Your transverse abdominals — also known as your TA muscles or corset muscles — are an often-forgotten area of the core. Many core exercises target your rectus abdominis (six-pack muscles) and obliques (side abs), but it’s rare to find a workout with transverse ab exercises — until now, of course. Alo Moves fitness instructor Jade Morning created a 5-minute workout for you that you can do specifically for your transverse abs.

Before we dive into the workout, let’s learn a little bit more about these forgotten ab muscles.

What Are Your Transverse Abs?

“Your transverse abs are the abs underneath your six-pack,” says Morning. Your transverse abs wrap around your sides and are responsible for keeping your spine and pelvis stable while supporting your internal organs in your torso. By doing exercises for your transverse abdominis, you can improve your posture and reduce back pain. It’s also helpful to strengthen your TA after pregnancy to restore integrity to your linea alba.

Though these deep ab muscles are not as visible as your more superficial muscles, your transverse abs play an important role in functional movement and should not be neglected in your training routine.

How to Work Your Transverse Abs

As your deepest core muscles, your transverse abs require certain exercises to really target these deep layers. “Our transverse abs are unique because they go horizontal,” says Morning. “Doing a lot of opposite hand to opposite knee movements [can] really fire these muscles up.” That means exercises like Bird Dog Crunches, outlined below, will get your deep core activating.

The Best Transverse
Ab Exercises

These five transverse ab exercises can be practiced in a circuit. Perform each move for one minute.

Marches to High Knees

Start standing and alternate lifting each knee up to waist level. Make sure you’re using your core muscles to pull each leg up. For the last 20 seconds, transition to High Knees by switching your legs quickly.

2. Bird Dog Crunches

Start in a Tabletop position on your hands and knees. Stretch one arm forward and the opposite leg back on your inhale, then curl your elbow to your knee on the exhale. Aim for two on each side before switching. Make sure to squeeze your glutes when you lift and crunch your core when you connect.

3. Flutter Kicks

Lie on your back with your legs straight and your arms out to a T-shape. Lift your legs a foot or two off the ground. Flutter your legs and ensure that your whole back is pressing down.

4. Bear Hold to Shoulder Taps

From Tabletop, lift your knees off the mat to hover an inch above the ground. For the last 30 seconds, tap your hands to your opposite shoulders and activate your core to avoid a rocking motion. For an extra challenge, tap your hands to your shoulders then your hands to your opposite thighs.