5 Best Bodyweight Exercises to Get Abs without Losing Muscle

All you need to get strong abs is a good pair of shoes and a place to do some bodyweight workouts. While doing these exercises, you won’t feel the burn in your muscles but instead in your core. Your whole body works together when you’re doing these exercises. These exercises work more than one muscle group, which means you are always working on your core muscles.

It gets boring to work out with traditional equipment, and even more so to work out with your own body weight. That’s why we have come up with the five best bodyweight abs exercises without losing too much muscle or too many calories.

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Five Best Bodyweight Exercises To Get Abs

Here are some of the easy moves that you can include in your daily workout routine:

1) Dead bugs

Deadbugs work all the muscles in your core as well as strengthen the deep ab muscles. Deadbugs also keep your lower back safe, so they are a perfect exercise for beginners. They're also great for activating the core before or after a workout.

How to do it?

• Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor.
• Extend your arms straight upward toward the ceiling, and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle.
• Keep your shins parallel to the ground, and face the ceiling.
• Alternate stretching your arms above your head and simultaneously extending one leg, exhaling as you do so.
• Return both limbs to the starting position before performing the movement on the other side.

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2) Single Leg V-Up

Doing this particular exercise targets not just your abs but also the muscles in your lower abdomen and obliques. Performing them with the proper form also forces you to engage all the muscles in your trunk.

How to do it:

• Lie on your back, raise your arms above your head, and bring one leg up to meet them.
• Pause for a second as you touch your foot, then slowly lower it back to the floor.
• Repeat with the other leg. Try doing 4-5 sets of 30 repetitions.

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3) Russian Twist

This is one of the best core exercises because it focuses on balance, building stability in the spine, and rotational movements. They can be done with or without weights.

How to do it:

• Lie down with your sit bones rooted to the floor.
• Bend your knees and lift your feet off the ground.
• Straighten your spine, lean back, and create a V-shape with your thighs and torso.
• Reach out in front of you and clasp hands together then slowly rotate left, back to center, then right.
• Aim for 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps.

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4) Seated Leg Lifts

Leg lifts are a great exercise because they strengthen, stabilize, and stretch all the muscles in our core. These muscles allow us to move better, stand taller, prevent injuries, improve balance and agility, become more powerful, and plenty more.

How to do it:

• Start in a seated position on the floor with your legs extended straight out in front of you.
• As you exhale, lean back slightly so that you can place your hands on either side of your glutes.
• Take a deep breath and lift one leg off the floor.
• Hold for five seconds, then put it down. Repeat with the other leg.
• Continue alternating for one minute straight, then rest for 20 seconds. Repeat for five rounds.

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5) Sit Ups

Situps strengthen and tone your core-stabilizing ab muscles. They work with your rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, obliques, hip flexors, chest, and neck. Situps straighten your posture and build your lower back and gluteal muscles.

How to do it:

• Begin by sitting on the floor with your knees bent, heels touching the floor and hands resting on either side of your head.
• Now slowly lay back until your back is flat on the floor or as far as you're able.
• Rise back up to the start position.
• Repeat this move for one minute straight, then take a 20-second break.
• Repeat for five rounds.

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Takeaway

It is important to include ab exercises in your everyday workout. It's also important to do the core exercises that are going to help you gain strength. So make sure that you select the right ab exercises for you and do your best with them. And remember, repetition is important; you must have consistency in order to grow muscles, and above all, have fun with it!