This article lists three lower abs workouts that start out easy and get more difficult. Even though hanging leg raises are the lower ab workouts that are the most effective, you should not start by doing these until after you are more prepared. Start with the first lower abs workout listed here, then go on to the others after you are doing the first one with minimal effort.
Exercise #1 – Using Bent Legs, Perform Lying Leg Raises
This is an ideal exercise for someone just starting to workout. You need to perform five sets of lying raises as you lay on the floor. It is essential to keep your legs at an angle of 90 degrees. This makes the movement shorter, which is important. You will find that these are not as difficult to do as if you kept your legs unbent.
Start by performing 5 sets comprised of 10 reps each. perform this exercise twice a week, and every week do another rep with each set up to a maximum of five sets comprised of 20 reps each. Make sure to take only a 30-second to 60-second break between sets. Do not take a longer break than this because then the workout will not be as effective.
Exercise #2 – Using Straight Legs, Perform Lying Raises, Then Perform Planks
After you can complete five sets comprised of 20 reps each of bent leg lying leg raises, move on to this exercise. You will adhere to the same routine as with the first exercise. Week one will start with 5 sets comprised of 10 reps each, and you will add reps each week until you achieve 5 sets comprised of 20 reps each. After your sets of lying leg raises, perform 2 sets of planks. Stay in the plank position for 2 minutes, take a 60-second break, and do it again.
Exercise 3 – Use a Chin Up Bar to Perform Hanging Leg Raises, Then Perform Planks
You want to ensure that you can perform exercise #2 well prior to moving on to this exercise. You should continue the routine for progression as outlined with the first two exercises. You want to gradually increase your workout to five sets comprised of 20 reps each. You might need 6 or more months to get here. After the hanging raises, perform 2 or 3 sets of planks, which you should hold for 2 minutes. You might need to perform the planks on bent legs at first to get used to them, prior to performing them on straight legs.
Hanging Leg Raises Are the Most Effective Abs Exercise Available
These exercises are unquestionably the best abs exercise you can do. These are going to target your lower abs, but they are also going to define your entire torso. No other exercise will get better results than hanging leg raises. In Paul Wade’s book, “Convict Conditioning”, it is stated that 5 sets comprised of 15 to 20 reps of hanging leg raises are what will lead to strong, well-defined ab muscles. Personally, I also use planks to get even better results than the leg raises alone.