Working out at home is just as effective as working out in a gym. When you are determined to achieve those abs, nothing can stop you, not even pandemics or lockdowns. Getting a great abs workout from home can be easy. Having a strong core is an important part of building a foundation of fitness. Ab workouts can be done easily from the comfort of your home because ab workouts don’t require much equipment. You can work the upper abs and lower abs without a problem. Ab exercises are easy to do from home and a home ab workout is easy to plan. Here’s our ab workout for home.

Goals

There are numerous abs workouts for the home that you can do to reach your goal of getting your dream abs. However, regular workouts are important, but it is also important to give your body some time to recover. If you put too much strain on your body, you are likely to harm your muscles and give rise to various muscle and bone problems instead of getting those lean abs. So, always keep in mind that moderation is the key. One a the other benefits of doing ab workouts is that it helps build strength in the hip flexors. Muscles targeted should be rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and transversus abdominis.

Muscles of the core

The core muscles are a group of muscles located in the abdominal and lower back region. These muscles work together to provide stability and balance for the spine and pelvis. The rectus abdominis is a long, flat muscle that runs down the center of the abdomen. The internal obliques are situated below the rectus abdominis and run diagonally from the lower ribs to the hipbones. The external obliques are located on the sides of the abdomen and also run diagonally, but from the hipbones to the lower ribs. The transversus abdominis is a deep muscle that wraps around the entire abdominal region. These muscles work together to provide support for the spine and help to protect the organs in the abdominal cavity.

Importance of core strength

A strong core is important for any exercise program. It builds a good foundation for most workout programs. Ab muscles (core muscles) are important for stabilizing the spine which can improve performance and reduce injury. You don’t need to do a lot for a good ab workout. 10-15 minutes of exercise will do the trick. The best exercises are the ones use all the core muscles.

8 Abs Workouts for Home

Below, there are seven abs workouts that you can easily do without any equipment, at your home. For these workouts, you only need some space and sheer will. For abs workouts that actually work, you have to know that the workouts that target more than just a single section of your abdominal muscles are the best. The workouts mentioned below target your core, glutes, deltoids, latissimus dorsi, triceps, and rhomboids, with special work going towards your abs. So, get into your sports gear and work towards getting your dream abs by following these seven abs workouts for home:

Plank Hop

For plank hop abs workout for home, you need to begin with placing yourself in a high plank position, that is, the starting position. Your shoulders are supposed to be stacked above your wrists. Your hands should be right under your shoulders and your palms should lie flat on the ground. Engage your core while extending your legs and placing your feet together. As you jump forward and to your right, push your knees towards your right elbow. Keep your legs together by squeezing your quads and engaging your abs. Jump back to the starting position to jump forward to the left and bring your knees towards your left elbow. Now, jump back to the starting position again to complete one rep. Try to complete twelve reps on alternating sides. Next exercise.

Side Plank

For this abs workout, you need to lie on your right side while your right hand is stacked under your right shoulder. Now, you need to extend your legs and put your left foot on top of your right foot. Afterward, squeeze your glutes and abs to lift your hips off the ground. Once you stabilize yourself in this position, you need to extend your left hand straight towards the roof. You need to stay in this position for, at least, one minute. Stay longer if you can without putting a strain on your body. The side plank is an exercise that works the oblique muscles.  If this is to challenging try doing the side plank with the knees bent. Next exercise.

Mountain Climber

For mountain climber abs workout for home, you need to begin with a high plank, hands under your shoulders, palms flat on the ground, core engaged, shoulders stacked above your wrist, and legs extended. Bring your right knee to your chest while you keep your core tight. Go back to the starting position to bring your left knee to your chest, immediately. Now, bring your left leg back and put yourself in the starting position to complete one rep. Keep alternating sides to complete twelve reps. The mountain climber exercise not only works the core but it gets your heart rate up too. The mountain climber mainly works the lower abs. This is an exercise that gets a little cardio in your workout. Next exercise.

Forearm Plank Rock

This is one of the best ab exercises. Begin with a forearm plank while your elbows are right under your shoulders. Your arms should be parallel, your hands should face forward, and your legs extended. Engage your butt, quads, and core, and tuck your tailbone. Move your body forwards and backward, going towards your hands and past your elbows while remaining in a forearm plank position. This forward and backward movement counts as one rep. Doing a plank with a rocking motion is a great way to change things up because it allows you to think of something else while doing the plank. When starting out try rocking back and forth 10 times and repeat the set a few times. I love this exercise because it works the deep core muscles more than a lot of other exercises.

Bird Dog

For bird dogs, begin with placing yourself in a tabletop position. Stack your knees under your hips and your wrists right underneath your shoulders. Extend your left leg back and your right arm forward. Try to keep your hips in line with the ground and keep your back flat. Squeeze your abs and draw your left knee and right elbow to your chest. Repeat this motion one to two times and then, alternate the motion on your right leg and left arm.

If you want to make this exercise harder you can keep your legs straight with the without the knees bent. The benefit of doing it this way is that it works the entire upper body. This exercise will provide a stronger core and upper body. When doing this exercises keep your feet shoulder width and switch legs/arms after each rep. Make sure to keep your arms straight and slowly lower your legs and arms after each rep. With this advanced movement you will get a little lower body workout.

Lateral Plank Walk

Start a lateral plank walk with a high plank position and your palms flat on the ground. Move towards your right by moving your right foot and right arm outwards and then, follow the same movement with your left foot and left arm. As you move, maintain your high plank position and complete one rep. Move towards one direction a couple of times and then move in the opposite direction a couple of times. Adding some side to side movement to the plank makes it more challenging. You can change up the lateral plank walk by doing it on your forearms. Doing the movement on the forearm can be hard on the elbows so it’s important to use a mat. A nice side benefit of this is that it gives your upper body a little workout too.

Forearm Plank

To begin with, forearm plank is one of the best ab exercises, put your forearms on the ground with your elbows bent, arms parallel, hands facing forward, and elbows stacked right under your shoulders. Move your feet to the width of your hip and extend your legs behind you. Engage your quads, core, and butt, and tuck your tailbone. Stay in this position for some time. The forearm plank is an isometric exercise. “An isometric exercise is a form of exercise involving the static contraction of a muscle without any visible movement in the angle of the joint. The term “isometric” combines the Greek words “Isos” (equal) and “metria” (measuring), meaning that in these exercises the length of the muscle and the angle of the joint does not change, though contraction strength may be varied.” The benefit of doing an exercise this way is that it limits the chance of injury. When doing a forearm plank try to hold it for 20 seconds for a few sets building up to one minute or more. Once you improve to 3 minutes you can add more variation to the plank like lifting a leg or jumping your feet in and out. One of the best parts of the forearm plank is that it works the entire core. If doing the forearm plank is too hard try doing it with the knees bent. This exercise builds a great foundation for a strong core and is key to any ab workout.

Toe touches

This exercise is a good one for the upper abs and is simple to do. First you lie on your back and keep your legs straight. You will raise your legs up and reach up toward the toes. The shoulder blades should come off the ground for this movement. Reach up and touch your toes and slowly lower lower your shoulders to the floor. The legs should remain in a straight line while doing this movement at a 90 degree angle. If you want to work the entire core muscles touch move your hands to the opposite side after each toe touch. If you’d like to make this movement more challenging ad a weight plate or medicine ball to the exercise.

Hanging leg raise

For the hanging leg raise you will require a pull up bar. There’s a lot of pull up bars out there that fit in the doorway that are inexpensive so you the hanging leg raise can fit in your in home abs workout routine. This exercise focuses on the lower abs and is a solid home ab exercise. With this exercise you will start by hanging from the pull up bar with your legs straight. Your feet will be hanging a few inches off the ground. Now that you’re in position you will bring your knees up to a 90 degree angle in a knees bent position. This exercise works similar muscles as the reverse crunch.

You can make this exercise harder by holding a medicine ball or a dumbbell with your feet or knees. Doing this can promote strong ab muscles.

How to get washboard abs

If you want to see your six pack abs it’s important that you focus on nutrition. Getting the 6 pack abs look or seeing the rectus abdominis can’t happen unless you have a proper diet. Once you get your body fat down to about 5%-10% for a man and 14% to 20% for a woman. Things you will need to do to see your 6 pack abs is counting calories, tracking macros and eating a high quality foods. If you’re having any trouble with your goals hire a personal trainer or nutritionist to help you reach your goals. If you follow a good diet and exercise program you will see six pack abs in no time. Hopefully our home ab workouts were helpful.

If you’re interested in using a personal trainer to help you with your ab workouts from home please visit us at www.onthegofitnesspro.com to try a free personal training session. Check out our article on at-home workouts for biceps here