Your core muscles, which are the core of your body, have a huge responsibility for your movements and ability to keep yourself upright. Some are easier to hit than others, so make sure you do them all when you’re working out. Because they stabilize your spine, strengthening your transverse abdominals (the deepest core muscle) is important. This is why many trainers resort to the scissor exercise.

Anthony Crouchelli, a New York City trainer and expert in boxing, says that the scissors ab exercise is a core movement that targets your transverse Beta Blockers and Exercise abdominals. This is an ab-focused move. It involves lying down on your back and raising your legs off the ground. Then, you cross your legs in a scissor-like motion, without letting them fall. It doubles as an exercise that strengthens your lower body because your legs move throughout the exercise. Continue scrolling to find the details about the ab move and the best variations you can try in your next exercise.

The benefits of the scissor exercises

Crouchelli says that the scissor exercise is a foundation for other ab-specific moves. He says that the scissor exercise serves two purposes: it lengthens and creates a foundation for core muscle groups. Andrea Marcellus, a fitness expert, says that the exercise targets the transverse abdominals using an isometric hold. This means that your core endurance will be improved and your ab workouts will benefit.

Scissor-style abdominal exercises can be used to correct imbalances in the lower body. Marcellus says that quadriceps are often overdeveloped in comparison to other muscles in the inner leg. Exercises that target the inner and outside thighs, glutes and hamstrings will help you develop evenly-developed legs and promote stability in your knee joint.

Although the exercise can be done with no equipment, it can be made more challenging by adding resistance to your workouts using some pieces of equipment. Crouchelli likes to add weights, resistance bands or towels to enhance the exercise. A towel is my favorite way to add tension. He says that a towel can create tension and engage the core right from the beginning. Marcellus recommends using ankle weights, or a band that wraps around your legs to help you maintain proper form for advanced levels.

These are the most common errors in form that you should avoid

Although it may seem like a simple ab exercise where your legs only move, there are many mistakes that people make during a scissor exercise. The first is to lift your lower back. Crouchelli says that the most common error with scissor kicks involves people forgetting to press their lower back into a mat. This creates discomfort for the lumbar spine, and makes it difficult to engage your core during the exercise.