Five effective exercises to strengthen your abdominal muscles

    If we want to develop abdominal muscles well, we should first understand the function of abdominal muscles. The abdominal muscles include the rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques and transversus abdominis. When they contract, they allow the trunk to flex and rotate and prevent the pelvis from tilting forward. The abdominal muscles also play a very important role in the movement and stability of the lumbar spine, and can also control the movement of the pelvis and spine. Weak abdominal muscles may lead to increased anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar spine curvature, and increase the chance of low back pain.

　　Below we compare 5 types of abdominal muscles exercise movements to see which one strengthens the rectus abdominis more effectively.

　　Air boarding:

　　Lie on your back on the floor with your lower back pressed against the ground. Place your hands beside your head, arms open. Lift your legs and slowly climb onto the bicycle. Exhale, raise your upper body, touch your left knee with your right elbow, hold the position for 2 seconds, and then return. Then touch your right knee with your left elbow, hold the same for 2 seconds, and then slowly return to the starting position.

　　Exercise ball crunches:

　　Lie flat on your back on an exercise ball, with your feet flat on the ground, your hands by your head, and your arms open. Slightly draw your chin toward your chest, exhale, contract your abdominal muscles and lift your upper body to about 45 degrees, hold for 2 seconds, and then slowly return to the starting position. In order to maintain balance, the feet can be further apart. If it makes it more difficult, you can do it with your feet together.