9 Abs Exercises to Tighten Stomach

To be honest, standard abs exercises (like sit-ups and crunches) are a bit archaic and extremely frivolous. Not to mention, no amount of core crunches will make you a super strong core. To tighten the abdominal muscles and strengthen your core properly, you’ll need to go deep with moves that get your body off the floor and challenge your core muscles in unique ways.

Learning to engage your core also stabilizes your spine and helps it stay straight (read: you won’t slouch as much when sitting in another Zoom meeting). Consider these pro tips and try these exercises to tone your abs and help build core strength and stability.

Benefits of Abdominal Tightening Exercises

There are many reasons why core strength is important, and they have everything to do with aesthetics and the ability to function in everyday life.

“Our core, which connects and supports our upper and lower body, is how we move our body,” says Tina Tang, NSCF-certified personal trainer and founder of Iron Strong Fitness. “Our core muscles, when used properly, allow us to lift objects, bend, run, and move in all directions while protecting our spine. A strong (and engaged) core sustains all of our movement throughout our lives.”

And if you work at a desk all day, a strong core is essential to maintain good posture and withstand your sedentary hours.

“Poor posture can cause some muscles to weaken while others are overused, leading to muscle imbalances,” Franco Calabrese, PT, DPT, clinical director of React Physical Therapy, told First Look.

7 Best Exercises to Tone Stomach

If you want to build your abs, add these best exercises to tighten your stomach. These exercises will not only tighten your abdominal muscles, but they will also help you improve your posture, prevent back injuries, and improve your functional range of motion outside of exercise.

Just make sure you’re working your abs and not your neck. One way to do this is to target the orange below your chin. Using your abs also reduces the stress on your back during core moves.

How to add these great ab exercises to your workout: Do each exercise for 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds between moves, switch sides, and repeat the move as needed. Add these core strength exercises to your current fitness program or perform this circuit separately as your primary core workout. Remember to warm up and cool down for a few minutes to allow your heart rate to come down.

1. Isometric tablet press

Why it works: You may not be moving during this abs exercise, but your core is still working to stabilize your body. Focus on pressing your lower back into the ground for maximum engagement. Here’s how to practice it.

1. Lie face down with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Engage your core and pull your knees toward your navel, forming a 90-degree angle so that your shin is parallel to the floor.
3. Place your palms slightly above your knees.
4. Lift your shoulders slightly off the ground and press your palms into your thighs, simultaneously resisting the pressure with your knees.
5. Maintain an equal balance between the two to maintain a 90-degree angle with your knees.
6. Hold for 30 seconds.

2. Double leg circle

Why it works: During this abs exercise, your body will especially want to rotate your hips and back. Don’t let it stay! Instead, use your core to keep everything flat and stable on the mat. Here’s how to do double leg circles.

1. Stand tall with your legs straight.
2. Engage your legs and exhale to lift your legs toward the ceiling.
3. Press your lower back into the floor while moving your feet to the right.
4. Extend your legs as far to the right as you can without lifting your upper body off the floor.
5. Continue tracing the circle with your feet, keeping them as close to the ground as possible while maintaining control. From there, move the legs to the left and back to complete the circle.
6. Rest your hips firmly on the floor.
7. Complete one set, then switch directions.

3. Sprinter Crunch

Why it works: This ABS workout is a development of the cycle crunch. The challenge comes from lifting your entire torso off the ground. You’ll also get a little oblique work as you twist slightly to reach each elbow toward the opposite knee. Here’s how to do a sprinter crunch.

1. Lie face down with your feet straight.
2. Lower your core off the ground by bending your right knee and bringing your left elbow toward you, rotating slightly toward the midline of your body.
3. Inhale and lower your left leg and your torso simultaneously.
4. Bending your left knee and bringing your right elbow in, lift your torso off the ground, twisting slightly toward the midline of your body.
5. Continue alternating and repeat.

4. Plaque higher than elbow with knee

Why it works: The high plank is an essential abs exercise because it engages all of your core muscles. It even challenges your glutes, hamstrings and back muscles. And as a bonus, it also builds shoulder stability. Touching each knee with your elbows challenges your stability as you balance on three points, and this twist adds a bit of oblique work. How did it happen?

1. Stand in a tabletop position on the floor with your hands directly under your shoulders, knees bent and stacked directly under your hips, and feet hip-width apart.
2. Lift both knees off the floor and straighten your legs to get into a high plank position on your palms, squeezing your glutes together and engaging your core.
3. Actively press off the floor and maintain a straight line from head to heels.
4. Lift your left foot and bring your left knee as close to your left elbow as possible.
5. Hold for a breath, then return your left foot to the starting position.
6. Maintain a flat back and neutral hips throughout.
7. Go to your right and progress as above.
8. Continue alternating.

5. Side plank knees to chest

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Why it works: By itself, the side plank challenges your balance. After all, you’re only using your arm and the side of your foot as points of contact with the ground. Bringing your knee up toward your chest simulates a crunch (and targets your rectus abdominis) and makes it even harder to stabilize your core muscles. Here’s how to do a chest-to-side plank knee.

1. Start in a side plank position on the left side, with your left arm placed firmly on the floor and your hips lifted off the floor.
2. Extend your right arm so that your right wrist is in line with your right shoulder.
3. Inhale and walk by bending your right knee toward your chest with your feet.
4. Extend your right leg when it reaches 90 degrees to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat.

6. Plaque reach

Why it works: These low plank variations tighten the abdominal muscles by challenging your stability as you extend one arm while maintaining the low plank position. This abs exercise also challenges your mobility and range of motion in your shoulder joint. Here’s how to get to the plaque.

1. Start in a low plank with your elbows directly under your shoulders, arms resting parallel to the ground and feet hip-width apart.
2. Keep your hips down, engage your glutes and hamstrings, and maintain a flat back.
3. Engage your core and extend your left arm so that your left wrist is in line with your left shoulder (or as high as you can comfortably raise your left arm).
4. Hold for a breath, then return your left arm to a low plank position.
5. Extend your right arm so that your right wrist is in line with your right shoulder (or as high as you can comfortably lift your right arm).
6. Hold for a breath, then return your right arm to a low plank position.
7. Continue alternating.

7. Standing wooden arches

Why it works: The woodchop is one of the most functional abs exercises around. Think about picking something up off the ground to put on a shelf, or blowing dirt for your new garden. The wooden plank also helps tighten the abdominal muscles by working your body in a transverse plane of motion, meaning it’s a twisting movement and will target your needs. How did it happen?

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.
2. Clasp your hands with a slight bend in your elbows.
3. Making a powerful “slash” motion (like chopping wood), reach your hands to the outside of your right knee and lower your body to the right side of your body.
4. Bend the knees and keep your left heel off the ground while your right foot remains flat.
5. Clapping your hands together, raise your arms up and over your left shoulder as you return to a standing position.
6. Repeat, focusing on strong, powerful movements throughout.
7. Switch sides after one set.

8. Dead bugs

Why it works: This exercise helps with core stability and control, as you keep pressing your lower back into the floor. It targets the transversus abdominus, a deep, corset-like ab muscle, and the internal and external muscles that run along the sides of the torso.

1. Lie on your back with legs raised, knees bent over hips, and calves parallel to the floor.
2. Extend arms with palms up to the ceiling
3. Pull the abs tight, bringing the navel into the spine.
4. Exhale, lower the left arm and right leg toward the floor and bring the knee above the chest.
5. Keep the low back connected to the floor at all times – do not arch.
6. Switch sides and repeat.

9. Kneeling crunches

Why it works: This squat exercise requires some balance and focus because you target the obliques and rectus abdominis, a pair of outer ab muscles that run vertically along the torso.

1. Kneel with right arm directly under shoulder.
2. Reach the left arm forward at shoulder level and place the right leg back at hip height.
3. Drawing the left elbow to the right knee, draw the palm overhead, to the ceiling, and back to the ceiling.
4. Do one set, then switch sides and repeat.

Best tips for abs exercises

Before you hit your exercise mat, it’s important to understand what types of abs exercises help tighten the abdominal muscles.

“There are two types of core exercises,” explains Tang. “A plank press, plank, or side plank are anti-rotational core exercises where the exerciser works in silence.”

Meanwhile, there are rotating exercises like wood chips or Russian twists, in which you’re moving forward but using your core muscles to stabilize and maintain alignment. Regardless of which abs exercises you’re doing, focus on core engagement, says Tang.

“For all core exercises, one will ‘deflect’ their core, which has the same feel as stopping yourself from punching yourself in the stomach.” “The rib cage and hip bones are coming together to tighten or loosen the core muscles to stabilize the body.”

And you can forget about “upper abs” or “lower abs” training. Where you think it is depends on the anchor point of the move. For example, leg lifts engage the lower back more because your upper body is against the floor. (If you want an anatomical breakdown, here’s a complete guide to your abs muscles.)

“If you feel the upper abs working, that doesn’t mean the lower abs aren’t engaged,” says Alicia Yangaro, author and owner of Real Pilates in New York City. Palettes promise.