Work those abs with laser precision.
While it’s easy to assume that your core muscles are just a single, monolithic slab of muscle located in the center of your body, that’s not quite the case. Your core is made up of a bunch of different muscular groups, from your abs to your back to your butt. Even the abs themselves have multiple sections, and as it so happens, the one that most frequently goes by the wayside is the lower one. Most core-strengthening exercises tend to prioritize your upper abs, while the lower ones only get a runoff effect. To properly work that lower quadrant, you’ll want exercises that target it with a very particular precision.
When it comes to targeting your lower abs, you’re gonna need the help of both your arms and your legs. Can’t achieve a balanced burn if you’re not using that whole bod, after all. Plank-type exercises are a great place to start; planks are a core-working classic that require balance in both the arms and legs, and with a little bit of emphasis shifting, you can easily move the impact to your lower abs. If you simply hold yourself up with your arms, extend your legs out completely, and pump your knees toward your stomach, the pressure will go primarily toward your pelvis, which is exactly where you want it. You can get a similar effect from a knee hover tap, wherein you prop yourself up on your hands and knees and lift yourself off the ground so you’re on your toes.
There are also a couple of good laid-down exercises that engage your lower abs. Knee catches function on the same principle as planks, but upside-down; just lay on your back, spread your arms out for balance, lift your legs straight up, bend them slightly, then move them back down one after the other in time. From a similar position, you can also try single leg stretches, wherein you extend your legs straight outward. While being leg-based exercises, they require strong cores to do properly, so those lower abs will feel the burn for sure.
