5 Lower Ab Exercises To Ditch The Pooch:

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info please read our disclosure.

Lower belly fat. Muffin top. Love handles. Call it what you want, I’m sure we’d all agree that it’s the worst. Luckily, we have 5 lower ab exercises with help you ditch the pooch faster.

While losing that annoying belly fat isn’t as easy as simply doing a few crunches, combined with a balanced diet and some cardio, they are sure to help you lose that extra belly fat and sculpt your abs much faster.

We’ve found these moves to be the most effective and can’t wait to share them with you. Get ready to say goodbye to basic crunches and planks!

Everyone’s body stores fat differently. The lower belly tends to be a place where fat collects for many people. This is because of:

genetics
diet
inflammation
lifestyle factors

Patience is key when you’re working to get rid of belly fat, but there are things you can try to optimize the process.

Getting rid of lower stomach fat

First, throw out the idea that you can “spot treat” areas of fat on your body. You can do thousands of reps of toning exercises to tighten your waistline and not see fat loss.

Exercises like cardio, yoga, and crunches may tone your muscles and strengthen your lower abs, but they won’t “erase” fat deposits.

The only way to lose fat on your lower stomach is to lose fat overall. A calorie deficit helps with this.

5 Lower Ab Exercises To Ditch The Pooch:

1. Dead bug

Start by lying on your back with arms and legs in the air, knees bent at 90 degrees. Push your back to the floor, engage your core, and slowly lower both your right leg and left arm to the floor. Lower your leg until your heel is close to the floor and lower your left arm overhead until it is also near the floor. Then, slowly pull them back up to starting position and repeat on the opposite side.

1. Get 150 Minutes of Heart-Pumping Cardio Per Week

As we said above, if you want to lose belly fat, you have to lose weight all over. You have to shed your “extra layer” to see the muscles underneath. Cardio is a part of the weight-loss equation.
The CDC recommends 2 hours and 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week, which can include anything from jogging, jumping rope, cycling, or a spin class. There is no one right way to raise your heart rate, so pick what you like to do.
The bottom line is: you need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight (more to come on that below) so doing some cardio will help with that math equation.
The bonus is you will strengthen your heart muscle and your stamina. Since heart disease is the number one killer of women in America, taking care of your heart should be high on your self-care list for overall health and calorie burning.

Cook at Home As Much As You Can

When dining out you rarely know exactly what ingredients are included in your meals, but cooking at home brings you a lot more control over what you eat. If you’re trying to eat a healthier diet to reduce fat, cooking at home is a big help. Another great part of eating at home? You’ll most likely save a bunch of money, too.

Challenge Yourself to Some Planks

If you’re of the competitive type, challenge yourself to 30 days of planks. “Planking is simple but an effective exercise for everyday people to train their lower belly,” says Hasan Adkins, a Nationally Certified Fitness Coach. “Focus on consistency first, then build from there.”

Turkish Get-Up

The Turkish get-up is a 200-year-old total-body exercise that involves using a kettlebell, and it’s a favorite of celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza. While it is slightly complicated, she says that the total-body conditioning move is seriously effective.

How to do this :

Holding one kettlebell by the handle with both hands, lie on your side in a fetal position. Roll onto your back and press the kettlebell up toward the ceiling with both hands until the weight is stable on one loaded side. Release your free arm and free leg to a 45-degree angle with your palm facing down. Slide the heel of the loaded side closer to your butt to firmly grip the floor.

Pushing through the foot on the floor, punch the kettlebell up with the loaded arm and roll onto your free forearm. Don’t shrug your shoulder toward your ear with the supporting side. Be sure to keep your chest wide open. Straighten the elbow on the ground and lift yourself up to a seated position. Weave your front leg through to the back. To protect your knees, your shin on the back leg should be perpendicular to your shin on the front leg. Perfectly align your arms: wrist over elbow, shoulder over elbow over wrist. Raise your torso to make your upper body erect. Swivel your back knee so that your back shin is parallel with your front

shin. Get a grip on the floor with your back toes, then take a deep breath, and stand up.

Medicine Ball Burpees

Phelps suggests adding a medicine ball to your burpee to increase the intensity of the exercise and boost your metabolism—all while building a sleek set of six-pack abs.

How to do medicine ball burpees: Standing with your feet shoulder distance apart, hold a medicine ball with both hands.

Extend the ball up overhead, then slam the ball down on the ground as hard as you can, hinging over and sitting your butt back as you slam. As you hinge over, bend your knees. Place your hands on the ground outside of your feet and jump back into a high-plank position. Keep your body in a straight line. Then, jump your feet back towards the outsides of your hands so that you are squatting. Pick up the ball and press it overhead, extending your body and standing tall.

Scissor switch

Scissor switch is another lower ab exercise that’s sometimes used in Pilates workouts. Here’s how to do it:

Start on your back on a yoga mat, and lift your legs up toward the ceiling at a 90-degree angle. Your feet should be flexed. You can tuck your hands behind your head.
Lift your chin to your chest, and hold so your rib cage folds over toward your belly button. You should feel your lower abs engage.
In a controlled movement, let one of your legs fall toward the floor. If you’re able to, stop your leg before it hits the floor, and hover it about an inch above the floor.
Bring that leg back up. Repeat with the other leg, alternating as you hold up your chest. Repeat for 20 reps