to spend 6 weeks exercise their abdominal muscles 5 times a week for a long time. The study showed that none of the participants burned abdominal fat as a result.
Nutrition and whole-body training play a major role in this.
Tips that will help you melt belly fat
These tips are only a very small excerpt from our "41 tips for the flat stomach".
- Drink a lot! Water and unsweetened teas. The stimulates the metabolism and prevents you from Constantly hungry have.
- Eat lots of vegetables. The fiber in vegetables keeps you full for a long time. In addition, vegetables provide us with many healthy nutrients.
- Plan 2x per week additional cardio sessions. Suitable for this High Intensity Interval Training or run, Cycling and swim particularly well.
- Eat plenty of fruit but keep the vegetable content higher. Sweet fruits contain a lot of fructose. Do not overdo it! Rather reach for carrot, cucumber, bell bell pepper or other low calorie food.
- Don't give up fats. At least not healthy fats. The body needs fats to keep the hormone balance and thus the fat metabolism constant. You can find healthy fats in avocados, nuts, fish and cold-pressed vegetable oils such as linseed oil or nut oil.
The anatomy of the abdominal muscles
The fact is that everyone has abdominal muscles. Even when you can't see them.
Our abdomen consists of three muscle groups:
- the front straight abdominal muscles
- the lateral abdominal muscles
- and the posterior deep abdominal muscles.
Visually, the anterior abdominal muscles are the focus. This muscle runs in two strands from the sternum to the pubis. In the middle, the anterior abdominal muscle is separated by the linea alba. Its role is to provide an upright posture. It also stabilizes our trunk and pelvis.
When someone has a six-pack, it looks as if it consists of several small muscles. The transverse intermediate tendons are responsible for this optical illusion.
This is also the reason why there are actually no upper and lower abs.
The lateral abdominal muscles are located on the outside of the ribs. They run diagonally to the pelvis and are support for the front abdominal muscles. The lateral muscles help us to bend the trunk, lift the pelvis and stabilize the spine.
And then there are the rear abdominal muscles. They provide stability to the ribs and flex the hips. The posterior muscles are involved in breathing and help us push out of the abdomen.
Our conclusion
The most effective abdominal exercises will help you achieve a flat stomach if you also change your diet and first get rid of body fat. Here, typical abdominal training can not help you. First you have to get rid of the flab :)
However, abdominal exercises should still become part of your daily training routine. Supplement them with cardio training and start eating a healthy and balanced diet. Then nothing will stand in the way of your flat stomach!
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