If you are looking to sharpen up your abs but you don’t have the ability to take out a gym membership or you just don’t want to have to spend valuable time trying to get to that gym, there are plenty of exercises that will allow you to carve yourself out just using your very own bodyweight. While you aren’t going to be using a great amount of weight, you will be able to do the right kinds of reps in order to help reduce your body fat and then chisel out your abs.
1. Plank
This is one of the most well-known core workouts you can do. It is called what it is simply because you attempt to make your body as straight as humanly possible. You will straighten up out and try and hold the plank. You can do so either from your forearms or you can do it with your arms extended out ahead of you. Either one of them is going to help use your body weight to try and work your core but they will do so in different ways. If you are doing it from your forearms, you will be fighting gravity a bit more. If you are doing it by having your forearms extended out in front of you, it’s all about working your core by holding those arms out in front of you like the plank. You can try one and see which one you are able to do first. This is the kind of workout is one that you are going to have to work up to. You’ve probably seen that there are people that treat this as a kind of competition and you can do that as well, once you get really good at it. Holding the plank while you are stretched out over things is more than just a way to show people what you can do. You are absolutely using your body weight to work your abs when you are doing that as well.
2. Six Inches
Six Inches is one of the more popular bodyweight exercises for abs because it looks easy at first glance. It’s kind of a reverse plank, where you are laying on your back and attempting to hold your legs … six inches off the ground. The point is to hold it no more or no less than six inches off the ground, for as long as you can. Those who are starting out doing this exercise tend to note that it’s actually more difficult. Just starting out, people tend to be able to do this one for about half as long as they can do the basic plank. The one caveat with this workout is that you aren’t going to want to be doing it if you have back problems. While you are working your abs, this is also a very good one to work your lower back. As long as that isn’t a problem area to begin with.
3. Crunches
Yes, we had to put crunches on the list. Much like the plank, this is an exercise you’ve probably heard of, but it’s one that still very much works. When talking about the basic bodyweight exercises for abs people tend to forget things like crunches, mainly because they are looking for fancy workouts that people think needs to be more extensive. The crunch is quite a bit like the age-old, tried and true sit-up, only you don’t have to bring your body all the way to the ground after the “crunching” motion of your abs. This workout not only better focuses on your abs, but is quite a bit better for your back than the usual sit-up.
4. Leg Raises
Leg raises have the same basic concept as the Six Inches workout. The biggest difference here is that while your back is supposed to be flat on the ground, you aren’t holding your legs at a certain angle. Instead, this particular workout actually has your legs straight up in the air. You then try to push your pelvis up so that you are raising your lower body off the ground without pushing with your arms. This works your abs quite a bit and it’s one of those workouts that you’ll be feeling later and will be surprised just how much your are giving your abs a workout until a day or two later.
5. Bicycles
This is yet another exercise where your back is supposed to be on the ground, or at least should start with touching the ground. You are then alternating kicking out one leg with a bent leg so that your right knee is moving towards your left shoulder. Then your left knee will be moving towards your right shoulder. Do this while also attempting to do a basic crunch move with your stomach abs. The total effect is supposed to look as though you would be riding a bicycle on your back.
6. Reverse crunch
This is an exercise where your back is on the ground and you are lifting your legs in a bent manner. You then bring your legs towards your chest as opposed to bringing your chest towards your knees. That is why this is called the reverse crunch since your body is working the same kind of ab muscles, but it is doing so by moving in the reverse motion. This one does actually work your lower abs more than the middle set that is worked when talking about regular crunches.
7. Double Crunches
The same basic premise as the regular crunch and/or the reverse crunches. The thing about this one is that you are lying on your back and trying to bring both halves of your body together as you raise them. This is another one that you will need to be extra careful about if you come into the workout with back trouble. You are putting weight on your back that can be an issue.
