How to Exercise Your Abs Standing Up
Use twisting exercises to work your obliques., Improve your balance with the standing warrior., Combine squats with knee crunches., Do lunges with rotation.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Use twisting exercises to work your obliques.
Ab exercises that include a twist or cross component will work your entire core, but are especially helpful at working the obliques that run along the sides of your abs.For example, you can try side-to-side waist twists.
Hold your arms close to your body with your elbows bent.
Slowly turn your shoulders to the right while keeping your hips forward.
Turn as far as you can comfortably, hold, then return to center.
Repeat on your other side.
You can combine a twist into common exercises such as high knees to work out your entire midsection.
Do this similarly to the way you did the bicycle, using the opposite hand to reach for your foot.
Alternate right hand to left foot and left hand to right foot. -
Step 2: Improve your balance with the standing warrior.
The standing warrior is an exercise adapted from yoga's warrior pose.
Not only does it build and engage your core, it helps you increase your stability and sense of balance.From a standing position, raise your right knee until it is about hip height in front of you.
Then extend your right leg behind you as you reach forward.
Reach your arms out straight ahead to help you balance.
This should be one fluid motion.
Hold your leg behind you for a second, then bring it back down to standing position and pause again before repeating the exercise.
Do 10 repetitions on each side. , Combining a squat with a knee crunch or a twisting motion will make your body weight exercises more dynamic while working out your entire midsection and your legs.To do a squat into an oblique knee crunch, start by doing a squat with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
Keep your hands over your head and your back neutral.
Go into a squat, then press through your heels to come to a full standing position.
As you stand, raise one knee up and to the side, crunching your elbow down to meet your knee.
Then bring your knee down and go right into a squat.
When you come up the next time, raise your opposite knee and crunch your elbow towards it.
This is one repetition.
If you want to add a cardio element to this exercise, do the movement as fast as you can for 30 seconds while still maintaining good form.
You also get a good ab workout simply by doing the exercise at a slower pace.
Try to do four or five sets of 8 to 10 repetitions each. , Lunges with rotation will work out your core, especially your obliques, as well as your glutes.
Make sure you are rotating your body with your abs, not with your back for this exercise to work.For this exercise, you're going to start with a regular lunge.
When you lunge forward, rotate your upper body and reach with your hands to the outside of your forward knee.
You can add weight to this exercise if you want to increase resistance and make it a more intense strength-training exercise.
Build up muscle memory by performing this exercise with your body weight.
Once you're comfortable with it, add dumbbells for greater resistance. -
Step 3: Combine squats with knee crunches.
-
Step 4: Do lunges with rotation.
Detailed Guide
Ab exercises that include a twist or cross component will work your entire core, but are especially helpful at working the obliques that run along the sides of your abs.For example, you can try side-to-side waist twists.
Hold your arms close to your body with your elbows bent.
Slowly turn your shoulders to the right while keeping your hips forward.
Turn as far as you can comfortably, hold, then return to center.
Repeat on your other side.
You can combine a twist into common exercises such as high knees to work out your entire midsection.
Do this similarly to the way you did the bicycle, using the opposite hand to reach for your foot.
Alternate right hand to left foot and left hand to right foot.
The standing warrior is an exercise adapted from yoga's warrior pose.
Not only does it build and engage your core, it helps you increase your stability and sense of balance.From a standing position, raise your right knee until it is about hip height in front of you.
Then extend your right leg behind you as you reach forward.
Reach your arms out straight ahead to help you balance.
This should be one fluid motion.
Hold your leg behind you for a second, then bring it back down to standing position and pause again before repeating the exercise.
Do 10 repetitions on each side. , Combining a squat with a knee crunch or a twisting motion will make your body weight exercises more dynamic while working out your entire midsection and your legs.To do a squat into an oblique knee crunch, start by doing a squat with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
Keep your hands over your head and your back neutral.
Go into a squat, then press through your heels to come to a full standing position.
As you stand, raise one knee up and to the side, crunching your elbow down to meet your knee.
Then bring your knee down and go right into a squat.
When you come up the next time, raise your opposite knee and crunch your elbow towards it.
This is one repetition.
If you want to add a cardio element to this exercise, do the movement as fast as you can for 30 seconds while still maintaining good form.
You also get a good ab workout simply by doing the exercise at a slower pace.
Try to do four or five sets of 8 to 10 repetitions each. , Lunges with rotation will work out your core, especially your obliques, as well as your glutes.
Make sure you are rotating your body with your abs, not with your back for this exercise to work.For this exercise, you're going to start with a regular lunge.
When you lunge forward, rotate your upper body and reach with your hands to the outside of your forward knee.
You can add weight to this exercise if you want to increase resistance and make it a more intense strength-training exercise.
Build up muscle memory by performing this exercise with your body weight.
Once you're comfortable with it, add dumbbells for greater resistance.
About the Author
Kathleen Alvarez
Specializes in breaking down complex cooking topics into simple steps.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: