Ab Exercises That Don’t Put Strain on Your Neck

Many popular ab exercises involve the use of your neck - take stomach crunches, for example. Ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups require you to lift your shoulders off the ground, and that puts a lot of strain on your neck. If you're nervous about doing these exercises because you have had a neck injury or you just don't want to risk it, there are many other ab exercises you can do that don't put any strain on your neck.

Supine Reverse Crunches

Supine reverse crunches are a great exercise for targeting the lower and middle parts of your rectus abdominus. Doing a reverse crunch isn't a whole different from doing a regular crunch, except you can keep your head and shoulders flat on the floor so you don't strain your neck. Simply lie on your back with your knees raised and bent at a 90-degree angle. Then pull your knees towards your chest, slightly lifting your hips off the ground.

Hanging Leg Lifts

Hanging leg lifts are a superb abdominal exercise but you do have to be in relatively good shape to do them. You also need a pull-up bar or something sturdy you can hang from. Grab on to your pull-up bar with both hands but don't pull yourself up; just stay in a dead hang position. Then lift your legs up and bend your knees up to your chest without swinging. This exercise works your rectus abdominus, and also strengthens your hands and arms, as well as your legs; it's really a full-body exercise with an emphasis on your abs.

The Stomach Vacuum

I would dare to say the stomach vacuum exercise is the safest ab exercise you could possibly do; although, I will admit its name sounds like a dangerous surgery. The thing I like the most about the stomach vacuum exercises is that you can literally do this exercise anywhere, anytime, no matter what you're wearing - if you're in public, people can't even tell you're doing it.

Simply stand up nice and straight, exhale deeply to let all the air out of your lungs, and then take a deep breath and suck your stomach in. Suck your stomach in like you're trying to touch your naval to your spine and hold it as long as you can - 20 to 60 seconds is a good range to shoot for. The stomach vacuum is highly effective and bodybuilders have doing it for decades to make their waists smaller.

Sources:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ms-fit5.htm

http://www.acefitness.org/exerciselibrary/76/supine-reverse-crunches