Toning your lower abs is important for more reasons than to have a sleek, attractive body. While that is important to many, your lower ab workout is important to your overall heat and well being. Strong, toned lower abdominal muscles are important for spinal stability and the prevention of lower back injury. Even if you are not particularly concerned about the aesthetics of toning that lower abs, be sure to include lower ab workouts in your exercise routine for these health-related reasons.

Pitfalls

If you are like many, you are doing your lower ab workout every day without fail and seeing no results. This is usually because you are not performing the exercises correctly. More than any other muscle sets, the lower abs are targeted by a group of exercises that are very easy to do wrong. Crunches, bicycles, and captain's chairs are all excellent exercises for the abdominal muscles, but when doing these, you must concentrate on using your abdominal muscles; otherwise your back does the work, and you achieve no success.

Equipment

Magazines and television ads are full of equipment you can buy to help you with your lower ab workout. Rollers, rockers, and slides are abundant and are advertised by fit, healthy people demonstrating how these gadgets help you get into shape. Save your money. What you need for a healthy workout is a mat or carpet to protect your back, comfortable clothes, a water bottle, and the knowledge of what exercises to do and how to do them. Do not let anyone convince you that you have to spend a lot of money to get fit.

Tips for Success

There are some very important tips to get the most from your ab workouts. First, be sure to do your exercises slowly and deliberately. By doing these exercises slowly, you are making those abdominal muscles work through the motions. It seems silly, but don't forget to breathe. If you don't pay attention to this, you may find yourself holding your breath, and your muscles need a constant flow of oxygen to operate correctly. Remember that quality is more important than quality. 100 or more crunches per day will be no more effective than 30 slow, deliberate crunches.

Exercises that Work

There are a number of exercises touted to work the lower abdominal muscles. Some of the best exercises for your lower ab workout include one in which you lie on the floor face down, and use your abdominal muscles to pull your navel toward your spine. Use slow, deliberate movements, release, and repeat. Then roll over and push your lower back against the floor. Again, release and repeat. A set of leg lowerings, first one leg, then the other, then both, in slow, deliberate motions are a great way to work the lower abs. Follow up with planks and bicycles to boost your lower ab workout.