Looking for Good/Quick/Effective Ab Exercises
 

Hello All!

I typically do a 60 minute Tae Bo Cardio workout + walking 2-3 miles a day, but I don't have a really good ab work out. I have a belly and love handles from having 2 children and am really looking to get a toned hour glass figure back!

Thanks all!

Planks and side-planks are the best direct ab exercises IMHO. The function of the abs and obliques is to help stabilize the core so IMO doing crunches and side bends is antithetical to that function (these exercises train for movement).

You can also get a lot of ab/ob stimulation from compound exercises that consist of moving weight in a vertical direction. Exercises like weighted squats, deadlifts, overhead press, and especially the Turkish get-up (a serious ab/ob burner, among other things). In these exercises the abs/obs are actively working to stabilize the core in a practical setting, where the abs/obs are not the main focus but have to still work hard to keep you from falling over. Because the abs are not the main focus you might not even notice them being worked (until the next day, that is ;) )

If you want to eliminate your love handles / belly, though, I'd recommend also increasing your cardio (try intervals) and adding in total body weight training. See the link at the top of this thread for more help.

Good luck!

there are a ton of ab exercises out there such as hanging leg lifts, crunches, bicycles, plank, this list can go on and on. They will help strenghten your core and may build ab muscles.

A good clean diet that has you deficient is what's needed to tone your waistline and get rid of love handles. You can not spot reduce fat and the areas with the greatest amount will be the areas that hang on to it for the longest. I posted about this in another thread a while back... there is a big difference between spot building and spot reducing. You may be able to build the abd muscles by doing ab exercises but doing those ab exercises won't "target" the fat in that area.

Came here to post this, just get someone who knows how to do compound lifts to guide you and you'll get a much better figure than with just doing isolation abs ;)

True. On the days that I do dead lifts I get a serious ab workout.