Does anyone know of any good exercises in strengthening the lower abs? I really like hanging leg raises, but I’ve got to a point where the resistance is too light to get the benefits want from the exercise. Unfortunately, the dumbells in my gym don’t have a lot of room in them to get a good grip with my feet. I also don’t have a training partner. Are there any variations of hanging leg raises that I can do that are a lot harder, or does anyone know of a non-convention exercise that really targets the lower abs. Any help would be appreciated. Mike
Mike
I hate to tell you this but there is not such thing as a lower ab. There is a lower and upper oblique, but only Rectus Abdominus. Hanging leg raise is more of o Psoas exerise. A hanging Pelvis girdle tilt might hit your abs, but that is a high level exercise. it is much easier to do these on the floor. Push the small of your back to the floor and then try to raise your bent knees. The Rectus Abdominus will then fire because it’s job is to tilt the pelvis or torso.
Hey Mike, I got a killer one for ya. This is Kinda like the Sicilian Crunch but its a little different. Basically, you anchor your legs under something, get into a normal sit-up position holding a plate, med. ball, or dumbells in your hands, and then - this is most important for lower ab isolation- you put an elevated platform (5-8 inches or so) under your butt. Now, from the top position, take anywhere from 5-10 seconds on the eccentric portion, but make sure you do the lowest part of the descent correctly, as this is the one which really kills the lower abs. Basically, in the lowest fifth of the descent- when your head is closest to the floor- begin to arch your back a little so the your stomach comes up a little and lower yourself until your head, and ONLY YOUR HEAD, touches the floor. I stress this, as the efficacy of this exercise in terms of lower ab stress is compromised if you let anything else touch. Note that while doing this negative crunch hold the weight over your head. Then as your begin your ascent, just put the weight over your chest and burst rapidly in the concentric phase. The concentric really isn’t important in this exercise, just make sure that you do a good slow eccentric. Do sets of 6-10 reps for this (You don’t have to, but that’s what I’ve done). The first time I did this, my lower abs ruined my following day. Seriously, massive soreness. My obliques were also punished a bit. My uppers were actually pretty normal. Good luck.
I do my leg raises in the 20-30 range, tilting my pelvis up and touching the bar I am hanging from, and then slowly down. I think tempo is key cause even pros do these in this range.
An exercise that has gotten my lower ab region very sore is the pike pull-up. Basically, what you have to do is hang from a chin-up bar and hold your legs straight out from your waist (so your body forms a right angle). then start doing chin-ups or pull-ups while maintaining this leg position. The stress of maintaining the position while you are moving up and down focuses almost directly on your lower abs. For about 3 or 4 days after i did 3 sets of 8 like this, my lower ab region was very sore. Incidentally, this exercise is obviously pretty good for the upper arm flexors and back. good luck.
Since the normal “6 pack” of abs can’t really be isolated, I would recommend trying to pre-exhaust your “lower abs” by doing the bicycle maneuver on the floor until you can’t anymore, then do your leg raises and use 5 second negatives, with explosive positives. You’ll be surprised by the intensity of the contraction when using an explosive movement. FYI, the bicycle maneuver is one of the best exercises for recruiting muscle fibers from the entire rectus abdominus.
Have you tried decline leg raises. I do them with heavy shoes on and a 511 tempo.
what is the bicycle maneuvur?
With all these leg raises, make sure you are stretching your Psoas muscles. When they go to spasm, they will wreak havoc all over your body.
anyone ever tried doing back tucks? they make my abs sore every time i do them.
Bar none, the most demanding is the Dragon Flag. lying flat, raise your legs so they point directly at the ceiling, then raise your entire body, except for your shoulders so that your toes to your upper back are perpendicular to the floor and ceiling. Lower your body slowly, focusing on keeping your body as straight as you can. Do not arch your lower back, do the opposite. Good luck doing 5 negatives.
All of you thanks. I definitely have a couple new exercises to try out on my next ab day. Good training. Mike