How to 'pull in' lower abs?

My cutting is progressing quite nicely, my upper abs are now showing more than they have ever done before. I still have a little pouch of fat and loose skin from about the belly button down and the last bit of my 'love handles' is being quite stubborn but I am slowly reducing both and I'm confident that I will win!
The thing is though, as I am getting nearer to my goal I am becoming aware that the 'pouch' is not the only problem, I am sure that below that my lower abs are protruding/distended more than they should be.
I haven't been doing any leg raises for some time now, only crunches, am I right in thinking that high rep/low resistance leg raises are the way to go to tighten up and 'pull in' my lower abs? I just wanted to check what you guys think cos the last thing I want to do is start hammering the legraises only to find my lower abs bulk out like a mofo!

Thanks guys!

NotSmall.

Nothing I know will pull in loose skin/fat.

Do you have any pics so we can see if it's able to be remedied by diet/training? Hard to speculate.

~SC~

Swole - Thanks for the reply bro but I obviously didn't explain myself properly. The loose skin is gradually tightening and the remainder of fat is slowly being eroded away. The problem is that the closer I get to my goal the more it feels as though beneath the 'pouch' my lower abs are sticking out too much. I was just wondering if leg raises could help tighten up the lower abs without bulking them out too much. Hope this makes sense, its kinda hard to explain.

i understand what your saying. Your talking about your ab mucles themselves becoming bulky! WHen you do your ab work, and use your abs, try to suck them in when you tighten them hard, as it will help prevent what you are talking about. Also yes, higher reps are good.

My ab routine would be something like this:
25 jackknives to get a stomach warm up
3 sets of 15 crunches hanging from spider boots w/a 45lb plate
oblique twists
and to finish it off, reverse crunches with ~10lb ankle weights on.

It works the upper abs,, the obliques and the lower abs....
I switch it up every 3-4 weeks though

Thanks angel, the thing is I've been kinda slacking on lower abs for a while, just doing crunches etc, the result being that my upper abs are nice and tight while my lower abs (from the belly button down) are sort of distended. For the longest time I thought it was my fat gut, but as I get closer to ridding myself of the gut it is becoming apparent that the muscle structure underneath is part of the problem. I just want to tighten the abs in so that once the rest of the fat goes it reveals a glorious washboard and not a malformed, unbalanced abdominal disaster.

try doing some reverse crunches, then as your ab strength builds, you can do them on a slight incline, or even use ankle weights. i find that works the lower abs VERY well, and if you do sets of those it should tighten your lower abs for sure!

Thanks bro!

You probably some degree anterior pelvic tilt. Do you have a big arch in your back when you stand or tight hamstrings? Check out t-nation.com and search for pelvic tilt or anterior pelvic tilt.

If you say you diet/cardio is in check like Swole suggested and you need to work the lower abs then YES performing leg raises, knee-ins and hanging leg raises(the best of the two,imo) no weight higher rep ranges will tone the lower abs. Realize since you only been doing mostly crunches that will hit the mid-upper abs. By just doing lower ab exercises it in turn will fatique the mid/upper abs.(they get worked) So IMO they are superior to crunches. Do not forget twisting trunk exercises which will help work the serratus and both internal/external obliques. Specifically the Internal as they are part of the lower belly then you will get a 8 pack.

Thanks guys!

chicamahomico - Yeah, my lower back does arch in quite badly, pelvic tilt eh? I'll take a look at that site bro, thanks, is it easily correctable?

bluethunder - Thanks bro, so for twisting exercises you mean like when you put an olympic bar across your shoulders and twist your torso?

chicamahomico - Took a look at that site and yup I reckon thats what I got, what experience have you had with this condition? By the sound of things lots of core exercises are the key, esp tightening the lower abs which fits in with what I was thinking. Thanks again bro, I feel a bit better just knowing what the problem is.

I think you will find most people who lift weights have it to some degree just from long term squatting and abdominal exercises. More flexor work than extensor work in the hips and trunk. Stretch your hamstrings, hips and abs for a couple of minutes each before you work out and you should notice a difference in a month or two. If that doesn't help then you might want to check out a chiropractor of physiotherapist, the reason I would try stretching on your own first is I think you (like me and most other weightlifters) will think the exercises they give you are boring, pointless and 50/50 in thier effectiveness.

chicamahomico - Thanks bro, my knowledge of various stretches is pretty limited. What stretches would you recommend? or do you know a good site that illustrates them clearly?