The abdominal muscles (or abs for short) are often shown in media as a sign of being physically fit. Having a six pack is certainly a sign of being fit do not get me wrong, but abs alone are not a sign of being healthy. Everyone has abs believe it or not, some people just do not have visible abs because they are behind some fat.

The abdominal muscles are split into four regions or groups for workouts. The four groups for abs are: rectus abdominis( that comes in an upper or lower region), obliques, and serratus. These four regions are labeled in the diagram below.

The abdominal muscles act as a wall to protect the organs. In addition, the abdominal muscles allow for motion of the torso. Also, the muscles help regulate body heat, protect the spine, and the muscles help balance the torso. The uses of the abdominal muscles are plentiful and only show the importance of having these muscles be built and maintained.

I will start with the upper ab workouts.

The first workout is crunches, you do crunches by laying down and lifting your head up with your arms till your chin touches your chest(or just elevate your head).

Next, is sit ups and they are done by laying down, bending your knees like crunches, and lifting your body up to meet your knees.

The lower abs are worked through a couple of similar motions. The first workout is leg raises. Just like the name implies, this exercise is done by laying down and raising your legs straight up.

In a similar line of motion, scissor kicks can be done which is just lying down and doing a flutter kick in the air.

Some workouts to work the obliques and the core include: sitting(or Russian) twists, toe taps, and wipers.

Sitting twists are done by sitting down, lying back a little while keeping your knees bent, and you touch the ground to the left and right while twisting. This can also be done with a medicine ball or dumbbell instead of just touching the floor.

Toe taps are simple, all you have to do is lie down while bending your knees and slide left to touch your toes.

Finally, wipers will work the entire oblique. Wipers are done by lying down and you straighten your legs out as much as you can while you move your legs side to side.

Finally, the serratus muscle can be worked with sideways planks. To do sideways planks you prop your self up with your fore arm while you have your core muscles flexed.

The abs are useful for many different activities and for general life, so whether or not you can see your abs they should be worked or maintained.