Power 90 AB Ripper 100 Exercises

You may have heard of P90X, the extreme fitness program presented by celebrity trainer Tony Horton that promises to transform your physique in 90 days with plenty of sweat and commitment. Yet, as a fitness novice, you might not quite be ready for such an aggressive fitness plan.

In comes Power 90, Tony Horton's first foray into at-home fitness instruction. It was rereleased in a slightly different format as P90 in 2014, but the Power 90 plans are still available on video and DVD.

The program also lasts 90 days, but is presented as a moderate approach to physical fitness with shorter, doable versions of exercises you might find on the P90X DVDs. Power 90 includes an abdominal training section that's short but effective. The Ab Ripper 100 consists of 10 exercises you do for 10 repetitions each.

Many of the moves are ones with which you might already be familiar, while others may need a little practice to perfect. You will train all the muscles of your core, including the rectus abdominis, obliques and tranverse abdominis, as well as other stabilizing muscles essential to good core health.

Basic Ab Crunch

How To: Lie on your back on an exercise mat. Bend your knees and plant your feet in the floor, about hip-distance apart. Rest your hands behind your head. Contract your abdominals and lift your head, neck and shoulders up off the mat. Pause momentarily and release back down to complete one repetition.

Right-to-Left Crunch/Left-to-Right Crunch

How To: Lie on your back on an exercise mat with your hands behind your head, knees bent and feet planted. Drop your knees to the left side so that your lower body is twisted. Try to keep your shoulders toward the mat. Raise your head, neck and shoulders up and down from the mat for 10 repetitions. Drop your legs to the right and do the move for 10 more reps.

Elbow-to-Knee Crunch

How To: Lie on your back on an exercise mat. Lift your legs up and bend your knees, so you create a 90-degree angle at your hips with your shins are parallel to the floor. Place your hands behind your head. Roll your head, neck and shoulders up off the mat. Simultaneously squeeze your elbows in toward your ears. Lift high enough to tap your elbow points to your knees. Release back down to complete one repetition.

Tips

Keep your legs' angle absolutely true as you do the elbow to knee crunch. Your upper body lifts, and your abs do the work.

Superman Crunch

How To: Lie on your back on a fitness mat and extend your legs up to the ceiling. Keep the legs balanced over your hips. Reach your arms overhead and link your hands together. Contract your abs as you rock your head, neck and shoulders up off the mat. Keep your hands connected as you reach them up toward your feet. Release to the starting position to complete one repetition.

Basic Leg Lifts

How To: Lie on your back on a fitness mat, lift your legs up to the ceiling and slide your hands under your low back for support. Lower your legs to a 45-degree angle to the floor. Lower and lift your legs from this position for the 10 reps.

In and Outs

How To: Sit on a fitness mat and lean back slightly with your hands lightly pressed into the mat by the backs of your hips. Pull your knees into your chest, and place your feet a few inches off the floor. Extend your legs forward, hovering in the air as you lean back slightly into your hands. Pull your knees back in to complete one repetition.

Lower Ab Hip Rock

How To: Lie on your back on a fitness mat and bring your legs to a butterfly position -- soles of your feet together and knees open to the sides of the room. Let your hands rest behind your head or on the floor next to your torso. Draw your abdomen in toward your spine as you roll your legs and the backs of your hips up off the mat. Return to the reclined position. Keep your legs in the butterfly position as you lift up and down.

Bicycle

How To: Lie on your back on a fitness mat, lift your knees up above your hips and hold your shins parallel to the floor. Hold your hands behind your head, elbows pointed to the sides of the room. Draw your right elbow and left knee together as you extend your right leg parallel to the floor; switch by bringing the left elbow to the right knee and extending your left leg. Right, then left, equals one repetition.

Full Body Crunch

How To: Lie on your back on a fitness mat. Place your hands by your ears, and reach your legs long in the mat. Contract your abdominals and pull your knees in toward your chest as you raise your head, neck and shoulders toward them. Release the legs out, letting them hover above the ground, as you release your head back to the mat to complete one repetition.