The Best Body-Weight Moves for Your Abs

While body-weight moves work your entire body, some of them really target your core. If
you are looking to tighten your ab muscles and strengthen your core, definitely add
these moves to your workout routine.

Reverse Crunch

This might sound like a simple crunch, but you are going in reverse, and it is much more
complicated. The good news is that it works your lower abdominals, which are
notoriously difficult to engage. If you have a low belly pouch you are trying to minimize
and tone, this is an excellent body-weight exercise to do. The reverse crunch starts with
you lying on your back with your legs out in front of you. Put your hands behind your
head to support your neck, then cross your ankles. Lift your feet up and toward the
ceiling, then back down. When you lift up, you want to try to get your buttocks off the
ground. You can start this by bending your legs, but eventually you should be able to handle these.

Different Types of Planks

All the different planks you do will work out your abs in a minimal amount of time. 
Crunches can only get you so far, plus planks work other areas of your body as well. 
Start small with the elbow and standard planks, holding it for as long as you can. You
can then start adding more planks, like side planks, shoulder taps, and pulling your
knees in to your chest one by one. The great thing about planks is that they engage
your abs and have modifications to make them more difficult.

Leg Lift

This is similar to the reverse crunch, except you want to keep your legs straight, and
don’t need to lift them all the way up. Instead, you are going to reach your legs out while
laying on your back, lift your legs about 6 inches, then lower back down. Continue doing
this as many times as you can. If you have a bad lower back, this might not be the best
ab move for you. 

Bicycle Crunches

When you get sick of standard crunches, you can easily mix it up by doing bicycle
crunches. Lay on your back, then bend your knees, lifting both legs off the ground. Lift
your upper back and neck off the ground by a few inches into a crunch. You will then
move your legs out, back and forth, while extending them in a bicycle form. Try to do 10
sets, take a break, then see if you can do 10 more.
 

Lazy Girl Body-Weight Exercise Ideas

If you feel that you are on the lazier end of the spectrum and want your free time to be
watching TV or listening to music at home, that doesn’t mean you have to be completely
sedentary. You can do body-weight workouts while doing these other things, without
walking into a gym, and still gain benefits from it.

Decide What Moves Are Best

It is always good to learn the different body-weight moves first before you decide how to
add them to your routine. There are some you are probably familiar with, like squats and
lunges, but others you may not know how to do correctly. Choose moves that are good
for your current fitness level. You want to challenge yourself, but not overdo it. If you are
a beginner and you choose expert-level moves, you will burnout quickly and lose your
motivation. 

Choose the Increments

Once you know what body-weight moves you want to try out, you will then choose
increments. This is when you decide if you want to do a certain move when listening to
one song, or if you want to do them during each commercial break while watching TV. If
you are streaming video online, you can try them during advertisement breaks, or a
slightly longer routine after each episode. You can also choose minute increments, like
if you are watching a movie, pause it after every 15-20 minutes to do 10 or 20 reps of
one type of body-weight exercise.

Try Moves While Doing Other Activities

Even a lazy girl (or dude) can find moves to do while doing other activities at home as
well. You can stand up on your tip-toes or squat while brushing your teeth or washing
dishes, do lunges every time you walk down the hall to the bathroom, or commit to a
wall sit for 30 seconds before every meal you eat. There are many different options for
fitting in these exercises in your normal day, whether you are at home, in the office, or
spending the day at the park.

Make it Fun!

There is no reason your workout has to be a bore! Make it fun by turning up your
favorite fast-paced song and do some burpees and planks, or try jumping jacks for an
entire song. Have fun with it, involve your family or roommates, and don’t treat it like
exercise. This is what will keep you motivated.

Easy Body-Weight Moves for the Morning

When you wake up in the morning, you might not be prepared for a long, intense
workout, but you can still benefit from body-weight exercises. It increases your energy, 
revs up your metabolism, and can really get you in the right mindset for the day. Take a
look at these body-weight moves you can do in the morning.

Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are a good body-weight workout to start with since they really increase
your energy. It is sometimes hard to wake up and get enough stamina for a morning
workout, so start with at least jumping jacks to get your heart pumping. You can
eventually do intervals by doing jumping jacks, a few other body-weight exercises, then
coming back to the jumping jacks. If you need a warm-up before the jumping jacks, walk
in place for a few minutes, and do moves like arm swings and shoulder rolls.

Lunges

Lunges are recommended for anyone doing a workout at home because they are easy
to do and just require a small amount of space. If you have a hallway to move around in, 
try doing walking lunges where you do a lunge as you walk down the hallway or other
space. However, you can also do standing lunges, alternating feet, but not actually
moving forward or backward. This is good when you have a small amount of space, like
your bedroom.

Squats

The morning is also a great time to do your squats. You can either do them in a
sequence with other exercise, or do them while doing other activities. For example, if
you are waiting for your coffee to brew or your omelet to finish cooking, do some squats
right there in the kitchen! You can also do squats when you are brushing your teeth or
waiting for someone else to finish in the bathroom.

Planks

For the final workout in the morning before you get ready for your day, do some planks. 
A simple elbow or full plank only requires holding it for about 30 seconds. You can
eventually challenge yourself by holding it for longer or doing variations on the plank by
moving different parts of your body. Planks can also be done with minimal space and
don’t take much time. If you wake up late, spending one minute doing planks isn’t going
to affect your schedule all that much, so at least try to fit that in.

Easy Moves for Beginners

One of the great things about body-weight exercises is that anyone can do them. No
matter what your fitness level, you can try the moves, modify them, then eventually get
strong enough to complete them. It is challenging for everyone, but as a beginner, you
might want to start with some simple moves. Here are ideal moves to do when you are
a beginner to body-weight fitness.

Squats

The first move that works great for a beginner is the squat. These are a simple move to
master, provide a lot of modifications based on your skill level, and require no jumping
or high-intensity moves. All you need to do is stand with your legs about shoulder-width
apart, then squat down with your buttocks moving behind you, bending your knees, and
keeping your back flat. You don’t want to lean forward or backward when performing a
squat. The lower you go, the harder it will be, so if you are new to squats, just go down
as far as you can. Over time, you will be able to go lower and lower.

Planks

The next body-weight exercise to do as a beginner is the plank. There are many
varieties of planks that you can learn as you get stronger, but it is good to start with just
a basic plank. The standard plank puts you in the position of doing a full push-up, where
you are balancing with your back flat, palms on the ground, and toes bending to hold
your body up. However, you won't go down and back up like a push-up. Instead, you
just hold this position as long as you can. Try for 10-15 seconds, then work your way up
to holding it for about 30 seconds. You can also start with an elbow plank if you find that
easier.

Walking Lunges

Everyone knows how to do a lunge, but the walking lunge takes it one step further. This
is great if you are a beginner, since all you need is some space in your home to walk
and do lunges at the same time. All you need to do is make sure your body is straight, 
then step forward with one of your legs, bending both legs as you lunge down. Go down
as far as you can, walking as you do the lunge. Each time you walk forward, you will
lunge with a different leg out in front of you.

Other Moves

Moves like jumping jacks and wall sits are also great for beginners.

Tips for Adding Body-Weight to Your Fitness Routine

If you want to start doing body-weight exercises, but not rely on it 100 percent, you can
incorporate it into your regular fitness routine. Here are some easy ways to add
body-weight moves to the workout rotation.

Choose Some Easy Moves to Start With

If you want to do body-weight exercises, but stick to your current routine, you should first
learn how to do the moves. If you are a beginner to this form of fitness, it is a good idea
to stick to the basics and gradually add them a little at a time. This might include doing a
30-second plank before each workout, or doing some squats and mountain climbers on
the days when you do cardio just to mix it up a little. Don’t feel like you need to know
how to do everything at once.

Consider Workouts That Use Body-weight

A really easy way to add body-weight exercises to your fitness routine is find workouts
that incorporate them. Instead of doing a body-weight routine separately, you are trying a
workout that uses these moves along with others to help you stay toned and fit, and
even lose some weight. This might include Pilates or yoga, gym workouts like CrossFit, 
or just some high-intensity intervals.

Alternate the Days

When it gets to the point where you want to dedicate more time to doing body-weight
exercises, start by alternating the days instead of doing them every single day. You
might want to do them on days when you are not doing cardio, and cut down your
weight training, or vice versa. There is a lot of room for flexibility and customizing your
workout routines by adding in some body-weight moves. You can do them just a couple
days a week, or every other day with your other workouts. Body-weight usually doesn't
take a long time, so you can just add another 10-15 minutes to your regular workout
routine.

Add them to Your Current Routine

Don't worry about doing something completely different from what you do now. Either adjust your current routine, or add on as mentioned above. Here are some ideas that might work for you:

• Do a quick, 5-minute body-weight routine before you do cardio for the day

• Try interval training on weight training days where you do some weights, and some body-weight exercises

• Start each day with a 15-minute body-weight routine to get energy

As you can see, there are a lot of easy options to work with!