Help me help my abs

December 24, 2018 3:23 PM

Where to start for a person with zero abdominal strength? I can't do a plank. I don't think I can do a sit-up. But I want to have abdominal strength both for general health and to help with lower back issues. Where can I start?

I'd love some sort of beginners program with a flow or slow build-up to more difficult levels. I don't know where to look for smart information, not something that's going to burn me out in two days and make me stop. Ideas?

posted by BlahLaLa to Health & Fitness (26 answers total)

Best answer: 5 Fundamental Core And Abdominal Exercises For Beginners
posted by armoir from antproof case at 3:46 PM on December 24, 2018 [9 favorites]

It might help to look for stuff for "core strength," not just abdominal strength. And a Pilates mat class might be a great place to start.
posted by lazuli at 3:55 PM on December 24, 2018 [5 favorites]

When I was out on disability for two months because I'd wrecked my lower back, the only thing my doctor would let me do was walk in the pool. Not swim - walk. The resistance actually helps strengthen the core muscles, while the overall exercise is low impact. I went to the pool every day for those two months, and it worked out well for me. I imagine that would be a good place to start, so that you have a base of muscle strength that you can build upon, rather than do something too strenuous for your current level and end up injuring yourself.
posted by vignettist at 4:09 PM on December 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I'd really love something I can do at home. No year-round pool access.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:25 PM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you can't do sit-ups, you can start with crunches and work your way up. Just do as much of a sit-up as you can physically manage, even if it's not much. You'll gradually become able to do more.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:29 PM on December 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

The exercises in armoire from antproof case's link are all good. Exercises for diastatis recti are also usually gentle.

I personally adore exercises that let me start on my back, put my legs straight up in the air, and lower them towards the ground while not letting my lower back pop up from the floor. You can make that easier by bending your legs and not lowering as much, and harder by trying to curl your shoulder blades off the ground while lowering your legs all the way and hovering them there.

Symmetrically, I also love flat back hinges, borrowed from Horton Technique: this video shows a good progression. However, if you don't have loose hamstrings / have lordosis, you'll have to be vigilant about keeping your back actually flat, or you don't get as much benefit.

Another easy way to adapt curl- / sit up-style ab exercises is to hold weight in front of you (to make them easier), not hold weight, or hold weight above your head (to make them harder).

fwiw I can plank for a good while but can't do a sit-up. There are many components to core strength!
posted by batter_my_heart at 4:56 PM on December 24, 2018 [5 favorites]

This is my favorite Pilates DVD. It's for beginners and you can easily pause and adjust the exercise as you need to.
posted by Hermione Granger at 5:15 PM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

After having trouble with all sorts of "basic" ab exercises, I found out in PT that I couldn't roll over like a baby without help. So I suggest trying that. If it is difficult, then you need some fundamentals before you try the usual stuff you see or hear about. [I think the rolling works the obliques and transverse abdominal muscle (TVA).]
posted by evening at 5:42 PM on December 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Lay on your back, put a brick on your abs, and lift it by flexing your abs.

Get some rubber tubing, use it for resistance exercise by stepping on it and stretching it up with your hands. Alternating front, back and sides will exercise all of your core.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:00 PM on December 24, 2018

Russian twists are my personal favorite for "starting out."

You can start out with no weights and then add a medicine ball that is only a few pounds, then continue to build up.

I like to do as many as I possibly can in one set, rest, go again; the goal is three to four sets until I have exhausted myself. Added bonus, you get some cardio in, as well.
posted by nightrecordings at 6:58 PM on December 24, 2018

Can you do a plank on your elbows and knees?
posted by rhizome at 7:09 PM on December 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Modified planks! I could not do planks either when I first started trying and modifed planks got me there. you can Google for many variation...side plank too!
posted by Tandem Affinity at 7:26 PM on December 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

I think you have things backwards. Body fitness also entails abdominal strength. You cannot just strengthen your abdominals alone thinking that will help your back and overall fitness. Maybe forget about the abdominals and find ways to exercise that really suit you and strengthen the whole body's structure. Practice good posture for one. Also this guy on youtube. I keep some kettlebells at home and do a bit of work with them daily. I also include some daily yoga stretches and never specifically target my abdominals yet feel like they are in good shape just from doing total body fitness routines, bicycling, walking and keeping active.
posted by diode at 8:18 PM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

Seconding recommendations to not simply focus on abs, but core and full body fitness.

I personally really like these guys. Their focus is calisthenics, so you don't need a pool or gym to do most of their exercises -- particularly at the beginning, you're just using bodyweight. These videos may be a good place to start, particularly as they are good about showing correct form.

They do have some ab-specific videos as well, but that may be something to build up to if you don't have a lot of strength yet, and focusing on abs without building up a bit of full-body strength and mobility (important for preventing injury) won't be as beneficial.
posted by myotahapea at 8:54 PM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm not a big exercise person, but I've found lifting 5 pd weights while sitting in a chair and watching tv will work your core. Doing Yoga will work your core as well. Take a class or two for beginners and then do it whenever at home.
posted by xammerboy at 9:32 PM on December 24, 2018

Sit-ups are generally regarded as being bad for your back these days. There are plenty of other exercises you can do to target the core.

Since you can’t plank, try: Dead Bugs progressing to Hollow Hold on your back, and the Superman (Locust pose for Yoga people) on your front, both of which are great core exercises.

You might also good good answers if you ask this question on r/bodyweightfitness - there are people there with lots of experience helping complete newbies.
posted by pharm at 12:59 AM on December 25, 2018 [4 favorites]

Have you ever had a baby? Even years ago? If so you may have some lingering diastatis recti, which is a separation of the abs. It’s extremely common post partum and leads to that weird floppy weak feeling (other people can get it too). If this is a possibility I’d strongly suggest at least one session with a PT who specializes in it. There’s probably a lot going on in there including pelvic floor weakness. Whoever does your ob/gym care should be able to recommend someone. (Or your pcp.) Especially if you do have diastatis sit ups are a terrible idea but planks are great. You can start with modified planks on your knees and work up. Pilates is also a good place to start (with a teacher) if you can’t get PT. I agree with the folks saying you need a full core focus, not just abs. Lots of core weaknesses are contributed to by and also cause weak glute muscles and tight hamstrings.
posted by john_snow at 6:30 AM on December 25, 2018 [5 favorites]

Oh and Katy Bowman is awesome for this kind of stuff: https://www.nutritiousmovement.com
posted by john_snow at 6:35 AM on December 25, 2018

You can try using "exercise ball" or "balance ball" as a chair.

Switch to a normal chair when you get tired. See if you progressively last longer before switching.
posted by porpoise at 9:57 AM on December 25, 2018

I’ve had lower back issues for years. (Being tall + L4/L5 disc bulge.)

Deadlifts have helped SO MUCH.

Also, leg raises while laying on your back. You can curl your knee to make it easier.
posted by cranberrymonger at 10:18 AM on December 25, 2018

Best answer: Lie on you back with a pillpw under your head, knees bent. Do 10 pelvic tilts. Repeat.
Gradually increase the number you do, over a couple of weeks.
When it gets easy, do a pelvic tilt ten hold it, and lift your right leg, knee bent. Then your left. Work up to 100 with each leg.
Next raise and hold for a count of 10. Work up to one hundred again.
By now you are ready to try crunches.
posted by Enid Lareg at 12:01 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

Do not raise both legs at once until you feel ready to do crunches.
posted by Enid Lareg at 12:02 PM on December 25, 2018

Best answer: MommaStrong videos have been amazing for my disastrous back/core situation (multiple back pain questions in my posting history!). The woman who heads MommaStrong developed the workouts out of desperation due to post-partum pain, and I’ve learned so much about my body through her workouts and explanations (turns out my hip flexors need extra attention). It is the best $5/month I have ever spent on my body because I actually do the workouts almost every day, and it’s been over 9 months now. I spent hundreds of dollars on physical therapy copays but always got bored with the exercises and stopped doing them after a while. Now I have real ab muscles underneath my belly fat! 100% recommend, especially to women who have ever had babies.

P.S. I bet you could jump into her program at the “new momma” level given your current level of fitness, and it would be a good way to ease in.
posted by Maarika at 8:24 PM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

First, if you can do a crunch, just do those. If you can't curl your shoulders up from the floor at all, you should stop reading these responses and chat with a doctor.

That said, the advice for "how do I do a pullup" holds here as well. If you can't do an exercise that involves lifting weight - in this case, you're the weight! - then start at the *top* of the exercise and lower yourself down.

Do a couple of those in a row. (Five to twelve, less if that's all you can do.) Rest a minute or two. Repeat that cycle three to five times, again, less if that's all you can do. Wait between two days and a week, and do it again.
posted by talldean at 9:57 PM on December 25, 2018

I'm 57 and been through a whole lot and my body is pretty worn out BUT I started doing abdominal breathing and this has really worked for me! What I do is inhale and let my abdomen expand and then exhale and push up my stomach into my rib cage. What I understand as "Yoga Breathing". I was skeptical at first but I only did it about 4 times - 5 breaths per session in a day and I felt results in a week. Now I do it every chance I get - in the car, in bed before I get up, sitting on the toilet... It also helps reduce anxiety and panic attacks.
In my new program I also drink more water and take probiotics to make my intestines healthier.
posted by cda at 4:33 AM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]

Ab strength alone isn't a solution to lower back pain. Your whole body is interconnected and back pain is often a symptom of problems not immediately local to the lower back. Often times lower back pain comes from your hips,buttock, and thighs not working properly together or your neck, shoulders, lats. Your best bet is to do a whole body calisthenic style workouts in order to re-balance your out of whack muscles.

I'm reasonably fit - I run 3-4 times a week and did a marathon this summer and I weight train twice a week. Despite that I find that pushups and planks absolutely shatter my core and leave me sore for the next day every damn time I do them. So know that these exercises are difficult for almost everyone. You are not alone.
posted by srboisvert at 12:05 PM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]