6 lower ab workouts to strengthen your core

Your core isn’t just a six-pack waiting to happen. It’s a network of 29 muscles working every time you walk, carry a bag, stand on the metro, push a door, or attempt a heavy lift. It’s what keeps your spine stable when you’re tired and what pulls you upright every morning when you roll out of bed. People chase visible abs, but the quiet power you build in the lower portion of your core pays off in ways you feel long before you ever see it.

If your current routine feels predictable, this lower, ab series forces your body to wake up again. With consistency, you’ll not only feel stronger, you’ll move better, lift better, and carry yourself with a stability you didn’t realise you were missing.

Set yourself up on the floor with your hands directly beneath your shoulders, then step each foot back until your body forms one uninterrupted line. Widening your stance can help with stability, but the real work begins when you pull your abs inward, engage your quads, squeeze your glutes, and keep your neck neutral as you gaze straight down.

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted hip-width apart. Press through your heels and squeeze your glutes to lift your hips until your body forms a straight diagonal line from shoulders to knees. Pause at the top, holding the contraction so your glutes and lower abs are working together. Lower yourself back to the floor with control, letting your hips gently tap the ground before rising again.

Start by stepping your right foot two paces behind you, letting the heel lift so you’re balanced on the ball of your foot. Maintaining a long spine, hinge forward at your hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the ground. As you tip forward, extend your arms overhead so your biceps align with your ears. Then move back into a tall standing position, driving through your left heel and bracing your core to keep your balance from wavering.
Image Credit: Instagram/benjaminmarkandersen

Lie flat with your right arm and right leg extended out at a forty-five-degree angle and your left foot planted on the floor. Hold a kettlebell above you in your left hand with a locked-out elbow. Keep your eyes on the weight as you press into your right forearm and sit up tall. From there, push through your left foot and right palm to lift your torso even higher as your right leg tucks underneath into a supported ninety-degree position. Reverse the sequence slowly, lowering yourself to the start without losing control of the kettlebell’s path overhead.

Lie on your back with a resistance band looped around your ankles and your legs extended upward so they form a right angle with your torso. Curl your shoulders off the mat, keeping your gaze toward your thighs. Keeping both legs straight and the band taut, lower them toward the floor while maintaining a slight stagger—one heel hovering just slightly lower than the other. Stop just before the lower heel touches the ground, then lift your legs back up and repeat, switching the lead foot each time.

Begin on all fours with a resistance band looped around the balls of your feet. Brace your core and extend your right arm forward as your left leg reaches straight back behind you, forming one long line from fingertips to heel. Without letting your torso sway, pull your elbow and knee toward each other underneath your body until they tap below your navel. Extend fully again. Complete the full set on one side before switching to the other.