Abs Exercises You Need To Avoid (And What To Do Instead)

‘Abs Exercises You Need To Avoid (And What To Do Instead)’ – Monica May

I think you’ll agree with me when I say that when you are into fitness you try all sorts of things.

I know I am constantly looking for new interesting moves to spice up my workout routine.

Especially when it comes to abs.

Now, there are so many abs exercises out there, however not all of them really work.

In fact, there are some of them that can make more harm than good.

It’s sad that these abs exercises are usually a part of most of the popular workout programs.

And today, I’m listing all of them!

Plus, I’ll point out some of the swaps to do instead.

Without further ado, let’s jump right into them.

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Or my 5 min AB Finisher Workout:

Abs Exercises You Need To Avoid (And What To Do Instead)

Crunches

Say what now?!

Yup, you heard me.

Crunches may be one of the most popular abs exercises, but not the best one, by any means.

And there are a few reasons for that.

First of all, they are too simple of a movement, that don’t target the deep abdominal muscles.

And that’s just the beginning of it.

Crunches are bad for your back and neck, especially if you’re doing it with your hands pulling your neck.

Not to mention the fact that you won’t end up burning fat while doing crunches, even if you do hundreds of them.

What to do instead: Tiptoe Crunches

Crossing your hands in the back of your neck will prevent you from pulling on it, and having your legs up at a 90-degree angle will help you engage your lower abs too.

You’ll get much more out of this movement, instead of the regular crunch.

Bicycle crunch

Another old-school crunch variation that can cause more harm than good – the bicycle crunch.

Again, pulling on the neck and compromising your back to meet your elbow with the opposite knee, hoping to target the obliques.

However, there are so many other exercises that will work much better on the obliques than this movement.

What to do instead: Single Leg Knee To Chest

This exercise works so much better and burns much more fat while targeting the oblique muscles.

For a modification, keep your hands behind your back for support.

Side Bends

This is probably the worst abs exercise of all time.

Most people do it in hopes of getting rid of the love handles.

And I’m not any better – I was doing this exercise all the time back in the days when I started at the gym, because well, everyone was doing it.

However, this exercise is not the solution for the love handles problem.

In fact, side bends can cause even bigger problems than love handles – problems with your back.

It’s a low impact exercise, that won’t help you burn those love handles, and can only compromise your back.

What to do instead: Side Plank Dips

Even if dips are too much, and you decide to go for a side plan hold, you will get amazing results on your obliques, plus will work on your full body and burn fat.

Russian Twists

And another one for the obliques, love handles exercises you should avoid – the Russian twists.

I’ve been doing this exercise for so long, and after realizing how ineffective it actually is, I swapped it out.

Turns out, the only thing the bell in your hands does is putting your spine at risk even more.

And the results you get by twisting your body with weight is next to zero, compared to the possible injuries you could get.

It’s just not worth it.

What to do instead: Abs Over Bell

Get that bell from your hands on the floor and start making half-moons around it.

The abdominal muscles that you’ll engage and the amount of fat that you’ll burn is not comparable.

Leg Raises

Now, this exercise may not have the risk of injuring yourself, however, it is too simple of a movement will a low impact and it’s wasting your time for sure.

You may feel something in your lower abs, however, this is mostly for your hip flexors, while your abs are playing the secondary role.

What to do instead: Kick Ups

This move engages your lower and middle core while giving you a full-body feel.

Targeting your core while burning fat – that’s what we want.

Sit-Ups

Now, I know this is one more exercise that’s super famous and probably a part of any fitness program, but hear me out.

I’ve been doing it for so many years when I finally realized it doesn’t really do anything for me.

You see, even if we eliminate the injury part when you do sit-ups, your body acts as an anchor and helps out to get you up, which makes them not that effective.