Hip Raises
Hip raises begin in a standard crunch position. Keep your head and shoulders off the mat. Raise your hips up and off the mat as you keep the rest of your body still.
Raise your knees up and toward your chest until your hips are off of the mat, then return to the starting position. To make the exercise more challenging, lift your butt completely off of the mat at the end of the movement. Difficulty Rating: 1
This is a slightly different variation in which you keep your legs at an open angle. Concentrating on holding your legs open like this can reduce the temptation to use momentum to swing your legs upward, helping you get more out of this exercise. Other than this, the movement is performed the same way. Difficulty Rating: 1
Variation with Leg Crossed
Having one leg crossed over the other like this makes the exercise significantly more difficult. Your unique level of flexibility will determine how well you are able to perform this exercise. Concentrate on feeling the contraction in your lower abs as you raise your hips and avoid using momentum to swing your legs upward when executing this movement. Difficulty Rating: 2
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