If you're looking for a flatter midsection, you might be disappointed to find out there aren't any magical lower belly fat exercises. That means, no matter how many crunches you do or how much you "feel the burn," you can't melt away excess body fat from your lower abs.
That's because spot reduction — exercising a particular area of the body to burn fat in a certain spot — doesn't work, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE).
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But you can lose overall body fat with a healthy diet and cardio (more on that later), as well as strengthening the muscles in your midsection with the exercises below can get you the results you want.
Try These 7 Exercises to Sculpt Your Lower Abs
Strengthening exercises can add definition to your midsection. You can do these exercises several times a week, but you should allow at least one day of rest between strength-training workouts to give your muscles a chance to recover.
The main abdominal muscle in your lower belly, called the rectus abdominis, actually spans from the bottom of your ribs and breastbone down to your pubic bone, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Strengthening this muscle is what gives a person "six-pack abs."
Exercises that target your core expand well beyond the basic crunch or sit-up, according to the Mayo Clinic, although when performed with proper form, they can help strengthen your midsection.
Add some arm and leg movements to your ab exercises to further challenge your muscles, per Princeton University Athletic Medicine. And don't forget isometric exercises (exercises where your muscles contract without movement) strengthen your abdominals in a stationary position because your abdominal muscles are stabilizers that hold your torso upright.
Perform the following exercises for 20 reps each, working up to 3 sets in a row.
1. Sit-Up
- Lie on your back. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor.
- Clasp your hands behind your head and rest your elbows out to the sides.
- Tighten your lower abs by flattening your lower back against the ground.
- Lift your upper body off the ground and sit up. Don't pull on your neck — keep your elbows pointed out to the sides.
- Slowly lower back down and repeat.
2. Weighted Crunch
- Holding a medicine ball (or another type of weight you have on hand) at your chest, sit on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Roll down onto your back, keeping the medicine ball at your chest.
- Lift your head, neck and shoulders off the ground, using only the strength of your abs.
- Lower back down to the ground and repeat.
3. Reverse Crunch
- Lie on your back. Place your hands under your tailbone if you need extra support.
- Bend your knees and curl your lower body up toward your chest, lifting your lower back off the ground.
- Extend your knees to lower your upper body back down.
- Repeat.
Tip
Don't rely on momentum to swing your legs up and back. Focus on only using the strength of your abs.
4. Mountain Climber
- Begin in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders and your body weight supported on the balls of your feet and hands.
- Bend one knee and bring it up toward your chest, while keeping the opposite leg straight.
- Push off the balls of your feet and switch legs. Bend the knee on your straight leg to bring it forward while kicking the other leg back into a straight position, landing on the balls of your feet.
- Repeat, alternating legs each rep.
5. Low Plank
- Lie on your stomach.
- Prop your upper body up onto your forearms. Position your elbows in line with your shoulders.
- Tighten your abs, butt and thighs.
- Lift your torso off the ground until you are supported on your forearms and your toes.
- Hold for 30 seconds, increasing time as your strength improves.
6. Forearm Side Plank
- Lie on your left side with your legs stacked on top of each other.
- Prop yourself up onto your left elbow, resting your forearm on the ground.
- Tighten your abs, butt and thighs and lift your hips off the ground.
- Raise up until your body weight is supported on your forearm and the side of your bottom foot.
- Hold for 30 seconds, increasing your time as you're able to do more.
- Repeat on the opposite side.
7. Side Plank With Knee Tuck
- Lie on your left side with your legs stacked on top of each other.
- Prop yourself up onto your left hand.
- Tighten your abs, butt and thighs and lift your hips off the ground.
- Raise up until your body weight is supported on your left hand and the side of your bottom foot.
- While holding this position, bend your top knee and elbow and crunch them toward each other.
- Lower your leg back down and reach your arm straight up in the air or overhead.
- Perform 20 crunches before releasing your side plank position and repeating on the other side.
Don't Forget to Add Cardio to Your Routine
While any type of exercise burns some calories, one type of exercise has been shown to help reduce abdominal fat by reducing overall body fat and maintaining lean muscle tissue: high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
Not only is HIIT effective, it's also efficient. HIIT workouts combine short bursts of high intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Total workout time typically ranges from 20 to 40 minutes. For example, you might sprint for 30 seconds, then walk for 2 minutes, repeating this pattern for 20 minutes.
In addition to helping to reduce abdominal fat, your calorie burn can be elevated for up to two hours after a HIIT workout. This is caused by excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC, while your body recovers from your workout.
A Quick Note on Nutrition for Sculpting Your Lower Abs
Perhaps the most important part of losing body fat is creating a caloric deficit, which means you must burn more calories than you consume throughout the day. This can be accomplished through exercise, dietary changes or, ideally, both.
According to the Mayo Clinic, you need to burn approximately 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. To lose weight at a healthy pace of 1 to 2 pounds per week, you'll need to cut 500 to 1,000 calories from your diet. Or add exercise to burn off the additional calories.
The amount of calories burned during exercise depends on your body weight and the intensity of your workout. For example, a person weighing 155 pounds can burn about 298 calories in 30 minutes of jogging at a 12-minute-mile pace, according to Harvard Health Publishing. A person who weighs 185 pounds will burn 355 calories in that same amount of time.
It's important to remember, though, that reducing food (and exercise) to nothing more than calories can lead to restrictive or disordered behaviors. You can be sure you're making the best choices for your health when you get physical activity you enjoy and eat nutrient-dense foods.
- American Council on Exercise: "Myths and Misconceptions: Spot Reduction and Feeling the Burn"
- Mayo Clinic: "Counting Calories: Get Back to Weight-Loss Basics"
- Harvard Health Publishing: "Calories Burned in 30 Minutes for People of Three Different Weights"
- Department of Health and Human Services: "Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition"
- American College of Sports Medicine: "High-Intensity Interval Training"
- Princeton University Athletic Medicine: "Lumbar/Core Strength and Stability Exercises"
- Cleveland Clinic: "Abdominal Muscles"
- Mayo Clinic: "Core exercises: Why you should strengthen your core muscles"