Target Your Abs With These 6 Exercises!
Target Your Abs With These 6 Exercises! If you’re training your abs hard, you’re most likely in a fat loss cycle, right? In this article, I will review 6 great exercises, provide a sample routine, and include nutritional guidelines for fat loss as well as supplement suggestions. With that said, it’s time to rock!
So, Exactly What Are The Abs?
The abs, or abdominals, are part of your core. They are located around your midsection and consist of 4 main groups:
- Rectus Abdominis – This is the “six-pack” everybody wants. They are located in the middle of the abdomen and help you flex forward.
- Transversus Abdominis – This is the deepest muscle of the abs. It wraps around the waist to support your spine. It also helps keep your abs flat and tight.
- External Obliques – This is the outer ab muscle that runs from the ribs to the pelvis. External obliques help the body rotate and bend from side to side.
- Internal Obliques – The internal obliques sit underneath the external obliques. They also help the body rotate and bend.
It’s true that each of these is a separate muscle. Yet together they allow the trunk to rotate and flex, and they stabilize the body through various movements. (1)
A Quick Look At The 6 Exercises!
| Exercise | Muscles Worked | Type |
| Ab Wheel Rollouts | rectus abdominis, transverse abdominisobliques | bodyweight |
| Ab Coaster | rectus abdominis, obliques | bodyweight & weighted |
| Hanging Leg Raises | transverse abdominis | bodyweight |
| Kneeling Cable Crunch | rectus abdominis, obliques | weighted |
| Ab Crunch Machine | rectus abdominis, oblique muscles | weighted |
| Seated Twist Machine | obliques | weighted |
Review – 6 Great Ab Exercises!
Exercise #1 – Ab Wheel Roll Outs
We’ve probably all seen an Ab wheel, right? You can buy one, or even use a barbell or dumbbell. The exercise itself might seem simple, but the ab wheel rollouts can be challenging, especially if you’re not used to them, or if you haven’t been focusing enough on your abs.
To perform the Ab Wheel rollout:
- Kneel down on the floor and hold the ab roller (or barbell/dumbbell) with both your hands, using an overhand grip.
- Extend your upper body by slowly rolling the ab roller away from you.
- Stretch your upper body as far as you can without allowing it to touch the floor.
- Keep your core tight so your back doesn’t hyperextend.
- Pause in the fully stretched position, then contract your abs and pull yourself back to the starting position.
- You can roll straight or side to side.
Exercise # 2 – Ab Coaster®
The Ab Coaster machine combines the crunch and the hanging leg raise into one effective exercise. It may at first seem like something out of a late-night infomercial, but once you get on one and actually use it (with some plates on each side), you’ll see just how effective this exercise is. Note that you can use this machine with no added weight, or use up to 80 pounds.
Another great thing about the Ab Coaster is that it limits stress to your neck, back and shoulders, making it a good option for people with pain or minor injuries in these areas. (2)
To use the Ab Coaster:
- Kneel on the padded seat. It’s curved so your knees and lower legs fit comfortably.
- Grip the handlebars.
- Using your abs to pull yourself, glide your knees along the curved track in a smooth bottom-up motion.
- Twist side to side to target obliques, or stay straight to hit upper and lower abs.
- Repeat
Exercise # 3 – Hanging Leg Raises
Hanging leg raises are one of the best moves to target your abs. This exercise works the transversus abdominis while at the same time building strength in your upper back, shoulders, grip, and hip flexors. If you’ve never tried these, check it out the next time you hit the gym and you’ll see what I mean. (3)
To perform Hanging Leg Raises:
- Grab the pullup handle with a palms-facing grip, hands shoulder-width apart. This will be dependent on your gym’s setup.
- Keep your legs, knees, and feet together, you can cross your ankles if desired.
- Tighten your glutes to prevent low back hyperextension.
- Bend your knees, and raise your legs up toward your chest. Your legs should move as one smooth unit. Hold at the top for 1-3 seconds.
- Slowly lower your legs back to the starting position.
Exercise # 4 – Kneeling Cable Crunch
There are multiple ways you can perform the basic crunch movement. In fact, the next exercise is one of the best. This exercise, the kneeling cable crunch, is also one of the best. In this case, you are kneeling on the floor or a mat and using a high cable. (4)
To perform the kneeling cable crunch:
- Attach a rope to a high pulley.
- Kneel facing the machine, and hold the handles beside your head.
- Keep your hips locked in place throughout.
- Exhale, and contract your abs to bring your elbows down towards your knees.
- Flex and hold for 3-5 seconds.
- Slowly return to the start position.
- Repeat.
Exercise # 5 – Ab Crunch Machine
This is a seated crunch, selectorized weight stack machine. The following description fits the ab crunch machine I use. However, they are all very similar. (5)
How to use the Ab Crunch machine:
- This machine puts you in a seated position with your feet slightly elevated on a small pad.
- Set the pin to the desired weight.
- You’re leaning back a little, and grabbing the handles behind your head. In other words, you start from a stretch position.
- Using your ab muscles, pull the handles and crunch forward.
- Hold and flex your abs for 2 seconds.
- Slowly return to the start position and repeat.
Exercise # 6 – Seated Twist Machine (Also Called The Rotary Torso Machine)
This is another selectorized weight stack machine. This machine targets the oblique muscles from a seated position.
How to use the Seated Twist Machine:
- Set the pin to the desired weight.
- This machine puts you in a seated position.
- Grab the handles, and using your ab muscles, rotate your upper body.
- Don’t rush this movement. Twist to either side, hold for 2 seconds, and twist slowly to the other side, again holding for 2 seconds
- Repeat.
Sample Routine # 1
This is the first of 2 sample routines. Each routine uses 4 of the 6 exercises. Begin each routine with 1 or 2 light sets to fully warm up your midsection.
Kneeling Cable Crunch (Using a Rope Attachment)
2 sets x 15-20 reps
Seated Twist Machine
2 sets x 15-20 reps
Hanging Leg Raises
2 sets x 15-20 reps
Ab Wheel Rollouts
2 sets x 10-15 reps
Performance Notes
Perform all reps slowly and under complete control. Don’t let momentum do the work! Both routines begin with a weighted exercise when you’re freshest. Make sure you’re using enough weight to make each exercise challenging.
Remember, start every exercise by pulling with (or contracting) the abs. Limit rest between sets to 30 seconds. I’m suggesting somewhat higher reps because you’re not necessarily trying to build thicker, bigger abs, you’re trying to tighten up the area as you follow a fat loss cycle. Now, if your goal is to build bigger abs, then by all means, add weight and drop the reps to 6-8.
Sample Routine # 2
Ab Coaster (Straight and to both sides)
2 sets x 20-25 reps
Ab Crunch Machine
2 sets x 15-20 reps
Seated Twist Machine
2 sets x 15-20 reps
Hanging Leg Raises
2 sets x 10-12 reps
Performance Notes
Same as above.
How Often Should You Train Abs?
I suggest performing your ab workout 2-4 times per week at the end of your regular routine for that day, based on your personal split or full body routine. If you normally train 3 days a week, do abs each day. If you train 6 days a week, do abs 3-4 of those days.
Whether it’s 3 or 4 is decided by the current condition of your abs. If you can clearly see them and they are well-developed, go for 3 days. If you can’t see them, and/or they are not well-developed, go for 4 days.
Nutritional Guidelines
Assuming you’re either on or about to start a fat loss cycle, the first thing you need to do is to cut back on sugar. Here’s how much you should be ingesting, from the American Heart Association: 37.5 grams (or 150 calories) for men, and 25 grams (or 100 calories) for women per day. (6)
Therefore, I recommend starting your fat loss nutritional approach by dropping 250 calories per day, coming first from sugary, simple carbs. If you drop your sugary carbs and can’t reach 250 calories, begin to include complex carbs until you reach 250 calories.
Now, your carb intake will be a fluctuating number, but in terms of grams per pound of bodyweight, think .75 to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. Now, on training days, you can add roughly 50 grams only in the hours around your workout, as desired. But on average, the range I just suggested is ideal for fat loss.
What about protein?
Always keep your protein intake high – I suggest 1g to 1.25g per lb of body weight evenly divided over 5 or 6 meals. This might mean 3 main meals and 3 shakes and/or bars. Or, you can do 3 main meals, 1-2 high protein snacks and 1-2 shakes or bars. The only change you should ever make in regards to protein would be to switch to leaner sources.
As far as fat, go with healthy fats only and aim for 20% of the day’s total calories, which we will look at soon.
Why 250 Calories?
The best way to start a “diet” is to do it gradually. That means using common sense – no dramatic calorie reductions, no starving yourself. Your approach has to be something you can sustain. After all, if you starve yourself, what happens when you reach your fat loss goal and stop “dieting”? You ultimately eat a lot more food, leading to more daily calories, and ultimately you gain back the fat weight. Let’s not do that!
Now, if you have not lost any body fat after the first two weeks, reduce your daily calories by another 250. Again, focusing on simple carbohydrates first (if there are any left), then carbs in general, then fat calories. I hope you aren’t eating that much sugar, but if you are, it’s time to cut it out of your diet for good.
Suggested Daily Calories
OK, now let’s look at your total daily calories. Sure, you can use an app, but the simplest way to determine your daily calorie intake is to multiply your body weight by 13.
For example, let’s say you weigh 200 pounds, that would be 200 x 13 = 2600 calories. That is your starting point.
Now we need to match that up to our protein and carbohydrate suggestions. Our recommended protein grams are 250 (at the high end, 1.25 grams per pound of bodyweight) and carbohydrate grams are 150 ( at the low end, .75 grams per pound of bodyweight).
Here’s our calculation: 250g of protein + 150g of carbs = 400 calories x 4 calories per gram = 1600 calories. That leaves 600 calories, or 66g, that can come from fat (protein and carbs each provide 4 calories per gram, fat provides 9 calories per gram).
This starting point covers all of your macronutrients. If you aren’t losing about 1 pound of body fat per week, continue to cut 250 calories from carbs and fat as laid out above, never cut from protein (go with lean sources).
On the other hand, if you are losing more than 2 lbs per week, add 250 calories back in from protein first, then complex carbs to slow it down. Why would you want to slow it down, you might ask? Because if you lose weight too fast, you’re losing muscle along with fat. That’s a mistake no serious lifter should ever want to make!
Supplement Suggestions
These suggestions are cornerstone products. I suggest starting with a quality protein powder such as Hi-Tech Precision Protein. This is a very innovative protein because it releases leucine in the initial phases of protein synthesis (a direct trigger of muscle growth).
Next, go with a good pre-workout, such as Gorilla Mind Gorilla Mode. This is a tremendous Pre with very generous dosing and a fully open label. In fact, this is the Pre that started the dosing wars you might have noticed going on in the supplement industry.
If fat loss is your primary goal, the best fat burner you can buy is Hi-Tech Lipodrene. This is a strong stim-based thermogenic fat burner designed to burn fat by promoting energy, stimulating thermogenesis, and controlling hunger.
Next is creatine monohydrate, yes, even on a fat loss program. I suggest AllMax Nutrition Creatine. It features patented CreaSyn® micronized creatine monohydrate.
Finally, I always suggest a good multivitamin/mineral such as AllMax Nutrition VITASTACK. This is a comprehensive multi with 7 (that’s not a typo!) nutrient complexes!
Summary
Now you can Target Your Abs with the 6 exercises, the 2 routines, and detailed nutritional and supplement guidelines. All you need to do is stop by illpumpyouup.com and stock up!
References:
- Escamilla RF, Lewis C, Bell D, Bramblet G, Daffron J, Lambert S, Pecson A, Imamura R, Paulos L, Andrews JR. Core muscle activation during Swiss ball and traditional abdominal exercises. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2010 May 40(5)265-76. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2010.3073. PMID: 20436242.
- https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/SLLegHipRaise
- https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/HipFlexors/WtHangLegRaise
- https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/CBKneelingCrunch
- https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/LVSeatedCrunch
- Much Sugar Should Someone Consume a Day? (sfgate.com)