Abdominal muscle exercises are your stomach’s best friend. With a good diet and plenty of exercise, they can tone your muscles and help you reach the last, difficult milestone in the journey towards a flat stomach.

You do not have to go to the gym to get good results. You also do not have to go crazy with one hundred and eighty different exercises every day.

If you eat a balanced diet and do a few, but proper, exercises at home, you can also get a flat stomach.

It is best to work with all three core areas of the abdomen: the upper muscles, the deep muscles and the sides.

Here are 7 easy abdominal muscle exercises

1. The plank

The plank is guf for a lot of muscles in your body. It especially helps to strengthen the deep abdominal and back muscles, which are only rarely stimulated in everyday life.

The plank is hard. It is an exercise that requires endurance, balance, concentration and strength.

How do you make it?

• Start by lying on your stomach on a mat. Lift your abdomen, chest and legs off the floor so that only your forearms and toes touch the mat (see photo above).
• Your body should be straight. Your butt should not strut or fall down. Make evt. the plank in front of a mirror so you can keep an eye out that you are not collapsing.
• Hold the position for 20 seconds before pausing.
• Perform three sets or until you get tired.

2. Slow abdominal crunches

Most people know how to do a tummy tuck, ning. But did you know that if you do it slowly, you will get even more out of the exercise?

How do you make it?

• Lie on your back on a bench or other raised surface and keep your hands behind your neck.

• Start bending knees and feet flat on the floor. Lift the upper half of your upper body and tense your abdominal muscles.
• Slowly lower your body to the starting position and repeat this exercise 12 times. Take a short break.
• Do at least three repetitions per. once or until you are tired.

Leg bends

Leg bends strengthen the legs, of course, but it is also surprisingly hard on the abdominal muscles. It can also help you tone your hips.

It works best if you use a chair or other tall furniture. That way you have the opportunity to focus only on the legs.

How do you make it?

• Sit on the edge of a chair with your back leaning back and stretching your legs

• Bend your knees and bring them up against your stomach.
• Keep your muscles tense at all times. Try to perform 8 to 10 repetitions. Take a short break.
• Complete three sets or until you are tired.

4. Leg lift

There are lots of ways you can perform leg lifts. But in this case, we especially suggest one because it works on your hips, buttocks and abdomen.  

How do you make it?

• Lie on a training mat with your arms down at your sides and your palms on the floor.
• Stretch your legs straight out and raise them without bending your knees.
• Try to raise them as high as you can and then slowly return to the starting position.
• Perform three sets of 10 repetitions each. Take a short break between each set.

5. Oblique abdominal bends

Oblique abdominal bends tone both the abdomen and the hips. It is one of the abdominal muscle exercises that will help you gain firm muscles both on the sides and center of the abdomen as well as the hip.

How do you make it?

• Lie on a yoga mat with your hands behind your head and legs straight forward.
• Bend your right knee and at the same time bring your back up so that your left elbow touches the knee.
• Return to starting position and repeat with the other leg.
• Keep your abdominal muscles tight at all times and perform three sets with 15 repetitions each on each side.

6. Touch your toes

When you stretch your hands towards your toes, it forces the abdominal muscles to contract.

You can do this exercise from a standing position, but it is much more effective if you lie on your back.

How do you make it?

• Lie on your back. Stretch your legs toward the ceiling and lift your arms so that your shoulders are slightly lifted off the ground.

• Try touching your feet with your fingers. Keep your abdominal muscles tight.
• Hold the position for 10 – 15 seconds. Take a short break.
• Repeat three times

7. Dumbbells

Dumbbells are a super good tool to vary your abdominal muscle exercises a bit. With that pair of dumbbells, you can train some muscle groups that you would otherwise have a hard time feeling.

Here’s how you do it

• Stand with your feet slightly apart and your back straight. Hold a weight in each hand.
• Lean to your right side as far as you can, without bending your knees.
• Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise with the other leg.
• Perform three sets of 10 repetitions each.

You can easily perform these seven exercises at home. They cost nothing, are fast and require very little space.

Take some time out of your calendar each day to do these exercises. Along with this proper diet and you will soon have a tighter stomach!