Best Rectus Abdominis Exercises: Crush Your Core & Abs

How to do the hanging leg raise:

1. Approach a bar and engage your abdominal muscles by keeping them contracted.
2. Bring your knees up as far as you can.
3. Lower yourself back to the starting position.
4. Repeat the exercise for as many as you comfortably can. Avoid starting with an arched position, and refrain from pushing against the bar while raising your legs.

“You can make this exercise more challenging by straightening your legs instead of bending your knees. Be careful not to use momentum or swing your body. The hanging leg raise performed from the pull-up bar is also more challenging. See below for how to do it.”

- Paul Rogers, Personal Trainer

4. Reverse Crunch

How to do this exercise:

1. Lay on a mat on the floor with your back flat against the mat.
2. Bring your knees up at a ninety-degree angle and place your hands behind your head.
3. Exhale as you lift your chest towards your thighs, contracting your ab muscles.
4. Inhale as you slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.
5. Repeat this exercise until you reach a point of fatigue.

How to do this exercise:

1. Lay on the floor with your feet together, knees bent, and arms straight extended behind you.
2. Simultaneously extend your legs and raise your upper body to bring your arms towards your knees while contracting your ab muscles.
3. Lower yourself back to the starting position.
4. Repeat this movement for three sets, aiming for eight to twelve repetitions per set.

6. Bicycle Crunch

How to do this exercise:

1. Lay your back on the floor, lifting your shoulders off the ground. Place your arms behind your head, with elbows wide apart.
2. Lift your left knee towards your torso while keeping the other leg extended.
3. Simultaneously rotate your upper body, bringing your opposite shoulder towards the left knee, mimicking a bicycle motion.
4. Continue switching between legs, as if pedaling a bicycle - while twisting your torso and bringing your shoulder to the corresponding kneecap - until you complete three sets of eight to twelve reps.

“Your torso should be doing all of the rotation. Your hips should not be rotating and you should be driving your legs straight forward and backward. Keep your lower back pressed into the floor during the maneuver.”

- Elizabeth Quinn, Exercise Physiologist

How to do this exercise:

1. Find an exercise ball and position yourself with your elbows directly underneath your shoulders and your forearms flat on the Swiss ball slightly behind its center.
2. Tuck your toes under your feet and raise your knees and hips off the ground, ensuring your spine stays neutral with a slight curve in the lower back.
3. Slide your forearms and elbows forward, rolling the Swiss ball away from you while engaging your core and maintaining control.
4. Return your elbows to the starting position under your shoulders.
5. Repeat in a smooth, controlled motion for three sets, aiming for each rep to last ten to thirty seconds.

8. Resistance Band Pallof Press

How to do this exercise:

1. Set the band up around sternum height. Securely grip the band and step away to create tension.
2. Stand with your left side next to the anchored resistance band, feet hip-width apart, and your core and glutes are engaged.
3. Press the band away from your chest, extending your arms fully.
4. Retract your arms and pull the band back towards your chest, mimicking a rowing motion.
5. Repeat until you complete three sets of eight reps.

Read More: Resistance Band Stretching and Mobility Exercises

A strong rectus abdominis aids in maintaining a balanced pelvic tilt, preventing the discomfort of conditions like anterior pelvic tilt.

Tight hip flexors and weak abs and glutes can lead to lower back pain and misalignment of spinal discs.

Strengthening your abdominal muscles supports proper posture, alleviating pain and reducing the risk of injury.

Improved Breathing

Engaging in exercises that target the rectus abdominis and promote core stabilization has been demonstrated to enhance pulmonary function and improve breathing [2].

You should build your rectus abdominis muscles because it assumes crucial roles in lumbar and thoracic flexion, spinal stabilization, and pelvic steadiness during movement.

It also aids in attaining a proper pelvic tilt, as previously mentioned.

If you aspire to attain six-pack abs, it is imperative to activate your rectus abdominis, employing exercises that target its growth, akin to how you would enhance your biceps with movements such as bicep curls and preacher curls.

Progressive overload through focused isolation exercises is paramount for achieving well-defined abs unless you belong to the select few with genetic predisposition allowing visible abs solely from compound exercises.

Fortifying your rectus abdominis also enhances functionality.

Neglecting the development of these abdominal muscles translates to an array of benefits, spanning improved athletic performance, heightened strength for other lifts, and overall advancement in day-to-day activities and mobility.

Modifications in body positioning, angles, and the intensity of exercises generate distinct requirements for various segments of the rectus abdominis muscle.

It is also advisable to diversify your training routine to alter the activation patterns of the rectus abdominis muscle [3].

Target All the Abdominal Muscles

It's crucial to remember that you shouldn’t focus solely on all the rectus abdominis and neglect the overall strengthening and targeting of the entire abdominal muscles, including the internal and external obliques and transverse abdominis.

To attain well-defined six-pack abs, exercise alone is insufficient; it is imperative to achieve a sufficiently low body fat percentage [4].

For most males with commendable muscular development in the abdominal region, the abs become noticeable at approximately 15% body fat and highly visible at around 10%.

For women, the abs should be visible at around 20% body fat and become prominently visible at approximately 15%.

However, these figures can significantly differ from person to person, depending upon their unique body composition.

Include Both Compound and Isolation Exercises

Numerous exercises necessitate active engagement and vigorous contraction of the abdominal muscles, playing a pivotal role in overall weight loss and strength enhancement. However, it is essential to incorporate exercises to target the abdominal