Learn how to do these 5 ab exercises that will help you achieve a flat tummy just in time for bikini season this summer.
It’s the middle of summer, and in South Florida, that means it’s bikini season! After having two children, I spent years in tankinis and one-piece bathing suits, resigning myself to the fact that I would never again have a “bikini body”…but I was wrong! If you’ve followed my fitness journey, last November, I started exercising several times a week, and I have kept it up since. What stops me from being active now? Absolutely nothing… not even that pesky ‘time of the month’ can stop me from enjoying a carefree, bikini-wearing summer!
So how have I prepared for bikini season, regardless of what time of the month it is? Ab exercises – lots of them! Here are 5 different ab exercises that will help you confidently wear any bathing suit you choose.
Bicycles are the easiest of the five ab exercises. Place your hands behind your head, legs off the ground, reach your right elbow to your left knee as it moves in, then move your left elbow to your right knee. Repeat to do a set of bicycles. I would aim for doing about 50 at a time. The trick is keeping your legs off the ground the entire time so you are engaging your lower abs.
This is an easy ab exercise that also works your obliques. For Russian twists, hold your legs a foot or so off the ground. Twist your body to the right, touch the ground, twist your body to the left, touch the ground. I would aim for 100 Russian twists. Remember to continue to breathe throughout each exercise.
Flutter Kicks are a great way to work your lower abs. I have seen this done with toes pointed and toes flexed, so find which one works best for you. Keep your feet off the ground the entire time. Raise your right leg, raise your left leg, and continue. I usually aim for about 20 at a time as these require a lot of focus and core strength.
Corkscrews are a bit more challenging. Raise your legs into the air and twist your hips up to the right while raising your bottom off the ground. Lower your hips back to the ground, and twist your hips up to the left while raising your bottom off the ground. I can usually only do about 10 of these at a time. The important part is that you are challenging yourself!
And finally, the most challenging ab exercise: V-Ups. This exercise requires you to simultaneously raise your lower body and upper body. Place your arms straight above your head, and raise your legs while raising your upper body off the ground. Your body will form a V. Touch your fingers toward your toes. This is tricky and may take time to master. I can probably only do about 5 at a time before needing a breather.
The results after doing these ab exercises several times a week? I just bought a new bikini to confidently wear to our community pool.
This is a GREAT guide for summertime abs. I SO wish we lived near one another so you could knock on my door and make me do these every day. My motivation is in the tank! I Just want you to know you’re not alone in the marathon menstrual cycle. Mine last 8-10 days too. They’re so much lighter when I’m doing well on my PCOS diet, but they still last for FOREVER. It’s the most bizarre thing. I used to start just like a waterfall, but the past several months, it’s been like 3 days of just kind of spotting then BAM! waterfall for one or two days. Then it spends a few days tapering out. I’ve always had long periods, they’re just really odd now, whereas before they were heavy, heavy, heavy, more regular, regular, regular, regular, light, light, light gone. I mean, I’m not complaining or anything, but you know. Weird. Thank goodness for Stayfree having our backs anywhere from those light days all the way to those heavy flow days and nights!
Thanks for the feedback, Summer! Yes, my cycle follows a weird pattern like that, too, but it’s only been since I had my children. A few light days, then heavy days, then light again. I wonder if that happens to most women after kids. Our bodies adjust in so many different ways postpartum. The trick for me was trying to figure out how to adjust my thinking to a body that felt unusual at first.