Forget Crunches? Try these fun moves to tone your abs

Here are some expert-suggested fun and effective moves to strengthen your abs without crunches.

By: Longjam Dineshwori | | Updated: December 4, 2020 9:22 am

Have fun while working out your abs.

Here’s is the truth: crunches aren’t always the best way to tone your abs. In fact, experts say the calorie burn from crunches is negligible because crunches target the abdominal muscles – not abdominal fat. This means doing a whole bunch of crunches can help you build muscle but won’t burn belly fat. Moreover, you may have to do several reps (30, 40 and more) to reach the challenging point to give your abs a serious workout. By that time, you’ve already wasted a whole lot of time. With high volumes of repetitive spinal flexion, you’re also putting yourself at risk of causing damage to your lumbar spine and intervertebral discs. The repetitive sit-up routine can be boring too. Also Read - Quick and effective desk exercises to reduce the stress of sitting all day

So, here are some expert-suggested fun and effective moves to strengthen your abs without crunches. Also Read - 5 easy dumbbell exercises to get flat abs during lockdown

Ball Pass

This move can help strengthen your core muscles while stretching your hamstrings and back muscles at the same time. Here’s how to do ball pass: Also Read - Get rid of your love handles with these super effective exercises

Lie on your back holding an exercise ball above your chest and legs straight up toward the ceiling.
Slowly lower your arms and legs toward the ground. Keep low back pressed into the floor.
Bring them back toward each other and transfer the ball from your hands to your legs.
Then lower your arms and legs again toward the floor.
Complete 10 to 20 reps.

Seated Russian Twist

It is a simple and effective way to tone your core, get rid of love handles, as well as strengthen your shoulders and hips.

Sit on the ground keeping your knees bent.
Lean slightly back to create a V shape with your torso and thighs. Keep your back straight.
Hold a weight just below your chest.
Using your abdominals, twist slowly to the right, then back to center, and then to the left.
This completes one rep. Do 16 full rotations.

Suitcase deadlift

The deadlift is often regarded as the king of total-body exercises as it targets multiple muscle groups in a single lift. It can also give you an excellent ab workout. Follow the steps to perform suitcase deadlift:

Place a dumbbell on the floor and stand next to it.
Squat down and grab it with your nearest hand.
Without leaning sideways, stand up
Then lower the weight back to the ground
Do an equal number of reps on each side.

Elbow Plank

Planks are one of the best ab exercises you can do to get that six-pack. The elbow plank is more challenging than the traditional plank in push-up position.

Lie on your stomach with your legs extended and your elbows and forearms on the floor.
Push off the floor so that your weight is supported on your arms and feet only. Make sure your shoulders, hips and feet form a straight line.
Hold this position as long as you can. Aim for 20-30 seconds in the beginning and gradually increase to one minute, as you get stronger.
Repeat three times.

Stability ball mountain climbers

This exercise requires a whole lot of instability to really work your abs hard. It targets the entire core and helps to improve muscular endurance.

Begin in a high plank position with your hands resting on the top of a stability ball.
Keeping your core engaged, bring your right knee forward under your chest, with the toes just off the ground.
Return to your high plank. Switch legs, bringing the left knee forward.

Note: Perform these moves for about a month and then replace them with new ab exercises. This will spice up your workout and give you maximum results. Also, choose the weights, required in some of the moves, depending on your abilities.

Published : December 3, 2020 4:00 pm | Updated:December 4, 2020 9:22 am

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