8 Tummy Toning Exercises You Can Do At Home

The tummy is a problem area for most people when it comes to getting toned and ready for bikini season. As the weather heats up, you want to be looking hot poolside and on the beach, and a toned torso is just the ticket. Here are some great tummy toning exercises you can do in your own home to get ready for summer.

1. Crunches

(Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

Lying flat on the ground, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, put your hands behind your head. Using your abdominal muscles and keeping your neck straight, raise your shoulders off the ground. Repeat this motion 30 times, rest, and then repeat twice.

2. Knee Touches

Lie flat on the ground with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, and put your hands behind your ears. Keeping your posture straight, and without bending your arms, use your abdominal muscles to touch your left elbow to your right knee. Repeat this action, alternating sides, 30 times. Rest, then repeat twice.

3. Bicycle

This exercise is much like knee touches, but slightly more advanced. This time, lift your feet and legs off the ground as if you were sitting. When you bring your elbow up to meet the opposite knee, straighten out the leg on the side of the elbow you are using. Do this all in a continuous motion, without stopping, and your legs will move as if riding a bicycle. Repeat the action 30 times, rest, and then repeat twice.

4. Straight Scissor Kicks

Lie completely flat on the floor with your hands under the small of your back. Using your abdominal muscles, raise your legs off the ground at a 45 degree angle. Criss-cross your legs back and forth for 30 to 45 seconds at a time, rest, and then repeat five times.

5. Bent Scissor Kicks

This variation of the scissor kick will have you start by lying on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Then, lift your feet and legs off the ground in a sitting position. Keeping your knees bent and thighs steady, criss-cross your calves back and forth for 30 to 45 seconds, rest, and then repeat five times.

6. Leg Lifts

Lie flat on the floor with your legs together and hands under the small of your back. Use your abdominal muscles to lift your legs, pressing them together and keeping them straight, off the ground about three inches. Hold this position for ten seconds, and then return to the starting position. Repeat ten times.

(Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

7. Reaches

Lie with your back flat on the floor and your legs up in the air so that your body is at a 90-degree angle. Holding your arms straight out above you, use your abdominal muscles to lift your shoulders off the ground and touch your toes, then return to the starting position. Repeat this 30 times, rest, and then repeat the entire process two more times.

8. Penguin Touches

Lie on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Position your feet a little wider than shoulder length apart. With your arms straight out beside you, lift your shoulders off the ground slightly and touch each ankle, moving side to side. Repeat this motion for 30 to 45 seconds, rest, then repeat five times.

All of these exercises can be easily done in the comfort of your own home and each targets key parts of your abdominal muscles to help you tone your tummy for a strong, firm core. As with any toning exercises, consistency is key, so make sure to do this full workout at least three times a week or up to every other day.

Video: Ab Wheel Exercises for Total Body Strength

Think ab wheels are just for your abs? Think again! This versatile piece of exercise equipment can be used in many different ways, as shown in this quick video. From arms and chest, to upper back, legs, and your entire core, this is a great piece of equipment to have on hand. It's small, portable, storable, and affordable!

Check out all of the great ways you can use your ab wheel to build strength and get the body you desire:

AB WHEEL AB WORKOUT (home workout for your entire body!)
Crazy ab wheel workout for more than just your abs... http://athleanx.com/x/howtogetripped If you are into fitness at all, either you or someone you know has...

Not Your Typical Ab Exercises...

Check out this article by one of our favorite fitness experts, Mike Geary, on the 3 best ab exercises - this unique ab workout contains no situps or crunches - it's not only not boring, but it's actually pretty fun - and gets great results!

3 Best Ab Exercises:

Instead of the typical ab routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc... I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs... thus building rock hard abs & core, but also creating a much better fat-burning workout than a typical ab workout.

I'm going to show you an example today of one of my favorite "ab workouts" that doesn't include any direct "ab exercises" at all. This is actually a full body workout that works your abs pretty hard indirectly, and stimulates a good metabolism boost!  It's in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises instead of 2).

Here they are:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
1b. Front Squats with Barbell
1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

Click Here for Exercise Descriptions & Pics...

 

Stomach Exercise All-Stars

There are plenty of stomach exercises out there for those who want to shape their core and strengthen their midsection. This may be both a blessing and a curse. It is easy to find plenty of exercises and routines that work the midsection, but how does one know which ones are any good?

Image via WikipediaWell, listed here are what appear to be some of the best around, according to recommendations by fitness experts. If you want to work on your stomach, but are not sure where to start, then this "all-star team" may be a good jumping off point. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.
     
Crunchless Crunch
Regular crunches are great for working the rectus abdominus (the muscles at the front of your stomach), but they do very little for the transverse abdominal muscles deeper in the midsection, plus they tend to put strain on your back and neck. This first exercise corrects that, working the transverse muscles with no back or neck strain. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating.

1. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better. 
2. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. 
3. Hold for ten seconds. If holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

Image via WikipediaHip Lift
Remain on your back for this stomach exercise.

1. Put your arms at your sides with palms facing up to the ceiling. 
2. Put your legs straight up in the air so that the soles of your feet are facing the ceiling and your legs make about a ninety degree angle with your torso. Keep your knees unbent and as straight as possible. 
3. Now, contract your ab muscles so that it feels like your belly button is being pulled toward your spine, while at the same time gently lifting your hips off the floor. 
4. Raise your hips to height of a few inches, keeping your legs extended straight upward. 
5. Hold this position, then slowly lower your hips back to the floor. Repeat for an entire set.

Long Arm Crunch
For this stomach exercise, remain on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat.

1. Lie back and extend your arms straight back on the floor as though you are reaching above your head. 
2. Contract your abs and slowly lift your arms, head and shoulders off the floor to about a thirty degree angle. 
3. Hold it, then slowly lower your shoulders back to the floor. Repeat for an entire set. Be careful not to lead with your arms, keeping them straight and alongside your head.

Some other honorable mentions include the vertical leg crunch, torso twists, and any Pilates routine that emphasizes the core. Feel free to research some of these exercises more once you have mastered the three above. Now that you are armed with some of the better stomach exercises, you are on your way to a trimmer tummy!

What Are The Best Stomach Exercises?

It is only natural that most people want to look their best, and exercising your stomach muscles is usually a huge part of most fitness programs. If so much time and energy is going to be focused on this muscle group, it is a good idea to know what the best stomach exercises are. There are many resources available for finding the best stomach exercises, and plenty of people to say what they consider the best, so how can a person decide for themselves which truly are the best exercises for working their stomach muscles?

Image via WikipediaFirst of all it is important to note that the best stomach exercises are those that a person is willing to do! No matter how effective the exercise is, if a person isn't going to do them consistently the exercise will not benefit that particular individual. It is also important to note that the best stomach exercises do not necessarily require equipment to perform them, although some machines and equipment may work quite well for some people.

When a person decides on a fitness program that includes stomach exercises, it is best to include stomach exercises that work the different parts of the stomach. If a person simply concentrates on one area of their stomach, there workout will not be as effective. The best stomach exercises, combine working the oblique, which are the side muscles, the lower abdominals, the mid section and also the upper section.

Some of the most popular stomach exercises are crunches. These are a very effective exercise and very convenient since they can be performed anywhere without any equipment. The next stomach exercise that is also very popular and goes along with the basic crunch is the side crunch, which works out the oblique.

Image by Daniel Conway via FlickrSome people consider the best stomach exercises to be included in a Pilates workout. The reason for this is because in Pilates, the whole focus is on the core of the body which is the abdominal, or stomach muscles. Every movement in a Pilates workout will work the stomach muscles either directly or indirectly.  These exercises can be found on the internet, either the exercise itself or video's that can be purchased.

Another good exercise that some fitness experts considers to be one of the best stomach exercises involves laying flat on your stomach, leg straight and then raising your body up using your arms as your hands are clasped together and keeping your body straight as if doing a pushup. Hold this position as long as you can stand. This is an excellent movement to strengthen the whole stomach.

Remember again though that just because one person may consider a specific exercise to be the best stomach exercise that does not necessarily mean it is the best for everyone. Each person's body is different and will respond differently to certain movements. Anyone serious about working on the abdominal muscles will find it most helpful to try several different stomach exercises and then determine which one they can both feel and see results with. If one exercise is simply too hard to do correctly, or does not feel like it has done anything for the muscle group worked, that exercise is clearly not the best and the person should find what works best for them.

Check back Thursday for a fun abdominal workout I think you'll love!