The Only Home Ab Exercise You Need – The Leg Raise
You don’t need a gym to get great abs. You don’t even need crunches or planks. This is the only abdominal exercise you need to try, the leg raise.
You don’t need a six-pack, all you need is a functional set of muscles that help you move through life with more ease. Keep reading to find out the importance of abdominal training, and how this one exercise is a complete game changer.
The Importance of Ab Training
So, if you don’t want a six-pack and are not looking to build much more strength, why train your abs? Your abdominal muscles are the muscles around your torso. They consist of the rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques and transversus abdominis.
These muscles help connect the trunk to the pelvis smoothly and allow movement. They stabilize the body, hold organs in place, and regulate abdominal pressure.
In essence, we need strong abdominal muscles to move comfortably in our everyday life. A common cause of low back pain is due to weak abs. If your abs are weak then the back muscles that are usually just used for balance and stability have to engage during activity that requires strength such as picking something up off the ground. A strong abdominal wall means less pressure on the back. You don’t need a six-pack, all you need are functional muscles that help you live well.
Best Ab Exercise You Need to Try – The Leg Raise
If you want to train your abs but don’t have access to equipment, here is one of the best exercises you can do. The leg raise is a form of calisthenics, meaning this is an exercise that uses your own body weight to build up strength. This is a great exercise because it engages many parts of the abdominal muscle. It engages the core muscles such as the rectus abdominis, and the internal and external obliques. This is an exercise that also helps to strengthen the lower back, work the hip flexors, and tone the inner thighs. Leg races are a great way to build strong abdominal muscles from the comfort of your own home. Strengthening the apps can also help you increase stability, and balance, and prevent future injury. Learn what a leg raise is, how to do it safely, and variations you can use to make it easier or harder.
How to
Here is exactly how you do a standard leg raise workout or leg lifts. First, sit down on the ground then lay your back flat on a mat. From this position, stretch your legs completely in front of you. You should be lying completely flat and straight. Now, engage your abs by drawing your belly button in towards your spine, keep your legs straight but start to raise both of your feet up towards the ceiling. You should be lying down with your back flat on the ground and your feet up towards the ceiling, legs still straight. Next, slowly lower your legs and feet down until your body is straight again.
To make this exercise harder, during your set, do not let your legs collapse onto the ground. Let them hover slightly above the ground before raising them up again towards the ceiling for another repetition. Do this about 8 to 12 times per set. Try to get two to four sets in all.
Variations of The Leg Raise
So, looking for us, if this is too difficult, there are variations to make this app workout easier. Plus, if this ab workout is a bit too easy, there are ways to make this harder.
Easier
To make the leg raise an easier exercise, all you have to do is bend your knees. If you bend your knees without focusing on keeping your legs straight, the exercise becomes a lot easier. You can also place your hand underneath your glutes in order to help support your abs a bit more.
Another way to modify this workout is to raise one leg at a time. This may feel more comfortable for individuals who do not have the strength to safely lift both legs. Remember, you should mostly be using your abdominal muscles, as using your lower back for strength may lead to injury. Again, even if you’re lifting one leg, you can still place your hands underneath your glutes to offer more stability and protect the lower back.
Lastly, if needed, try holding onto something or someone as shown below. This can help stabilize your body while you work your abs.
Harder
To make the leg raise harder, you will want to hold at the top of the exercise. When your feet are facing pointing to the ceiling, hold this before lowering your legs towards the ground. You can also add a backward crunch at the top. When you raise your legs and start to point your feet towards the ceiling, include a thrust upwards towards the ceiling. This should crunch the lower abs very well. Another way to make this more challenging is to do it standing up. All you need to do is sit down on a chair with arms. Use the arms of the chair to raise your glutes up so that you are hovering above the chair using your arms. Then, straighten your legs out in an L formation. This is known as an l-sit.
The Takeaway
The leg raise is one of the best exercises for your abdominal muscles. This is because it uses all parts of your abdomen, as well as the stabilizers in your lower back. This exercise even engages the glutes to fuel a backward crunch motion. This is a type of calisthenic workout, meaning it uses your own body weight in order to build strength. We need a strong abdominal wall to move more easily through life and decrease our risk of injury.
Remember that health comes from within. Eat nutrient-dense food, move your body, and care for your mental health. Daily habits are the building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical health. As shown above, take care of your gut health! Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.
