5 Ways to Make Your Ab Workouts More Effective—and Less Painful

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For example, your hip flexors may take over and—coupled with the fact they may be tight from sitting all day—become overworked. Or, you’re pulling on your neck or arching your back in an effort to hold yourself up or lift your legs, rather than actually engaging your core. (For more tips on how to build muscle, pick up Lift to Get Lean by Holly Perkins.)

That’s why we asked Johnson for a few small changes to relieve the pressure from your hips, back, and neck, while forcing you to fire up the areas you’re really trying to tone. Welcome to abs, done right:

Photograph by Beth Bischoff

PLANK

The problem: Letting your hips sag means your abs do none of the work. Not only is this an ineffective way to build core strength, but curving your lower back might cause pain, too.

The fix: As you hold plank, imagine you’re wearing a belt buckle around your waist. Now, pull that belt buckle up and into your belly button. This will force your abs to do the work of holding you up and prevent your hips from dipping. One more trick: Try to pull hipbones together (like you are doing a Kegel), to incorporate your pelvic floor—a part of the core that’s often forgotten. “Expect that you will start shaking really quick. This is how you know you’re doing a plank correctly,” says Johnson.

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Photograph by ThomasMacDonald

SITUPS

The problem: Your hips are tilted forward, forcing you to use your hip flexors to do the “situp” portion of the move.

The fix: Forget the situp entirely and try pelvic tilts. Lie on the ground with your knees bent, feet on the floor. Engage your abs and flatten your back against the ground. Then, without lifting your tailbone off the ground, tilt your pelvis to make an arch in your back. “Doing these tilts can make people sore who’ve been doing sit-ups their entire life,” says Johnson.

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Photograph by Mitch Mandel

LEG DROPS

The problem: It’s tempting to arch and flatten your back when lowering and raising your legs. This not only tenses up your lower back, but your shoulders and neck overcompensate for your lack of ab strength, too.

The fix: Lie down and raise your legs in the air to 90 degrees. Slowly lower both legs toward the ground, then lift them back up. If you can’t keep your upper body relaxed with your back flattened on the floor, try heel taps instead. To start, lie on your back in a tabletop position, hips and knees at 90 degrees. Brace your belly and lower one leg down so your heel taps the floor, return the leg to the start position. Switch legs. Make sure your back is pressed to the floor throughout.

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Photograph by Beth Bischoff

BRIDGE

The problem: If you rely on your back to drive your hips into the air, you can easily overuse and aggravate that area.

The fix: Lie on the ground, knees bent and feet flat on the floor, arms by your side. Raise hips, focusing on lifting hips straight above your head toward the wall behind you—not at the ceiling. (Aim for the ceiling and you’ll arch.) Another tip: Squeeze that butt tight. If someone poked you in the booty, it should feel like apples, not applesauce.

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Photograph by Beth Bischoff

FARMER WALK

The problem: Your posture may fall forward or to the side, pulling your spine out of alignment.

The fix: Pick up a kettlebell in one hand. Perform a slow motion walk to the other side of the room. Use your core to maintain a straight, upright posture. If you find yourself leaning to one side as you walk, that’s a sign that your belly isn’t engaged. While you may not think of this as a traditional ab exercise, Johnson often has his clients avoid crunches in favor of moves that target your entire core.