Stronger Core: 7 Best Abdominal Exercises for Women

A stronger core is the stepping stone to getting sleek, toned and muscular abs. Core exercises are extremely important as they will keep your tummy area fat free and also keep away visceral fat, which is the precursor to lifestyle diseases like diabetes.

A stronger core will help you maintain your balance and stabilise your spine, helping you avoid unnecessary aches and pain. It's also necessary for you if you are planning to lift heavy weights or do other lift-based workouts.

Best Abdominal Exercises to Get Strong Core

Crunches are not the only exercise that can tone up your core, and frankly speaking, they are not worth the risks they bring (straining your neck and back). So here are some seven alternative core exercises that can give you a nice burn and help you tone those abs.

1) Deadbug

Start off with this low impact exercise that gets more difficult with increasing number of repititions.

The important thing to remember is that your lower back should be connected to the ground. Apart from giving you a stronger core, the exercise can greatly improve your mind-body coordination.

Here's how you do this exercise:

Lie on your back, and pull your arms up till your wrists are exactly over your shoulders.
Bring your legs up till they're squarely over your hips. Keep your legs straight. Squeeze your core in towards your spine.
To commence the exercise, drop your right leg and your left arm towards the floor.
Draw them back up toward the ceiling. Lower your left leg and right arm to the floor.
Always maintain the nonworking leg and arm pointed towards the ceiling.
Do the same number of reps on either side.

2) Plank

Plank works out most of the muscles in your body but focuses the best on your core.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Lying on your stomach, raise yourself onto your forearms and toes.
Maintain your elbows beneath your shoulders.
Remove your shoulders from your ears.
Compress your core and glutes, and maintain a straight line between your hips, neck, and spine.
Aim to hold for between 20 seconds and one minute.
Hold your breath, and inhale and exhale through your nose.

3) Reverse Crunch

This is a variation of the good old crunch that engages the deeper ab muscles without much wear and tear on the spine. Avoid bringing your head close to your knees. Instead, raise your shoulders to protect your neck and prevent pain.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Unwind on your back, and bend your knees to a 90-degree angle.
Place the hands behind the head.
Bring your knees to your chest and your chest to your knees.
Reset, and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

4) V-Ups

The best thing to remember is to maintain the momentum in your shoulders as you come back down. If you find the exercise too difficult, support yourself on your forearms for a little help.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Begin with lying down with your arms extended straight above your head.
Inhale, and pull your belly button towards your spine as you inhale.
Exhaling, sit up tall, and bring your straight legs to meet your arms.
Lower back to the ground, and repeat.

5) Leg Raises

Leg raises are a much underrated yet highly effective exercise for your core. The one thing to remember is to make sure that your lower back is touching the ground.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Begin on the ground, with your head facing the ceiling and your legs out in front of you in a straight line.
Tighten your core by pressing your lower back on the floor.
As you maintain this connection, raise your legs approximately one foot off the ground.
Rhythmically move your feet up and down.
Each 'up-down' is one repetition.

6) Hip Lifts

Try to do the exercise without touching the ground to increase its effectiveness. Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

While supine, elevate your legs till they're perpendicular to your torso.
Pull your belly button toward your spine, and raise your hips a few inches off the ground.
Reduce the hips to the ground, and resume the movement.
Maintain your hands at your sides, and flex your feet towards your face.

7) Sit Ups with Towel

A towel placed beneath your lower back can stabilise your spine and let your abs to do most of the work, rather than your hips. Additionally, it places your abs in a more extended position at the start, allowing you to flex them through their complete range of motion.