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Ab workouts help you build strength throughout your entire body, improve your balance, and reduce your chance of injury while doing full-body movements like push-ups.

Types of Ab Workouts

There are many different ab workouts that can help you get into shape. Several of these exercises don’t need equipment and can be done from home including floor ab workouts, standing ab workouts, and easy ab workouts for the beginner. If you have access to a gym, some core exercises you can do using fitness equipment, like cable ab workouts and medicine ball workouts.

As you get started building your strong and stable core, be sure to read the safety considerations at the end of the article to ensure you gain all the benefits of your ab workout while reducing your chance of injury.

Easy ab workouts 

1. Crunch

   Step 1: Lie on your back on the floor or on an exercise mat.

   Step 2: Place your hands behind your head. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.

   Step 3: As you exhale, activate your abdominal muscles and tilt your chin slightly toward your chest.

   Step 4: Continue activating until your torso curls toward your thighs. Your shoulders should lift up but your tailbone and lower back should remain on the mat.

   Step 5: As you inhale, lower back down slowly to the floor or mat.

   Step 6: Repeat 8-10 times.

2. Half Roll Back

   Step 1: Sit up on a mat, knees bent with legs and feet hip’s width apart. Arms reach straight in front, shoulders down, and scoop abs in.

   Step 2: Curve your spine and lower your torso as far as you can keeping your feet on the mat and abs engaged.

   Step 3: Hold for 10 seconds.

   Step 4: Sit up to your beginning position.

   Step 5: Repeat 3 times.

3. All Fours / Bird Dog

   Step 1: Begin kneeling with your hands on the floor. Your knees are under your hips and hands under shoulders. Press hands into the mat to avoid sinking into shoulders and chest. Pull abs in and lengthen the neck and spine.

   Step 2: Reach your right arm forward, in line with your ear. Reach left leg back, hip height. Make sure both hips and shoulders are facing the mat.

   Step 3: Hold for one count, then lower your arm and leg down at the same time.

   Step 4: Repeat with the opposite arm and leg.

   Step 5: Continue alternating sides 4-5 times

1. Bicycle Crunches

   Step 1: Lie on your back with your legs bent 90 degrees and knees in line with your hips.

   Step 2: Place your hands behind your head, bending your elbows, which should be pointed out to the sides.

   Step 3: Activate your abs to bring your shoulders up and off the floor.

   Step 4: Bring your right elbow to your left knee and straighten your right leg. Try to keep your left leg in place.

   Step 5: Return to the basic crunch position.

   Step 6: Bring your left elbow to your right knee and straighten your left leg. Try to keep your right leg in place.

   Step 7: Alternate sides, 10 times on each side.

Perform a crunch but meet with opposite knee and elbow in the center of the movement.

1. Modified Side Plank

   Step 1: Lie on your right side on the floor or an exercise mat.

   Step 2: Stack your legs directly on top of each other.

   Step 3: Support yourself with your right arm at a 90-degree angle, raising your torso. Your shoulder should be directly in line with your elbow.

   Step 4: Keep your hips and lower knees on the mat.

   Step 5: Activate your abdominal muscles to lift your hips off the mat.

   Step 6: Keep your knees on the mat and your head in line with your spine.

   Step 7: As you inhale, lower back down to the mat.

2. Heel Taps

   Step 1: Lay on your mat, knees bent and feet on the mat. Your legs and feet are hip’s-width distance apart.

   Step 2: Keep your arms by your side as you curl your head, neck, and shoulder off the mat.

   Step 3: Without lowering back down, tap your right hand to your right heel.

   Step 4: Come back to center and tap your left hand to your left heel. This is one set.

   Step 5: Continuing alternating sides until you’ve completed 5-8 sets.

Weighted ab workouts

1. Russian Twist

   Step 1: Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you.

   Step 2: Keeping your legs together and slightly bent, lift them off the floor creating a V shape.

   Step 3: Lean back slightly and engage your core.

   Step 4: Holding a weight in your hands, bring it in front of your chest.

   Step 5: Twisting at the waist, twist to the right and then left.

   Step 6: Keep alternating sides slowly until you’ve reached a set of 10. The Russian twist can also be done with a medicine ball.

2. Renegade Row

   Step 1: Place hand weights on your mat, shoulder-width apart.

   Step 2: Holding onto the weight handles, lift your body into a plank. Weights don’t leave the mat.

   Step 3: Once you’re in a plank, brace your ab muscles. Taking the weight with you, row your right hand up to your shoulder, elbow reaching toward the ceiling.

   Step 4: Lower right hand with weight down to the mat.

   Step 5: Repeat with the left arm.

   Step 6: Alternate sides 5-8 times.

3. V Sit With Weight Pass

   Step 1: Sit up tall and slightly lean back. Feet can stay on the ground or lift off the mat. Engage your core.

   Step 2: Hold a hand weight in your right hand in front of your chest.

   Step 3: Reach the right hand out to the side. Do not move the torso and legs.

   Step 4: Bring the hand weight center and switch it to your left hand.

   Step 5: With the weight in the left hand, open to the left side.

   Step 6: Alternate sides 5-8 times.

1. Roll Up

   Step 1: Lay down, legs straight together, arms back.

   Step 2: Curl your head, neck and shoulders up.

   Step 3: Continue rolling up while reaching hamstrings into the floor and scooping abs.

   Step 4: Round upper body over legs, arms parallel to the legs.

   Step 5: Roll down and slowly lower to the beginning position.

2. Plank Toe Touch

   Step 1: Begin in a full body plank, core muscles pulled in. Hands are under your shoulders and feet are hip’s-width apart.

   Step 2: Begin lifting your hips up and reach your right hand to your left toes.

   Step 3: Lower back down to the starting plank position.

   Step 4: Lift up hips as you reach your left hand to your right toes.

   Step 5: Lower back to starting plank position.

   Step 6: Alternate 8-10 times on each side.

3. Toe Reach

   Step 1: Lay on the mat and reach your legs straight up to the ceiling. Keep your legs together and your spine pressed into the mat.

   Step 2: Reach your arms toward your toes.

   Step 3: Pull the abs in as you curl your head, neck, and shoulders off the mat.

   Step 4: Pulse the upper body up, reaching hands to toes and keeping the movement small.

   Step 5: Without lowering the head, neck, and shoulders all the way down, keep pulsing up 10-12 times.