It’s one of the top questions we get at

Lets start with something that probably a lot of you have heard us say before, but we can never say it too much: Abs are made in the kitchen. A huge (huge!) piece of the puzzle when dealing with your midsection is diet. So, if you’re struggling with losing weight around your belly, you want to make sure you’re thinking about your nutrition, as well—not just your core moves.

Oh, and one more thing you’ve maybe heard us say: The key to blasting more fat through your workouts is working more muscles. That means isolation moves (yes, even ones for your lower abs) in most cases won’t be as effective for changing the shape of your silhouette as a total-body routine will be.

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That doesn’t mean zeroing on your lower abs doesn’t have benefits, though—just something to keep in mind when you’re thinking about why you’re doing different workouts. Try adding this routine once or twice a week—it can be part of an activation warmup before any workout, or a core-focused cooldown after any workout. This circuit not only works your lower abs from every angle, but also recruits your deep core muscles and helps improve breathing control. (It also engages your pelvic floor muscles, which comes with oh-so-many welcomed benefits for ladies.)

Get the most out of these moves by focusing on your breathing and thinking “slow and controlled” through every rep. If you’re not feeling it in your lower abs, pause, reset, and slow it down.