The abdominal muscles are some of the hardest muscles to tone and define simply because of their complexity and location. Many people who target these muscles with specific exercises know the feeling of nausea that creeps up when the number of reps has gone over your limit of tolerance.

The important thing to keep in mind when targeting the abdominal muscles is to ensure that you don’t overdo it with weight or repetitions. Working your abs is more about slow, controlled movements and proper breathing. For some people, it may seem like every bit of food they eat goes straight to their middle. Building up the reps and amount of weight you use to help build up your abdominal muscles is meant to be a gradual thing. Working too hard to burn off those last few pounds around your middle may mean that you end up too sore. Too much abdominal pain will affect your ability to breathe properly through the rest of your exercises, so ‘pain’ is really no ‘gain’ in this case. The following exercises can add strength and stability to your abs workout and won’t leave you gasping after breath when you’re done. Arm Lift from Plank Position Staring from a prone position, keep your forearms and toes on the floor (plank position). Your torso should be as rigid as you can keep it and your body should be straight between your ears and your toes. Remember to keep your body from bending or sagging as this may contribute to some pain after the exercise. Your head should be relaxed as you look towards the floor. Proper form is everything with this exercise. Contract and squeeze the abdominal muscles throughout the exercise. Now comes the hard part! Shift your weight to your right forearm and extend your left arm straight out in front of you. Now hold this position for five seconds (not as easy as it sounds here, I tell you). You know what’s coming. Bring your left arm back down and do the same exercise with your right arm, for another five seconds. If you can do two sets of eight reps each, you’re well on your way to strengthening those abdominal muscles. A variation on this exercise combines the same plank position but involves the lower half of your body, which works the lower abdominal muscles a bit more than usual. While up on your toes and resting on your forearms, slowly lift one leg six inches off the floor. Remember to keep your leg straight and your toes pointed. Switch legs and repeat for two sets of eight reps each. By using this exercise as part of your abdominal strengthening routine, you’ll not only begin to strengthen the muscles, but your balance and form will improve which will add to the effectiveness of all the exercises you work on. Not only will the proper form build muscles faster, but there will be far less risk of injury when you workout with the proper form to your body. Working in conjunction with your abdominals is your lower back. Together they build your core. In order to build a solid core one must work both the abs and lower back. Check out some of these lower back exercises here and work your way to a solid core now.