This month, in our health box , we offered you a 30-day challenge to strengthen your abs.

To help you stay motivated, we thought we'd present some exercise variations that you can do at home as a change from traditional crunches .

Exercise 1: Alternate Hugs

Raise one knee to hip height, bring the opposite elbow towards the knee. Perform a slight bend in the trunk; alternate sides. 

Exercise 2: Oblique Abdominals

Securely attach the resistance band to an object or piece of furniture near the floor. Keep your arm extended and perform a trunk flexion in the opposite direction. Maintain tension in the band throughout the exercise. Perform all repetitions on one side, then the other.

Exercise 3: Decline Leg Kicks

In a plank position with your feet on a chair, engage your abs to keep your body straight. Lift one leg off the chair while maintaining a stable position. Alternate feet. Advanced: Increase the height of the chair.

Exercise 4: Side plank with elastic band

Maintaining tension in the band, place your supporting hand under your shoulder. Raise your hips off the floor, then return to the floor between each repetition. Advanced: Increase the tension in the band.

Exercise 5: Alternating sprinter abs

Lying on your back, arms extended overhead and legs extended. Lift your torso off the floor, bend one knee, and bring the opposite elbow in. Return to the starting position between each repetition. Advanced: Increase your speed.

Exercise 6: Seated Obliques

Sit at the end of a chair and lift one leg off the floor. Bring the opposite elbow toward your hip, then repeat the movement on the other side. Alternate sides while keeping the same leg lifted.

Exercise 7: Abs kick

Keeping your upper body glued to the floor, lift one leg straight while contracting your abs. Alternate legs.

Exercise 8: Abdominal twist with elastic band

Hold each end of the band at chest level with your heels touching the floor. Lean your torso backward and rotate your torso to each side, keeping the band at chest level.