Incredible Lower Ab Exercise that You have Never Tried (Build that 6 Pack)

This incredible lower ab exercise is unique and highly effective.

It has been chosen and explained by Jeff Cavaliere from Athlean X.

Incredible Lower Ab Exercise that You have Never Tried

“There are a lot of exercises for hitting your lower abs, all of which involve some bottom up movement of the pelvis towards your shoulders.  That said, many of these are performed while hanging from a bar which makes them too difficult for beginners and even leads to the forearms fatiguing before the abs on even the most advanced trainees.  In this video, I’m going to show you the best lower abs exercise you’ve likely never tried and it doesn’t even require you hang from a bar.”

Proper Form

“While we are talking about those hanging ab exercises however, here is why they tend to be a problem.  Most often, the person doing the exercise tends to become over reliant on the hip flexors to lift the legs rather than using the abs to curl the pelvis into a posterior tilt on every rep.  This can happen either by bad habit or as a compensation for weak abs.  Either way, this takes the tension off of the abs and places it on a muscle group that is likely already tight and overactive.”

Source: Photo Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

Bottom Up Movements

“The next option is to perform these same bottom up movements but instead of hanging, you lay on the floor.  The issue here is once again the hip flexors can tend to dominate the movement and cause the same detrimental effects mentioned already.  Even more, the legs stop becoming a factor in the resistance of the exercise and actually help you to do the move as you get them past ninety degrees of lift.”

Incredible Lower Ab Exercise that You have Never Tried – Versatility

“The good news is, the best lower abs exercise you can do doesn’t require you to have to hang from a bar or lay on your back.  All it requires is a dip station or even the corner of a kitchen countertop.  If you are going to perform it from a dip station all you have to do is position yourself in the suspended position with your hands on the dip bars and your elbows almost locked out.”

Incredible Lower Ab Exercise that You have Never Tried – Technique Tips

“You don’t want to bend the elbows too much here or at any point during the exercise since this will shift the focus from the abs to the triceps and cause you to fatigue where you don’t want to.  With the bodyweight supported you will actually find that you get a beneficial compressive force into the shoulder joint that can make an unstable shoulder feel much better.  The hanging ab exercises while awesome for the lower abs can make it tough on the shoulder of someone that has a rotator cuff or labrum tear.”

Pelvis Positioning

“Next, you let the pelvis drop naturally by dangling the legs.  This will help to decompress the spine and cause a distraction force to the lumbar spine and lower back that can help alleviate any discomfort you may have developed from doing lots of hip flexor dominant lower ab movements over the years.”

“Begin by simply bouncing your body up and down while alternating the twist of your torso as you pull up.  Your main thought should be driving the movement with the posterior tilt of the pelvis and not the arms.  This will engage the lower abs while at the same time, getting the obliques to fire up with each rotation left to right.  Keep doing this in rapid fire fashion for 30 to 60 seconds or until fatigue prevents you from performing clean reps.”

Video – Incredible Lower Ab Exercise that You have Never Tried

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Muscles of the upper body

The musculoskeletal system of the upper body is comprised of muscles that connect the bones, allow movement at joints, and provide support for other organs in the chest and shoulders.

The muscles of the upper body are divided into two groups: those that move your arms (called prominens) and those that move your shoulder blades (called sternocostalis).

Trapezius

The trapezius muscle is a shoulder extensor, meaning it raises your arm away from your body. It is situated on the back of the neck and shoulders. The upper portion of the trapezius originates at two points: one is superior to and behind the medial third of the clavicle; another originates at two points, one superior and posterior to each scapula’s spine. The lower portion of your trapezius inserts into three vertebrae (C7-T1).

The action of this muscle can be broken up into four parts: elevation, depression, retraction, and protraction (lifting/lowing). Its main function is to move your shoulders up toward your ears or down toward your spine; however, it also helps rotate them outwardly as well as inwardly (protract).

Levator scapulae

• The levator scapulae is located on the side of your neck, right under your trapezius muscle. It brings your shoulder blade upward and toward the back of your head.
• Stretching this muscle can help relieve tension in it and improve posture, but be careful not to stretch too far as it might pull on your tendons or ligaments if you overstretch. Think about pulling your shoulders down toward the floor with one hand while keeping the other hand pressed against them in order to gently stretch out this muscle group.

Rhomboideus lower

The rhomboideus lower is a large triangular muscle that extends across the back of the neck. It originates at the spinous processes of C7 through T3 and inserts on the medial border of the scapula between tubercle and spine. Its actions are to elevate and rotate your scapular as well as hold your shoulder joint in place.

Rhomboideus major

The rhomboideus major is a muscle of the upper back. The rhomboid originates along your spine and attaches to your shoulder blades, while its counterpart, the rhomboid minor, attaches at the bottom.

Both muscles work together to pull both shoulder blades together and down toward your spine when they contract. This helps create stability in this area of your body by preventing excessive movement during exercise or other activities that could cause injury if you’re not careful.

Exercise examples include: back extensions (upper), bent over rows (lower)

Serratus anterior

• Serratus anterior is a muscle that is located on the side of the thorax.
• It attaches to ribs and helps to stabilize the shoulder blade.
• It raises your arm in front of you and moves it out from the centreline of your body, toward your side.
• This muscle is involved in breathing as well as speaking, laughing, coughing and singing.

Latissimus dorsi

The latissimus dorsi is a large muscle that extends from the back of the shoulder to the pelvis. It is also known as “lats”.

This muscle helps pull your arm down, such as during push-ups or pull-ups.

Deltoid

The deltoid is a large triangular muscle that originates from the clavicle and spine. It covers the shoulder joint and helps with movements such as lifting your arm across your body or rotating the arm outward.

The muscle attaches to the humerus at two points on top (lateral and medial deltoids) and one on bottom (posterior deltoid). All three parts of this muscle connect together in front of your shoulder, forming what looks like an upside-down triangle.

Subscapularis

The subscapularis is located at the front of the shoulder joint, and it helps to stabilize the shoulder joint. It is primarily involved in shoulder abduction. The subscapularis muscle is innervated by the lower trunk of the brachial plexus (C5-8), and its nerve supply travels with branches of these nerves.

The subscapularis lies deep to pectoralis major and anterior to serratus anterior. The tendon of this muscle passes through a gap between inferior angle of scapula and anterior border as part of rotator cuff complex which includes infraspinatus, teres minor and supraspinatus muscles

Teres major

The teres major is a muscle that helps you lift your arm. It’s located on the lateral side of your upper arm and is part of the rotator cuff muscles, which are involved in moving your shoulder. The teres major is a little larger than the teres minor, but both muscles have triangular shapes.

Teres minor

• Origin: Flies out from the back of the armpit.
• Insertion: The medial border of the humerus, close to its middle part.
• Action: Rotates your arm inward (medially).
• Location: It lies between your upper arm and chest muscle, so it can be difficult to feel. The teres minor is like a very small triangle-shaped muscle that covers half of your upper back.

Triceps brachii

The triceps brachii is a large muscle located on the back of your upper arm. It is a two-joint muscle, meaning it crosses over two joints: shoulder and elbow. Its main function is to extend the elbow joint.

The triceps brachii has three heads: long, lateral and medial.

The lateral head originates from two tendons that attach to your humerus (upper arm bone) at different points along its length.

The medial head originates from a single tendon that attaches to your humerus at midshaft level just below where you would feel for your pulse if you lifted up on your elbow when in an upright position.

The long head of triceps brachii originates from around the corocoid process (a bony projection) of scapula’s rear blade area; this location allows for increased leverage during extension movements such as pressing weights overhead or swinging clubs in golf swings).

Pectoralis major (clavicular head)

• The clavicular head of the pectoralis major is located at the uppermost portion of your chest.
• It helps to adduct your shoulder joint and flexes, or brings your arm toward your body, as well as helps with internal rotation.
• When performing a decline pushup, for example, you’ll use your clavicular head to help you lower yourself down and back up again.

Conclusion – Incredible Lower Ab Exercise that You have Never Tried

This is just a brief overview of the muscles of the upper body.

Use the abs exercise described in this article to maximise your core strength.