Looking for some more ab exercises? Here are 3 leg lift variations that have been used by many top athletes:

Single Leg Lifts – Start with your back on the ground and one knee bent, so that the sole of one foot is flat on the ground about a foot and a half from your hips and the other leg is extended. Simultaneously raise the latter leg and your hips until your body makes a flat plane from your shoulders to your bent knee and the other toe. Return to the original position and repeat 9 times. Then, switch legs and perform the same process. This is considered to be one set; it is up to you to decide how many you do total.

Lateral Leg Lifts – Instead of starting with your back on the floor, start on your side, keeping your body all on the same plane except for one elbow that you use to support keeping your shoulders off the ground. From this position, keeping your legs  together and extended, raise both legs up. This is not the natural direction that your hips allow your legs to move. In this exercise, you will find that you can only lift your legs a couple inches, but will quickly feel the effect that the exercise has on your abs. Hold your legs in the raised position for your own specified count, and release.

Leg Lifts (with a bar) – This exercise requires some sort of overhead bar, such as a pull-up bar.  This is performed with both hands on an overhead bar, in the most comfortable or firm grasp that you can hold and ideally with enough height for dangling feet. Keeping both feet together and both legs as straight as possible, raise your legs to you left side, lower them, then raise them to the right. Continue to alternate for your chosen period of time. You should try to reduce the amount of swinging that this exercise creates.

Be sure to read “5 Ab Workouts” to see a few more effective (but simple) ab exercises that weren’t included in this article.