Grab a pair of sliders and fire up your tummy muscles! These slider exercises for abs target your entire core but they’re not for the light-hearted. In fact, these core glider exercises are challenging and provide a burn in the best of ways. Build your own ab workout or grab the one at the end of the blog post for strong, toned abs!
With so many ways to target your abs sometimes, it’s fun to get creative! And slider exercises for abs do just that (also known as "gliders).
They use a different kind of resistance and can challenge you in a new way with even the most basic of exercises.
Are Core Sliders Effective?
Yes! Using sliders provides a different kind of resistance than bands or dumbbells. This is because more often than not you're pulling your body in against the gliders. Thus, there's a bit of extra tension.
Likewise, any piece of equipment is effective if you use it consistently! However, sliders are easy to carry around with you or travel with making them a great on-the-go choice. In fact, you can use just a set of gliders for a full-body workout!
However, these slider exercises are not geared towards beginners or postpartum mamas. If you’re newly postpartum you want to focus on mastering these core exercises long before delving into anything more intense.
Those exercises are the base for just about everything and will teach you to regain control of the activation in other exercises.
Moreover, before delving into these slider exercises for abs, you’ll also want to have mastered a few other ab exercises first.
The truth is if you’re unable to perform basic anti-extension and anti-rotation exercises then these core glider exercises will to more hard than good.
So, focus on muscle engagement and not just going through the motions and then go dominate!
How To Use Gliders For Abs
Gliders are used on a hard surface (hardwood, linoleum, etc). They are placed under an anchor point like your feet, hands, or knees.
Then, you must use your muscles to actively pull one part of your body to another. For ab training, more often than not you are pulling your feet into your chest or pushing your hands away from your torso for an effective core workout.
Hack: If you don't have a set of sliders, in a pinch you can use socks on the hardwood floor or even paper plates on the carpet! However, these variations tend to be even more challenging tension-wise as they do "get stuck".
Where To Buy Sliders
You can grab a pair of sliders from Prosource which is my go-to company. Use code mamabearfit and save yourself some money?
Slider Exercises For Abs
These glider exercises for your core muscles are a fun and challenging way to strengthen and tone your abs!
However, like any fitness goal, the best exercise is one you'll do consistently.
Master the slider ab exercises, try out new ones, and generally, play!
If you want to fire up your abs, grab 3-4 of the exercises and perform them back to back without rest (one set) and repeat that for a couple of sets.
Likewise, repetitions can range anywhere from 8-15 depending on the exercise and where you’re at.
Classic Pike
- Shoulders come directly over wrists
- Raise hips by pulling up with the abs
Crunch
- Shoulders come directly over wrists
- Round back as knees pull in
- Don’t let the backdrop when pushing back
Obqlique Crunch
- Shoulders come directly over wrists
- Crunch through the side don’t just twist hips
- Don’t let back drop when pushing back
Alligator Walks
- Do not let low back drop/extend
- Pull body forward
- Try to minimize hips rotating
Fallout
- Engage glutes
- Do not let low back extend
Plank Walkout
- Engage glutes
- Do not let low back extend
- Try to minimize hips rotating
Reverse Plank With Swing Through
- Open shoulders and chest at top
- Engage glutes
- Use abs to pull legs into and under the body
- Round back when pull legs in
Straddle Pike
- Shoulders come directly over wrists
- Raise hips by pulling up with the abs
- Keeps legs out to the side by using glutes
FAQ's & Tips For At-Home Exercises
As with anything at home, engagement and activation are crucial. If you can’t activate the necessary muscles you’ll just be going through the motions and doing more harm than good.
Learning to perform deadbugs is a crucial skill in activating the deep core muscles and then turning that into pelvic tilts when in a plan will be the most helpful.
6 Minute Core Workout With Sliders
Perform each exercise back to back with little or no rest between the exercises. At the end of the set, rest for thirty seconds and repeat for a total of three rounds
A1. Pike x30s
A2. Alligator Walks x30s
A3. Reverse Plank x30s
Remember: move slowly and with control. Focus on form and engagement and not just going through the motions.
Need more core workouts? Here's a 10-minute, no-equipment ab workout!
And of course, if you need more (more motivation, more visual, more support) check out my follow-along workout section! Choose your workout, hit play, and work out WITH me.
Don’t forget to pin these awesome slider exercises for abs to fire up your core!
More Slider Workouts
Looking for more options when it comes to using sliders? Here are a few fun workouts:
Strengthen your core with these slider exercises for abs! Furthermore, these core glider exercises challenge your abs in new ways to promote results and get you fit!
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