The Best Lower Ab Workout For Women! This workout can be scaled from beginner (and postpartum-friendly!) to advanced, meaning it’s a great challenge for all fitness levels. Plus, I’m including cues specifically for new moms trying to regain core strength after having babies. Tone your lower belly using just your bodyweight with this guided, 10 minute lower ab workout video.

Jump To Lower Ab Workout Instructions

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AB WORKOUTS are always highly requested around here. But more specifically you’ve been requesting lower abs exercises.

I’m constantly asked how to target the lower abs, especially from new moms trying to rebuild core strength after having babies. 

Some of the most common questions I get about toning the abs include:

• What is the best lower ab workout?
• How do you get rid of lower belly pooch?
• How do you work your lower abs?

So I combined 10 of the best lower abs exercises into a quick and challenging lower ab workout!

How to Engage Your Core To ACTUALLY Work Your Abs:

Toning the rectus abdominis (aka 6-pack abs) and lower abs tend to be a common training goal. While spot reduction doesn’t work (The American Council On Exercise), strengthening the deep, transverse abdominal core muscles has many benefits.

But here’s the tricky part about core workouts — it’s easy for your other (larger, and often stronger) muscle groups to ‘take over’ the work. That’s why you may feel different ab exercises in your hip flexors, lower back, or neck.

An effective core workout requires really intentional movements. The mind-body connection is important in every workout, but ESPECIALLY true here. You’ve got to make the choice to engage the abdominal muscles, and when you do, you’ll feel the burn, I promise!

Cues to Help You Engage Your Core:

This guided, 10-minute lower ab workout video encourages total core engagement through specific breath cues. If you follow along with this workout video you’ll hear me say several of these cues.

• Imagine there is a string between your hip bones. As you exhale (or start the exercise), imagine the string is pulling your hip bones together. This engages your transverse abdominis muscles, or the deep core muscles that can separate during pregnancy.
• During crunches, press your head into your finger tips. To make sure you’re not pulling on your neck during crunches or similar exercises, place your hands (lightly) behind your ears rather on your neck. Focus on pressing your head into your hands rather than pulling on your neck with your fingers. This prevents unnecessary strain on your neck in any position with your hands behind your head.
• During crunches (or similar exercises on your back), imagine there’s a tennis ball beneath your chin. As you lift your head and shoulders off the ground, focus on maintaining space between your chin and chest. This helps keep your chin off your chest which adds unintentional stress on the neck.
• Keep your low back connected to the mat (or belly button pulled in towards your spine). This helps you ‘draw in’ your core muscles, properly performing ab exercises on your back. If you feel your low back popping off the mat it means you need to modify the ab exercise or adjust your range of motion. One easy way to modify is to bend your knees in exercises that cue for ‘legs extended’, like leg lifts or kick outs.

Remember, the best way to ‘get abs’ isn’t to do 1000’s of crunches! Rather, it’s to include core strengthening exercises into a well rounded fitness routine.

Meaning you can apply several of these cues to engage your core into your daily fitness routine.

Post-Baby Ab Workout

This 10-minute lower ab workout was designed specifically with new moms in mind. I was personally 5 months postpartum when I filmed this workout video. 

These 10 lower ab exercises are a great way to rebuild core strength post-baby. In fact, several of these lower ab exercises were taken directly from my sessions with my postpartum pelvic floor physical therapist. 

That said, every postpartum experience is different. I’m showing you how to modify or progress each lower ab exercise in this guided workout video.

Prior to trying this 10-minute lower ab workout I suggest checking for diastasis recti (DR, or abdominal seperation) at home. 

I also suggest mastering these two beginner post-baby ab workouts: 

1. 7 Ab Exercises for Postpartum Core Recovery and Diastasis Recti
2. 10-Minute Beginner Ab Workout for Women

The Workout: The Best Lower Ab Workout For Women

Learn how to engage your core with this 10-minute lower abs workout. This specifically targets the lower abs (commonly referred to as the lower belly pooch in women). These exercises also engage the deep transverse abdominis and internal obliques.

The workout consists of 10 of my favorite lower ab exercises — 10 ab exercises, 1 minute per exercise. 

I filmed this workout at 5 months postpartum when one of my main training goals was to rebuild core strength post-baby. Most of the exercises are postpartum-friendly and I’m going to show you how to modify or progress each ab exercise to fit your needs.

This workout is scalable — meaning the guided workout video above provides options for all fitness levels.

Equipment

No-equipment, just your bodyweight and a mat or comfortable floor.

Instructions

Let me be your certified personal trainer for the day. Follow along with the 10-Minute Lower Ab Workout For Women at the top of this post.

Alternatively, you can work off the lower abs exercises below at your own pace. Watch the video at the top of this post if you need a demonstration of these exercises.

10 Best Lower Abs Exercises

Perform each ab exercise for 60 seconds, moving from one exercise directly to the next without breaks if possible.

1. Lower Ab Engagement + Knees Bent
2. Lying Single or Double Leg Kick Out 
3. Butterfly Crunch Leg Lowers + Slide Out Leg Lift
4. Ballerina DeadBug 
5. Single Leg Lift (right leg)
6. V-Sit Alternating Legs Straight Kick Out
7. Single Leg Lift (left leg)
8. Lying Single or Double Knee Pulls
9. Low Plank Pike Walk In 
10. Bear Crawl Toe Taps

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