11 Best Middle Abs Exercises for Beginners at Home + Workout

Middle Abs Exercises – Introduction

What are the best middle abs exercises you can do at home?

There aren’t many exercisers who don’t want a firm, lean stomach.

A large number want to take things several steps further and develop a fully-formed six-pack.

While these goals are primarily related to aesthetics, working on your abs has other benefits, including less back pain and better exercise performance.

In short, working on your abs is an excellent use of your training time.

But, before you start pumping out crunches by the hundred and doing hour-long planking sessions, it’s essential to recognize that your abs are just another muscle group.

Like your arms, legs, chest, and back, they respond best to moderate to heavy weights and medium to low reps.

Nor should you try to train them every day.

2-3 workouts per week will suffice.

As for revealing your six-pack, that’s largely a question of diet, the type of food you eat.

Lose some fat, make your abs thicker with the right kind of training, and they’ll start to show through.

Train hard but eat too much of the wrong things, and your abs will remain hidden under a layer of fat.

Remember, you can rarely out-train a bad diet unless you are an Olympian training 10 or more hours a day!

This article covers eleven of the best at-home middle abs exercises and provides you with a short workout to follow.

Abs Anatomy 101

Before you get into the nitty-gritty of the best middle abs exercises, first take a quick look at how your abs actually work.

Abs is short for the rectus abdominis, which is the long, flat muscle on the front of your stomach.

It starts at your sternum and lower ribs and extends all the way down to your pubis, which is the bottom of your pelvis.

The Rectus abdominis is bisected vertically by a line of ligamentous tissue called the linea alba and divided into horizontal sections by more of the same type of tissue.

That gives this muscle its distinctive six-pack appearance, providing you are lean enough to see it, of course!

Despite being one single muscle, the rectus abdominis has an upper section and a lower section.

The term ‘middle abs’ is somewhat misleading because there is no such thing.

However, it’s the term some people use to describe the abs in their entirety.

The functions of rectus abdominis are:

Flexion of your spine
Lateral flexion of your spine
Compression of the abdominal contents

Strong abs can help support your spine during exercises like squats and deadlifts and can ward off back pain.

That said, increasing your ab strength is crucial for safer squats, deadlifts, and better athletic performance, whatever your sport.

They look good, too.

The 11 Best Middle Ab Exercises

Use the following exercises to sculpt the midsection you thought you would never have.

In terms of the muscles worked, all of these middle abs exercises target your rectus abdominis muscle.

And if there is significant involvement of additional muscles such as your obliques, hip flexors, or glutes, they also get an honorable mention!

#1. Bent-knee crunches

If you haven’t done much abs training before, this exercise is an excellent place to start.

All you need is an exercise mat to do it, so it’s ideal for home workouts.

However, if you can do more than 20 or so reps, this exercise probably isn’t challenging enough for you.

How to do it:

Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor.
Place your hands on your temples and not behind your head.
Engage your abs.
Lift your head and shoulder blades a few inches off the floor, and then lie back down again, slowly.
Move slowly and deliberately to keep the tension on the target muscles.

How to do the perfect crunch

#2. Elbow Plank

Planks are an isometric or static abs exercise.

They train your midsection muscles as they often work in nature; as a stabilizer.

Don’t try to see how long you can plank for.

Instead, contract your abs as hard as possible and fatigue your muscles in a minute or less.

The elbow plank develops your rectus abdominis muscle, as well as your erector spinae muscles that run up your back, transverse abdominis, glutes, arms, and shoulders.

And you don’t even have to move – just stay still for sixty seconds!

How to do it:

Lie on your front and rest on your elbows, forearms pointing forward.
Lift your hips off the floor, so your body is straight.
Engage your abs.
Tensing your abs as hard as you can, but without holding your breath, maintain this position for 20-60 seconds.
Relax, rest, and repeat.

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#3. High Plank aka Push-Up Plank Position

The high plank is a useful bodyweight abs exercise and a way of making regular planks more demanding.

Besides your front abdomen muscles, it works all your surrounding core muscles, glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves.

As an added benefit, it provides your arms and shoulders with a good workout as well.

This exercise is also known as a PUPP or Push Up Plank Position.

Some exercisers feel that this plank is easier than the elbow plank because your body is not parallel to the floor.

On the other hand, the elbow or forearm plank has a larger base of support than only your hands in the push-up plank.

Therefore, you should try out both plank variations and decide which is best for you.

How to do it:

Kneel on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and arms vertical.
Engage your abs.
Walk your feet back and into the top of a standard push-up position, so your body is straight.
Pull your shoulders down and back.
Without lifting or lowering your hips, pull your hands and feet inward to increase abs recruitment. Imagine trying to shorten the distance between your feet and hands without moving your body. That will increase abs engagement by contracting them isometrically.
Do not hold your breath.
Maintain this position for 20-60 seconds.

Forearm Vs Push Up Plank – What’s the Difference

#4. Bird-dogs

Like planks, bird-dogs are an isometric abs exercise.

However, you’ll be using your abs to stabilize your hips and back as you move your arms and legs.

How to do it:

Kneel on all fours with your hips directly over your knees and your hands beneath your shoulders.
Brace your abs.
Extend one leg behind you and one arm in front until they’re parallel with the floor.
Lower your limbs, swap sides, and repeat.
See the bird dog exercise at minute five in this excellent video on the best stability exercises to improve your squats, deadlifts, and bench press, not to mention improve your back health!

Dr. Stuart McGill’s 3 Core Exercises You Should Do Every Day

#5. Dead bugs

Dead bugs are a sort of face-up bird-dog.

They’re a little more demanding because you’ll need to work harder to support the weight of your arms and legs.

How to do it:

Lie on your back with your legs bent, feet off the floor, and arms extended toward the ceiling.
Press your lower back into the floor and engage your abs.
Extend one arm and the opposite leg out and down toward the floor.
Return to the starting position and then repeat on the opposite side.
Continue alternating arms/legs for the required number of reps.
Stop your set if your lower back is lifting off the floor.

How to Deadbug – The Key to Core Strength + Back Relief

#6. Plank to Push-Up Exercise

The plank to push-up is a more challenging exercise than the static forearm or push-up plank.

While you aim to keep a stationary position in the latter plank variations, the plank to push-up demands that you maintain an engaged core when moving your body.

This exercise is one of the best ways you can build muscular strength in your upper body without any equipment.

How to do it:

Begin in the standard plank position (or high plank if you prefer), the elbow or forearm plank as described above.
Engage your abs.
Put your right hand where your elbow was and push up, and then the left in its elbow’s position.
You should now be at the top of the push-up position, with your body straight from head to toe.
Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.
Lower back down to your elbows one arm at a time.
That is one rep.
For the next rep, switch the leading arm and repeat.
You can also do one or more pushups between repetitions.

Plank to Push Up Workout (baby not included!)

#7. Flutter kicks

Flutter kicks are a traditional abs exercise favored by the military, especially Navy SEALs.

It’s tough but, unlike Navy Seals, you can drop your legs when you’ve had enough!

How to do it:

Lie on your back on the floor.
Place your hands palms down under your butt.
Lift your head, shoulders, and legs a few inches off the floor.
Brace your abs and press your lower back into the floor.
Keeping your legs straight, kick them up and down.
Four kicks equal one rep.
Continue for the required duration or number of reps.
Stop your set if you feel your lower back lifting off the floor.

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#8. Hanging Knee Raises

Knee raises are done using a power tower, or you can hang from a chin-up or pull-up bar.

They work your hip flexors with your abs, which is how these muscles tend to work in nature.

How to do it:

Hang with your legs straight and abs engaged.
Bend your legs and lift your knees, so they’re higher than your hips.
Imagine drawing your hip bones up to your bottom ribs.
This will help you tilt the bottom of your pelvis forward to fully activate your abs.
Lower your legs and repeat.
Take care not to swing your legs up.
Use your abs instead!

Improve Your Hanging Knee Raises

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#9. Butt-ups

Butt-ups are a challenging abs exercise.

With things like crunches, you lift your head and shoulders.

With this move, you’ll be raising your legs, and they’re considerably heavier.

You’ll also need good flexibility to do this exercise.

How to do it:

Lie on your back with your bent, feet off the floor.
Rest your arms on the floor next to your hips for balance.
Extend your legs and point your feet up to the ceiling.
Your legs should be vertical, hips flexed to 90 degrees.
Without using your arms for assistance, lift your lower back and butt off the floor, pushing your feet upward.
Lower your butt back to the floor and repeat.

How to do the Butt Up Exercise

#10. Bent-knee sit-up

Sit-ups have fallen out of fashion in recent years because they’re considered non-functional.

The truth is that they’re still an effective way to work your abs, which is why most power towers have a built-in sit-up leg pad.

As for the whole abs and hip flexor argument, that’s how these muscles usually operate in nature.

Your abs seldom work in isolation.

How to do it:

Lie on the floor with your legs bent and feet flat.
Anchor your feet if necessary.
Put your hands on your temples and not behind your head.
Engage your abs and sit up until your torso is upright.
Lie back down and repeat.
Think about lifting and lowering your upper body one vertebrae at a time rather than keeping your body straight.

How To Do Situps Correctly for Beginners

#11. Mountain climbers

The mountain climber is another isometric abs exercise designed to increase core stability.

Working one leg at a time, this exercise also targets your obliques or waist muscles.

How to do it:

Adopt the push-up position with your arms and legs straight.
Engage your abs and bend one leg, pulling your knee up and into your chest.
Extend your leg, swap sides, and repeat.
Do this exercise slowly and deliberately to maximize abs tension.

10 MIN Home Workout with Mountain Climbers (No Equipment)

Middle Abs Exercises Workout at Home

While you could just do a few abs exercises a couple of times a week, you’ll get better results from a more structured approach to training.

Do the following workout 2-3 times a week on non-consecutive days, for example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Before you start, spend a few minutes warming up by jogging or jumping rope and then mobilizing and stretching your spine.

Alternatively, train your abs after your main workout when you are already warm.

	Exercise	Reps	Sets	Recovery
1	Bent-knee sit-up	40 seconds per exercise	2-4	20 seconds between exercises, 1-2 minutes between laps
2	Bird-dog
3	Crunches
4	Mountain climber
5	Knee raises/butt ups

Best Middle Ab Exercises at Home – Wrapping Up

Many fitness experts believe that you don’t need to do direct training for your abs.

They say that things like squats and deadlifts provide your abs with all the work they need, albeit indirectly.

While your abs ARE engaged in squats and deadlifts, it’s actually your lower back that’s doing most of the work, and abs activity is actually relatively low.

Whether you want strong or good-looking abs, it makes sense to train your midsection directly a couple of times a week.

But don’t fall into the trap of doing high reps with light weights.

Instead, try to keep your reps under 20 to fatigue your abs faster and save a whole lot of time in the process.

Train your abs like your arms, legs, or shoulders – hard, heavy, and so they get stronger.

THAT’s how you build a midsection you can be proud of!

What’s Next

Here are more challenging exercises you will want to try as you progress on your fitness journey:

See the 10 Best Pull-Up Bar Exercises for Abs + Core Muscles Workout.

11 Best Middle Abs Exercises for Beginners at Home + Workout