How Walking Can Strengthen Your Abs

You might think of walking as a good, low aerobic cardio exercise that’s predominantly done to improve cardio health, but walking can help work on your abs too – with the right adjustments.

Although walking isn’t the right exercise to focus on if you really want to sculpt and tone your abs, there are benefits to be had even if you don’t make any tweaks because any exercise that involves standing helps stabilise the core. If you do want to maximise your daily walk, and make your abs work harder, here’s what you need to do.

Add extra weight

Adding extra weight in the form of ankle or wrists weights can help increase resistance, giving your core more to work against. If you prefer to hold dumbbells instead, they’re also a good option.

Mix up the terrain

Walking on different surfaces and inclines is a great way activate your abs with a bit more purpose. Walking uphill ensures you engage lots of different core muscles (as well as hip flexors and pelvic floor muscles amongst others) which is great for improving strength. Similarly uneven surfaces like rocks, sand or woody trails demand more from your core as it’s needed to stabilise your hips and pelvis.

Swing your arms

Your core is there to provide a stable pillar to support your legs and arms. If you swing your arms as you walk, your abs have to work even harder to keep your pelvis and hips from rotate as you move.