Men aren’t alone in wanting ripped and muscular abs; there are many gals who want good ab workouts for women and search out the best exercises to use. While some ab exercises will be the same between men and women, there are still some things to keep in mind that will be different for any women wishing to have great looking abdominal muscles. So what should you keep in mind in order to get the best ab workouts for women?
Contents
The purpose of ab workouts for women
Men are often looking for incredibly ripped ab muscles, but women generally want something sleeker and leaner. Balancing this is the fact that women often don’t have enough time to go to the gym and workout regularly, particularly if the woman in question has a full time job and a family to take care of.
This means that any ab exercises have to be quick and intense and should use minimal equipment. Unlike to ab workouts for men women prefer exercises which also workout the thighs and waist rather than focusing exclusively on the abs because those are also trouble spots. This means that if you want the best ab workouts for women, you want exercises which can be done anywhere in short hard bursts (two minutes or so) and will workout both the abs and possibly the thighs and legs as well.
Finally, keep in mind that the average women is not as strong as the average male and so some abdominal exercises are going to put more stress on their bodies than the same exercises would for men. You have to be more careful as a result because you could end up hurting yourself and then there will be no more abdominal exercises at all!
The best 3 ab exercises for women
Traditional crunches
While traditional crunches aren’t always the best for men, they can be very good for women, particularly those who are new to the idea of ab workouts. Traditional crunches are simple to do; simply lie on the floor with your knees raised, hands behind your head, and then lift yourself up so that your elbows touch your knees. While this ab exercise is fairly simple, it can also be easily modified (for example, touch elbows to opposite knees, do them on a fitness ball) and you can always add more reps and sets as needed. Another popular modification is the Reverse Crunch which is done by lying on the floor and lifting your knees to your chest (not touching it) and then relaxing and repeating.
Leg raising
This is a popular ab workout for women because it targets that little bulge of fat under the belt that Never Seems to Go Away! In order to do this exercise, lie down with your hands flat under your hips (for support) and then lift your legs up and straight out about ten to twelve inches. Slowly lower both legs until they are close, but not touching, the floor and then repeat. It’s brutal to do at first, but very effective.
Scissors exercise
Start this exercise by lying down and lifting your legs alternatively so that the bottom of the feet are pointed to the ceiling and then lower you’re a leg to one side and raise the other, then repeat two to three times for ten sets. This exercise is great for working out the lower abs and for all you multi-taskers, the thighs as well.
Men are from mars, women are from venus…
While many of the ab exercises for both men and women will be the same, some things are different. Female abs shouldn’t be completely ripped like men; instead, their muscles are going to be leaner and sleeker. This means that they probably won’t be as obvious as a male’s even when the same level of work is done. This also means that there are a couple of exercises which are unique to women and the entire workout is generally done in a shorter period of time with slightly less intensity. The differences aren’t huge; generally speaking, the exercises will be the same for both men and women, but there will be a few subtle tweaks to keep in mind.
If you’re pregnant, keep in mind that you probably won’t be able to do many of these exercises from about the second or third trimester on or you’ll be putting too much stress on your back and stomach. Other considerations include the fact that women tend to be a bit more flexible, but less strong, so some exercises may be more or less practical than others. With all of this in mind, what makes some good ab workouts for women?
Conclusion
The best way to get stronger, toned abs is a combination of abdominal exercises, such as using a medicine ball to do crunches, some leg raising and some reverse crunches. Do not forget that you cannot just do the ab workout in order to get the stomach you dream of; you also have to do some cardio work in order to get rid of the layer of fat which would otherwise obscure even the tightest and strongest muscles. Ab workouts for women are generally a combination of the above exercises (modified or not) and then some cardio work to make a roughly twenty to thirty minute a day workout that can be done in and around your home for free. It takes some work, but the best ab workout for women is worth it when the woman gets the abs she dreams about.
