Finally! A flat sexy stomach: A complete abdominal workout for women at home or on the move

The Muscles: An Overview

Comprised of four main muscle groups, your abdominal muscles or “abs” are the muscles located between the ribs and the pelvis on the front of the body.

Imagine going into a dressing room or walking by a mirror and NOT having to suck your stomach in just to look at yourself. It is possible. Millions of people do it every day and you too can be one of those lucky ones. A good healthy diet and plenty of cardio work are essential in achieving this, as well as genetics. But, don’t get frustrated, with a little work; you too can have a flat, sexy, no bathing suit cover-up required abs.


The four main abdominal muscles are:

• Transversus abdominus – the deepest muscle layer. Its main roles are to stabilize the trunk and maintain internal abdominal pressure.

• Rectus abdominus – slung between the ribs and the pubic bone at the front of the pelvis. The main function of these muscles is to move the body between the ribcage and the pelvis.

• External oblique muscles – these are on each side of the rectus abdominus. These muscles allow the trunk to twist, but to the opposite side of whichever external oblique is contracting. For example, the right external oblique contracts to turn the body to the left.

• Internal oblique muscles – these flank the rectus abdominus and are located just inside the hipbones. They operate in the opposite of the external oblique muscles. For example, twisting the trunk to the left requires the left side internal oblique and the right side external oblique to contract together.

Besides supporting your trunk, allowing movement and holding organs in place by regulating internal abdominal pressure, your abs play a key role in breathing, posture and overall appearance.

The Workout

The following workout requires minimal equipment and can be done in the comfort of your own home. Or, take this sheet with you when you travel and you’ll be sure to stay fit no matter where you find yourself.

Warm Up

Before you start any type of muscle-building routine be sure to warm up. Warm muscles respond better to exercise and a warm up will also help prevent any injuries. Spend about 5-10 minutes jumping rope, climbing the stairs, doing star jumps or jogging in place. Or if you’re feeling frisky, turn on some music and get moving.

Now that you’re warm, let’s get started

Basic Crunch

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

• Place your fingertips to the side of your head just behind your ears. Push your lower back into the floor flattening the arch and hold.

• Curl up slowly so both your shoulders lift off the floor a few inches.

• Hold for a count of 2 and return to the start position.

• Continue doing reps until fatigued (you cannot perform a full repetition with good form).

Tip: Don't clasp your fingers behind your head and don’t tuck your chin to your chest, keep your head up.

Reverse Crunch

• Lie on the floor on your back with your knees bent and your upper legs at a 90° angle with your torso.

• Use your ab muscles to pull your knees toward your chest until they reach your elbows. Do not swing your legs.

• Hold the crunch position for three seconds and return to the starting position.

• Continue doing reps until fatigued (you cannot perform a full repetition with good form).

Side Crunch

• Lie on the floor on your right side. You can support yourself by pressing the soles of your feet against the bottom of a wall.

• Place your hands by your ears, and contract your left oblique muscles, lifting your torso up as far as you can. Hold for three seconds and release.

• Continue doing reps until fatigued (you cannot perform a full repetition with good form).

Jackknife

• Lie on the floor on your back and extend your arms above your head.

• Simultaneously lift your arms and legs toward the ceiling, until your fingertips touch your toes (if you can). Do not swing your legs.

• Slowly return to the starting position.

• Continue doing reps until fatigued (you cannot perform a full repetition with good form).

Windshield Wipers

• Lie on the floor on your back with your arms in the "T" position for stability.

• Lift your legs so that they are perpendicular to the floor and rotate your hips, keeping them in contact with the floor, so that your legs move from left to right, in a "windshield wiper" motion. Make sure to move in a slow and controlled manner.

• Continue doing reps until fatigued (you cannot perform a full repetition with good form).

Work towards completing 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps of each exercise. Don’t rush through the movements; make sure you are doing them with good form. Remember, speed doesn’t count, form does! Once you can easily complete 2-3 sets, add more repetitions.

Stretching

After you’ve worked your muscles, it’s important to stretch them. Stretching after strength training is imperative to help prevent injury and for the muscles to recover quicker. Plus, it feels good.

The Cobra Stretch

The nice thing about this stretch, besides feeling great after working your abs, is that is not only stretches but also lengthens and relaxes the front of your abdomen.

• Lie with your stomach on your mat and your legs extended behind you. Place your palms on the floor under your shoulders.

• Exhale as you push your nose forward slightly and then press into your palms to pull your chest forward and up, arching your back.

• Feel your chest open and your ribs lengthen away from your hips as you lift your head and shoulders, creating a long arch in your back.

• You should feel no pinching in your spine. If you do, you haven't created enough length by pulling forward as you lift. Hold for four breaths, lower, and repeat one time.

Remember that rest is an important component to any exercise regime. You must allow your muscles to recover to see the results you desire, and that goes for your abdominals as well. So unless you are doing upper abdominals one day and lower the next, you are better off training your abdominals for no more than 20 minutes at a time, 3 times per week on alternating days, as in Mon/Wed/Fri or every other day at the most.