Lower Ab Workout: The Best Low Ab Exercises

The best low ab workout doesn’t need fancy equipment or a hundred reps of anything. It needs a handful of moves that curl your pelvis up toward your ribs, done slowly enough that your abs do the work instead of your hip flexors. This guide covers what “lower abs” really means, the seven best lower ab exercises from easiest to hardest, a ready-to-follow lower ab workout routine card, and how to turn the ab workout lower-body reels you’ve saved into a plan you’ll actually repeat.

Do lower abs really exist?

Your “six-pack” muscle, the rectus abdominis, is one long muscle that runs from your lower ribs to your pelvis. There’s no separate lower ab muscle you can switch on by itself. Every ab exercise works the whole rectus abdominis to some degree.

What changes is which end moves. In a crunch, your rib cage curls down toward a fixed pelvis, so the effort is felt most near the top. In a reverse crunch or leg raise, your pelvis curls up toward a fixed rib cage, so the work shifts toward the bottom. That’s why lifters still talk about lower ab exercises, and why they feel different.

Two things follow from this:

Pelvis first, legs second. A good lower ab exercise starts with a small backward tilt of the pelvis (tucking your tailbone). If your legs move but your pelvis doesn’t, your hip flexors are doing most of the lifting.
Visibility is a separate question. Many people store more fat on the lower belly, so the bottom of the six-pack is often the last part to show. Training builds the muscle underneath; overall diet, activity and sleep decide how much of it you see.

If you want the full picture of how the whole front of your core trains together, start with our ranking of the best ab workout exercises, then come back here for the lower half.

The 7 best lower ab workout exercises

These moves are listed from easiest to hardest. Most people should start with the first three, master the pelvic tilt, and add harder moves only when they can do 12 to 15 clean reps without the lower back arching.

1. Dead bug

Lie on your back with your arms pointing at the ceiling and your knees bent at 90 degrees above your hips. Press your lower back gently into the floor. Slowly lower your right arm overhead and your left leg toward the floor at the same time, stop just before your back lifts, then return and switch sides.

Cue: Breathe out as you lower. Keep the gap between your lower back and the floor closed the entire set.
Common mistake: Going fast. The dead bug works because it’s slow; a three-second lower is a good target.

2. Reverse crunch

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet off the floor, arms by your sides. Use your abs to roll your hips off the floor and bring your knees toward your chest, then lower your hips back down one vertebra at a time. The movement is small, only a few inches at the top.

Cue: Think “tailbone up,” not “knees in.” The lift should come from the curl of your pelvis.
Common mistake: Swinging the legs to get momentum. Pause for a second at the top of every rep.

Woman in orange leggings doing a core exercise on a mat in a home gym

3. Lying leg raise

Lie flat with your legs straight and hands under your hips or by your sides. Tilt your pelvis so your lower back presses toward the floor, then lift your legs to vertical. Lower them slowly and stop at the point where your lower back starts to lift.

Cue: The bottom of the rep is wherever you can keep your back down. For many people that’s about 45 degrees at first.
Regression: Bend your knees to shorten the lever. This is often called a bent-knee leg raise.

4. Flutter kicks

From the same starting position, lift both legs a few inches off the floor and make small, quick up-and-down kicks, alternating legs. Keep your lower back pressed down and your breathing steady.

Cue: Small kicks, long time. Twenty to thirty seconds of controlled kicks beats a minute of sloppy ones.
Common mistake: Letting your legs drift too low. Raise them higher if your back arches.

5. Hollow body hold

Lie on your back, press your lower back down, and lift your shoulders and legs off the floor with your arms reaching past your ears. Your body should look like a shallow banana. Hold the shape and breathe.

Cue: Your lower back is the anchor. If it lifts, bend your knees or bring your arms to your sides.
Progression: Rock gently forward and back in the hollow position once a 30-second hold feels easy.

6. Captain’s chair knee raise

Stand in a captain’s chair (the vertical knee raise station in most gyms) with your forearms on the pads and back against the backrest. Curl your knees up toward your chest, tilting your pelvis at the top, then lower slowly. In a study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, the captain’s chair was one of the top three exercises for activating the rectus abdominis and obliques, alongside the bicycle maneuver and the crunch on an exercise ball.

Cue: Keep your back on the pad. If your hips swing forward, slow down.
Progression: Straighten your legs once bent-knee reps feel easy.

7. Hanging leg raise

Hang from a pull-up bar with a firm grip and your shoulders active. Curl your pelvis up as you lift your legs, bringing your knees (or straight legs, when you’re ready) up toward your chest. Lower under control and stop the swing before the next rep.

Cue: Lead with the pelvis. Lifting straight legs to hip height without tilting the pelvis is mostly a hip flexor exercise.
Common mistake: Kipping. If you need momentum, go back to hanging knee raises.

How to program a lower ab workout

Abs are muscles like any other, so they need a challenge and time to recover. The CDC’s adult activity guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activity at least two days a week, and your core is one of the muscle groups that counts toward that. For most people, two or three lower ab sessions a week, with a rest day between them, is plenty.

Sets, reps and rest

Reps: 10 to 15 for leg raise and reverse crunch variations; 6 to 10 slow reps per side for the dead bug.
Holds: 20 to 40 seconds for hollow body holds and flutter kicks.
Sets: 2 to 3 per exercise, with 30 to 60 seconds of rest.
Progression: Add reps first, then slow the lowering phase, then move to the next harder exercise on the list.

Balance it with planks and upper ab work

A complete core routine also trains your abs to resist movement. Harvard Health points to planks as a better core builder than sit-ups, because holding a position works the core muscles together. Pair this lower ab workout with a plank variation and an upper-focused move from our upper ab workout, and you have the whole front of your core covered.

Where it fits in your week

The easiest place for ab work is the end of a session you’re already doing. If you follow a split, add this routine to two of your training days, for example after an upper day and a lower day. Our workout split guide shows where core work fits in 3, 4, 5 and 6-day weeks.

Lower ab workout routine card

This 15-minute routine needs only a mat. Do it two or three times a week. Warm up first with a minute of marching in place and a few cat-cow stretches.

Dead bug: 2 sets of 8 slow reps per side, 30 seconds rest
Reverse crunch: 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, 45 seconds rest
Lying leg raise: 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, 45 seconds rest
Flutter kicks: 3 sets of 20 to 30 seconds, 30 seconds rest
Hollow body hold: 3 sets of 20 to 30 seconds, 45 seconds rest

Gym version: swap the lying leg raise for captain’s chair knee raises (3 sets of 10 to 12), and once those feel easy, replace them with hanging knee raises or hanging leg raises.

Woman holding a plank on the living room floor with her phone in front of her

Want to follow this with rest timers instead of scrolling back to this page between sets? Find a reel or video of a lower ab routine you like on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Facebook, tap Share and pick Fitsaver (or paste the link). Fitsaver turns the video into a step-by-step routine with exercises, sets, reps and rest. Then edit the sets, reps and rest to match the routine card above, and drop it into your Abs catalog so it’s ready next time.

Common lower ab workout mistakes

Arching the lower back. If your back lifts off the floor, the range is too big for your current strength. Shorten it or bend your knees.
Using momentum. Swinging turns a hard ab exercise into an easy hip flexor one. Slow, controlled reps with a pause at the top work better.
Doing endless reps. Once you can do 20 clean reps, make the exercise harder instead of doing 40.
Skipping the rest of the core. Lower ab moves are one piece. Planks, side planks and anti-rotation work keep your core balanced.
Expecting spot reduction. Ab exercises strengthen the muscle; they don’t burn fat from your belly specifically.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best low ab workout for beginners?

Start with the dead bug, reverse crunch and bent-knee leg raise. They teach the pelvic tilt that every harder lower ab exercise depends on, and they need only a mat.

How often should I do lower ab exercises?

Two or three times a week is enough for most people. Leave at least one day between sessions so your abs can recover, the same as any other muscle group.

Why do I feel leg raises in my hips instead of my abs?

Your hip flexors are lifting your legs without your pelvis tilting. Bend your knees, shorten the range, and focus on curling your tailbone up at the top of each rep.

Can I get a flat lower belly just from lower ab workouts?

No exercise burns fat from one spot. Lower ab work builds the muscle, while your overall diet, activity level and sleep decide how much body fat covers it.

Is the hanging leg raise better than the lying leg raise?

It’s harder, not automatically better. Master the lying leg raise and captain’s chair knee raise first, then move to hanging variations when you can control the swing.

Start your lower ab routine this week

Pick the routine card, schedule two sessions this week, and write down your reps so you know when to move up a level. If you’d rather follow it with timers and track your streak, Fitsaver is free to start on the App Store and Google Play. Share in your favorite lower ab reel, set it to match the plan above, and train.