6 Great Stomach Training Exercises that don’t require any equipment
There are many types of exercises you can perform to get your stomach in shape. The great thing about stomach training is that it mostly doesn’t require any specialized equipment to do. In this article, we’ll be diving right into some of the best exercises for a flatter, more toned and strengthened stomach.
Planking
For this particular workout, all you need to do is lie on a flat surface. Planking will require you to lie on your stomach, so it would be great if you get a soft mat ready to support your knees. Gently raise your upper section using your arms until your elbows are at a 90 degrees angle and are right below the shoulders. Now, slowly raise your body from the ground and support it on your toes, while your upper section remains balanced by the elbows. At this point, your body should be perfectly symmetrical. Maintain this position for about half a minute, and then lower your upper section to the floor. Just one rep will do.
Side Planks
This exercise is very similar to the planking exercise and it begins from the same position. After you’ve positioned yourself correctly, roll over to one side, maintaining your torso supported by your free forearm. Then, elevate your hips and roll your feet until your left foot is resting on the right. When you do a side plank your body will be symmetrical like in regular planking but justified to one side. Lastly, put one hand on your hip region and maintain the position from anywhere between 5 – 10 seconds. You may do a few reps by turning over to the other side.
Ball roll workout
In case you’re wondering if you’ll need an actual exercise ball to do the ball roll, worry no more, because in the ball roll workout, you’re the ‘ball’. To do the ball roll, all you need to do is sit on the ground and use your arms to ‘hug’ your knees close to your chest. Go back a bit so that you balance your body on your tailbone and both feet are off the ground with your toes pointing down. Then pull in your stomach while turning on your lower back and the upper side of your butt.
The last step is to compress your abdomen and draw your body back to the initial position. If you’re having trouble with this exercise you could also open up your arms to make you feel more comfortable before you do it the normal way. The ball roll is an excellent full-body workout that helps to strengthen your core muscles and keep your frame perfectly aligned. It’s also a great flexibility exercise that any athlete can do regardless of their sports discipline.
Standing cross-over workout
As the title suggests, you’ll need to get up for this one. This stomach exercise is a very simple, yet effective exercise that you can do at home; it requires no special equipment to do. To do the standing crossover, stand with both feet a few inches apart, then stretch your arms out to your sides and bend your elbows until they reach a 90-degree angle with your fingers pointing straight up. Now pull in your stomach and raise your right knee to reach your left elbow while taking your left elbow down to your right knee. The two joints should contact each other. Repeat the exercise by doing it on your other side and for a new set.
Lower stomach workouts
Another very important type of stomach training exercise is the lower stomach exercise. Often times, athletes ignore these exercises simply because they feel they are stressful and uncomfortable to do; but that’s simply not the case. I’ll be walking you through the basics of lower stomach exercises for this section.
One important step for getting the best out of your lower stomach workouts is learning how to isolate the particular muscles you want to train within the general stomach muscle group. There are a number of stomach workout techniques that focus on certain muscles; for instance your abs. They are mostly pretty intense workouts to do, so be sure to consult your sports physician before starting your regimen, and ensure that you’re properly warmed up to avoid straining cold muscles because that could lead to an injury.
A few lower stomach workouts for getting a stronger stomach:
The ‘Crunchless’ Crunch
This lower stomach workout seems quite simple to do but it could be very tricky. Basically what you’re trying to do here is to pull in your stomach to your spine. This could seem tricky at first because you’re trying to utilize only a certain set of stomach muscles which you’ve probably not done before.
Firstly, kneel or lie on your stomach, depending on which you feel more comfortable doing. Try to stay as relaxed as possible, and then focus on controlling your lower stomach muscles by drawing them toward your spine. When you’ve done this successfully, maintain that position for about 10 seconds or more. Maintain that contraction until you feel your stomach muscles working very hard and really beginning to get tense. Then release the contraction. You should repeat this 2-3 times per workout session or as many times as required.
Touching your Toes
To do this exercise, you need to lie on a flat surface using a towel or mat to support your spine. Lie on your back and raise your feet up in the air. Stretch your right hand and use your lower abdomen to raise your shoulders from the ground. Use your right hand to touch your left toe, and your left hand to touch your right toe, and then lower your back to the ground. Keep alternating between toe-touching like this as many times as you can. Can you feel the tension in your lower stomach? Remember to always keep your knees straight while doing toe touches and make sure your chin is not touching your chest while you do it.
Last words
The stomach exercises explained above help to keep the tummy region trim and strong. Many people use these exercises to burn off excess body fat and get in shape for sports. Moreover, a flat tummy is considered by many to be the holy grail of personal fitness because it helps them to look and feel fit and active at all times.
