If you have enough space for a mat, you have enough space for a great ab workout. That's my motto, at least. I live in a small apartment, but there's one scrap of floor in front of the TV that's just the right size for my yoga mat, and lately that area has seen a lot of low-impact workouts while I'm working to recover from injury. I'm especially focusing on small-space, no-noise, on-the-mat moves that challenge my abs, instead of jumping or standing movements that could exacerbate my foot injury or make a racket that could bother my roommate.
Luckily, when it comes to ab exercises, you don't need to stand up to feel a serious burn. Want proof? Ahead, check out 32 of the best on-the-mat ab moves I'll be doing even after I'm back on my feet — that's how good they are! Head to your at-home workout nook, roll out that mat (or make sure the floor is comfy!), and grab a few of these effective exercises to get your core burning.
Start on the floor resting on your forearms and knees.
Step your feet out one at a time, coming into a plank position.
Contract your abs to prevent your booty from sticking up or sinking. Your spine should be parallel to the floor with your abs pulling toward the ceiling.
Hold 30 seconds, and work your way up to one minute as you get stronger.
With your palms flat, raise up off your knees onto your toes. Keep your hands directly below your shoulders.
Contract your abs to keep yourself up and prevent your bottom from sticking up. Remember to keep your belly button pulled in.
With your head and spine in line, keep your back flat — don't let it curve. Picture your body as a long, straight board.
With control, slowly tap your left knee to the ground without moving your hips. Lift your left knee back up, returning to the starting position. Repeat the same movement with the right leg. This completes one rep.
Start in a Downward Dog pose, actively pushing your weight into your heels while reaching your tailbone to the sky. Lift your left leg up squeezing the left glute.
Exhale, and rock your weight forward over your hands, drawing your left knee toward your nose and pulling your abs to your spine to round your back.
Inhale and lift your left leg up as your push your weight back into your heels. This complete one rep.
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4Pilates 100s
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Start lying on your back with your legs in tabletop position (hips and knees at right angles). Engage your deep abs to round your lower spine into the floor. Make sure you are not "pooching" your abs, which means you are just working the top layer of abs, which is a Pilates no-no.
Exhale and lift your upper back off the floor, until the bottom tips of your shoulder blades skim the floor. Straighten your legs to a 45-degree angle (but make sure your low back is staying connected to the floor). Reach your arms toward your feet. Your arms will be about two inches off the floor.
Pump your arms up and down with a small range of motion, keeping your elbows straight. Inhale for five arm pumps, and exhale for five pumps. That completes one set or cycle. Repeat the cycle nine more times for a total of 100 pumps.
Keep your upper body stable while your arms pump.
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5Bicycle Crunches
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Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground (pull your abs down to also target your deep abs). Interlace your fingers, and put your hands behind your head.
Bring your knees in toward your chest, and lift your shoulder blades off the ground.
Straighten your right leg out to about a 45-degree angle to the ground while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow toward the left knee. Make sure your rib cage is moving and not just your elbows.
Now switch sides and do the same motion on the other side to complete one rep (and to create the pedaling motion). Do this exercise with slow and controlled motion.
Do 10 to 20 reps.
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6Half Banana
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Start lying on your back with your arms reaching toward the ceiling.
Exhale and roll up toward sitting while lifting your left leg up. Pause at the top and reach for your toes before rolling slowly back down to the mat. Then perform on the other side. This completes one rep.
Complete as many as you can with good form for one minute.
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7Butterfly Crunch
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Lie on your back with your knees open and the soles of your feet together (in a butterfly position). Lengthen your arms overhead so they are resting on the floor.
Exhale and bring your hands and knees toward each other, performing a full-body crunch. Your shoulder blades should be off the mat as you perform a small reverse crunch, lifting your pelvis a bit off the mat. Hold this position for a moment and really feel your abs squeezing.
Slowly lower your arms and feet back to starting position to complete one rep.
Do as many crunches as you can in one minute.
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8Seated Russian Twist
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Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your heels about a foot from your bum.
Lean slightly back without rounding your spine at all. It is really important and difficult to keep your back straight, but don't let it curve. If you can do this, try lifting your heels to increase the difficulty of the move.
Place your arms straight out in front of you with your palms touching. Your hands should be level with the bottom of your rib cage.
Pull your navel to your spine, and twist slowly to the left. The movement is not large and comes from the ribs rotating, not from your arms swinging. Inhale through centre, and rotate to the right. This completes one rep.
Aim for 16 to 20 full rotations.
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9Knee Driver
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Begin in an elbow plank position with the abs engaged.
Draw the left knee into the chest. Then step the foot back to the elbow plank position. Now draw the right knee into the chest and then step it back to the elbow plank position.
This counts as one rep.
Continue alternating sides and complete as many reps as you can in a minute.
Begin on your back with your legs straight and your arms extended overhead.
Actively press your lower back into the floor and draw your belly button into your spine.
Inhale to slowly lift your shoulders, arms, and legs off the floor. Keep your hands and heels as low to the ground as possible, while still pressing your lower back into the floor. Maintain tight abs and glutes. It's OK to bend your knees if straight legs are too challenging.
Hold like this for 30-60 seconds.
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11Dead Bug
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Lie on your back with a neutral spine and your hips and knees at right angles with your palms pressed into your thighs just above your knees.
Pull your abs to your spine, keeping your ribs and pelvis still as you lengthen your right arm and leg out until they are almost parallel to the floor. Do keep your torso and spine completely stable as the arm and leg move.
Return to the starting position, and repeat on the left side to complete one rep.
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12Extended Dead Bug
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Set up in a hollow body hold, then extend both arms and legs to the ceiling.
Engage your abs, pulling your navel to your spine and pressing your lower back to the ground.
Lower your right arm and left leg as low as you can without letting your back arch up from the floor. Reach back with your arm while extending in the opposite direction with your leg.
Slowly lift your arm and leg back to the starting position.
Repeat on the opposite side. This completes one rep.
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13Twisting Side Plank
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Come into a side plank on your right side, with your feet stacked one on top of the other and your weight on your right elbow with your fingers reaching away from your body, palm down.
Place your left arm behind your head, and inhale to prepare.
Exhale and pull your navel to your spine to engage your deep abs and rotate your left rib cage toward the floor. Stay there for a second, and deepen your abdominal connection by pulling your navel in toward your spine even more.
Return to starting position, and repeat seven more times for a total of eight reps, then switch sides.
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14Mountain Climber
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Start in a traditional push-up starting position — shoulders over hands and weight on just your toes.
Bring your right foot forward, bending the knee and putting weight on the ball of your foot.
Swiftly switch legs, bringing the left knee forward while moving the right leg back. It feels a little like running in place in a plank position. This counts as two reps.
Complete 30 reps.
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15Side-Plank Crunch
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Begin in a side elbow plank with your left elbow down and your right hand behind your head.
Keeping your torso stable and your waist lifted, bring your right leg up toward your shoulder to lightly tap your right elbow.
Lengthen your right leg back to the starting position to complete one rep.
Do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds and then switch sides for another 30 seconds.
Start seated on the ground or on a weight bench. Place your hands about an inch behind your back with your fingers facing forward. Your feet should be on the ground.
Lift both feet up off of the ground and extend both legs as you simultaneously lower your upper body. Be sure to get full extension at your hips and legs.
With control, bring your legs back to your chest without touching the ground with your feet and return to the starting position.
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17Plank With Lateral Arm Reach
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Start in a plank position.
Keeping your torso stable, slowly reach your left arm out to your side. Brace through the abs by pulling your navel to your spine. Hold this position for five seconds. If you feel too unstable, try moving your right hand so it is under the centre of your chest rather than under your right shoulder.
Keeping your torso stable, bring your arm back to the plank position. Do not round your back or twist your spine.
Repeat this same motion on the other side, extending your right arm to your side. This counts as one rep.
Come into plank position with your arms and legs straight and your shoulders above your wrists.
With control, raise your right arm up as you simultaneously raise your left leg up off of the ground. Be sure not to rotate at your hip or upper body. Hold for one second.
With control, lower your right arm and left leg back to the starting position. That counts as one rep. Repeat with the left arm and right leg.
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19Bird-Dog
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Get on all fours, with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. Remember to keep abs engaged and keep your back flat.
Reach out with your right hand and extend your left leg out behind you.
Round your back and head to connect your right elbow with your left leg under your body. This completes one rep.
Lie on your back, and open your legs into a diamond shape (aka butterfly legs) with the soles of your feet pressed together and knees out wide. Extend the arms overhead.
Inhale to curl the torso up, and tap the floor in front of your feet to stretch your glutes a bit.
Lie on your back, and lift your legs and arms up, so they are extended toward the ceiling. Lift your upper back off the floor, reaching your hands toward your feet.
Lower your legs toward the floor while reaching your arms overhead, keeping your shoulders off the mat and lower back pressed into the mat.
Repeat the crunch motion to complete one rep.
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26Double Crunch
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Lie on your back on the floor, raising your arms and legs to a 90-degree angle.
Engage your abs to lift both your shoulders and pelvis off the ground. Touch your fingers to your toes.
Keeping your core engaged the entire time, slowly lower them back to the starting position to complete one rep.
Lie flat on your back. Extend your arms so they're against the sides of your body with your palms pressing into the floor, or bend your elbows and place your palms under the back of your head. Bend your knees and draw them into your ribs. This will make it easier to pull your navel in toward your spine and actively press your lower back flat on the ground.
Lift both legs straight up toward the ceiling, continuing to engage your abs and pressing your lower back into the ground. Keeping your core strong, slowly lower your right leg down toward the ground until it is a few inches above.
Then slowly scissor your legs, lifting your right leg back up as you lower your left leg down toward the ground. This completes one rep.
Start off sitting on your bum, so your hands are planted eight inches behind you. Bend your knees and place your heels about a foot away from your hips. Make sure they are hips-width distance apart.
Inhale and lift your hips off the ground so your torso is parallel with the floor and your arms are straight. Your hands should be directly underneath your shoulders and your ankles underneath your knees, so make small adjustments if you need to. Lower your head behind you to increase the stretch in your chest and neck.
Hold for a complete breath, and then keeping your arms straight, exhale to lower your hips and straighten your legs, so your hips are hovering above the floor. Engage your abs and try to keep your spine long as you balance on your heels and hands. After a complete breath, inhale and push yourself back into the first position.
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30Modified Windshield Wipers
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Lie down on your back with arms at 90 degrees out from your shoulders, palms and arms pushed actively into the ground to stabilise your shoulders and spine.
Lift your legs off the ground, bending your knees at a 90 degree angle like you're sitting in a chair.
In a slow and controlled motion, lower your feet to one side. Pull your belly button to your spine. Your spine will lift slightly off the ground as you turn, but try to press it into the ground as long as possible.
Engage your abs to lift your legs back to the starting position.
Repeat, lowering to the other side. This completes one rep.
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31Windshield Wiper Abs
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Lie down on your back with arms at 90 degrees out from your shoulders, palms and arms pushed actively into the ground to stabilise your shoulders and spine.
Straighten your knees and flex your feet. As much as possible, maintain a 90-degree angle at the hip throughout the movement.
In a slow and controlled motion, lower your feet and legs to one side. Pull your belly button to your spine. Your spine will lift slightly off the ground as you turn, but try to press it into the ground as long as possible.
Engage your abs to lift your legs back to the starting position.
Repeat, lowering to the other side. This completes one rep.
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32Boat Pose
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Begin sitting on your mat. Bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor, balancing on your tush. Keep the spine long and straighten the legs as much as you can without rounding the back. If this is too hard, then keep the knees bent — you're still working your core.
