Sculpted abs are one of greatest outcomes of a good workout, but many women feel that they can never work hard enough to achieve the perfect cut. Getting great abs is a combination of the right exercises, fat burning routines, and good nutrition. The truth is that even easy seeming moves can have great benefits in appearance and strength.
Although extra cardio routines can be necessary to burn away abdominal fat in order to let the muscles show through, core strengthening exercises for women can utilize isometric and slower moves in order to build lean muscle and greater stability. This will still lead to a trimmer looking waist line, but will also improve overall posture, which can also help you look even more fit.
Simple Core Strengthening Exercises For Women
One of the key points to realize is that the core is a number of muscle bands that extend around the front and back of the torso, and also connect to the legs. This means that when you are strengthening your core, you are really working on your whole foundation, which can also help with upper and lower body workouts. Since stability is a major factor, isometrics can be ideal for this area.
The basic boat pose is a great way to get a sense of where your core strength is currently, but it also helps you gain body awareness as to how the muscle groups interact. Although it may take some time to work into the full fold up exercise to get into this static position, even variations where you use your hands to stabilize will help you gain strength and awareness.
The ideal for this position is to hold the pose unbalanced, with a straight back and a 45 degree angle of the torsos and the legs. Once you have mastered this, you can move on to some slow movement variations.
The tuck crunch is one variation that can improve strength and mastery. Starting on your back, begin to raise up as though you were coming into boat pose. Keep the back straight, but bend the knees and pull them towards your chest for a balancing crunch. You can perform this pose slowly as a set of reps, or you can hold it as a static pose. Both variations build core strength and balance.
Another ideal strengthener that also works all the core muscles is the boat rotation. Begin in boat pose, and then bend the knees to 90 degrees, while still keeping the legs off the floor. Extend the arms in front, and slowly rotate the torso so that the hands come to one side of the hips and then the other. You can make this move more challenging by holding a kettlebell or a medicine ball for resistance and a test of balance.