If you’ve been searching the internet trying to find the best ab exercises to build a strong and defined core, then I’m beyond excited that you found this article.
Because I’m about to outline for you, in detail, the exact ab exercises that you should be including in your workout routine to get the best results.
So you can get more toned and defined abs AND reduce low back pain.
Because, yeah it’s cool to have a six pack.
But it’s even cooler to have bulletproof abs to reduce your risk of injury and live a pain-free life.
So I’m not only gonna discuss the best ab exercises, but I’m also gonna include in-depth instructional video tutorials made by yours truly.
So you can make sure you’re doing each exercise correctly.
Sound good?
Awesome. Let’s just get straight into it!
The Best Ab Exercises: You Need To Know This
I’d be a pretty lousy coach if I didn’t first mention this.
If you’re doing ab exercises for the sole purpose of “torching your stubborn belly fat,” then you’re in for a rude awakening.
Not because you can’t lose weight. You ABSOLUTELY can.
But because the *only* way to lose body fat is by being in a calorie deficit.
Which is almost entirely driven by nutrition.
Unfortunately, no workout is gonna do that for you.
So, What’s The Point?
Right now you might be thinking, “Dylan, if ab exercises won’t help me lose weight then what’s the point of even doing them?”
Well, there are two main reasons:
- You want to develop your ab muscles so they “pop” more as you lose weight.
- Strengthening your core muscles is the best way to reduce your risk of back injuries from your workouts. It’s also the best way to mitigate low back pain in your day-to-day life.
And that brings me to my next point; most people only think about doing sit-ups and crunches for their ab workouts.
But, in reality, the core and the muscles that comprise it are responsible for so much more than that.
As you’ll see here in a minute, the abs aren’t just responsible for creating movement; they’re also responsible for *resisting* movement.
The Best Ab Exercises: 3 Essentials Moves
There are MANY different kinds of ab exercises that you can do depending on your experience level.
However, for this article, I’m gonna discuss the three main kinds of exercises that you *NEED* to include in your routine.
Each of these is called a movement pattern.
Which means that you can view each of these moves as a type of ab exercise.
And within each type I’ll give you some of my favorite specific exercises to include.
1. Crunch Variations
This is the more “traditional” kind of ab exercise that you’re used to seeing and that I’m sure you’ve done in the past.
This is more of a “vanity” movement pattern, because crunches are designed to develop that outer ab muscle called the rectus abdominis.
Or what most people refer to as the six pack muscle.
Crunches are what are called “spinal flexion” exercises, which is just a sciency way of saying that you’re bending your spine.
Important Note: This is one of the rare instances where the point of the exercise is to bend your spine. Usually in exercise you want to keep your spine neutral, but the goal here is to bend your spine *safely*.
“Dylan, why would we want to do that? It sounds dangerous!”
The truth is, if you have a history of back/spine injuries, you’re better off just doing the other exercises that I’m going to discuss later.
But, if you have no history of back injuries and you’d like to develop the six pack muscle to make it more defined, you can absolutely do crunch variations.
Here are a couple of my favorites.
Kneeling Cable Crunch
Notes: Visualize bringing your ribs down to your hips as you crunch.
Reverse Crunch
Notes: Visualize bringing your hips up to your ribs as you crunch.
2. Anti-Extension Exercises
Anti-extension is just a fancy way of saying that the goal of the exercise is to prevent hypertension of the lumbar spine (lower back).
With these kinds of exercises you’re training your core isometrically, meaning that instead of *creating* movement, these exercises are designed to *resist* movement.
As you’ll see from the exercises below, you’re keeping your core engaged and actively trying to resist the urge to hyperextend your lower back.
And training this function of the core will allow you to stay safer during your compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, etc).
Not to mention that it can help improve posture and increase core strength for your day-to-day life. Which often helps to reduce low back pain.
Plank
The most common anti-extension exercise is a plank.
I’m sure you’ve done planks before, but most people do them wrong.
So make sure to watch the form videos below to see how to do them and common mistakes to avoid making.
Below is one of my favorite plank progressions to do. And it all starts with just a traditional plank.
Notes: Don’t hike your butt up in the air and don’t let it sag down. Each set should be about 20-30 seconds.
Plank With Leg Lift
Notes: Keep your ribs down and *slowly* alternate lifting each leg for about 20-30 seconds.
Long Lever Plank
Notes: Make sure your elbows are in front of your shoulders. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.
Start with the traditional plank and stick with it for about 4-6 weeks before moving onto the plank with leg lift and so on.
Before moving on to the third and final movement pattern, I want to go over another one of my favorite anti-extension exercises.
Dead Bugs
Notes: Slowly lower your opposite arm and leg while keeping your lower back flat on the ground. Do 6-10 reps per side.
3. Anti-Rotation Exercises
Anti-rotation is just a fancy way of saying that these exercises are designed to *resist* moving side-to-side at the torso.
Just like the goal with anti-extension exercises is to prevent hyperextending the lower back, the goal with anti-rotation exercises is to prevent any sort of twisting of the torso.
You’ll see what I mean when you watch the technique videos below, especially for my favorite anti-rotation exercise: the pallof press.
Pallof Press
Notes: make sure to keep your torso facing forward as you press the cable/band out in front of you.
Side Plank Pressout
Notes: The tendency with these is to want to slouch over so actively think about keeping your chest up. And, when you press the dumbbell out, own that position where your arm is fully locked out (don’t do short, choppy reps).
Single-Arm Dumbbell Press
Most people don’t think about single arm pressing variations as core exercises, but they definitely are. There are plenty of single arm pressing variations including single-arm incline dumbbell press (shown below), single-arm flat dumbbell press, single-arm standing dumbbell shoulder press, etc).
Notes: Keep the elbow of the working arm tucked in a bit to your side. The off-hand should be above you making a fist to engage your core. This will ensure that you don’t tip over to the side as you press.
The Best Ab Exercises: How to Incorporate Ab Exercises Into Your Routine
One of the biggest misconceptions around ab training is that more is better.
Many people think that training their abs everyday will develop their six pack and “torch” their belly fat and love handles.
But, because you’re reading this article, you know that’s not true.
Because the only way to lose fat is to be in a calorie deficit.
Getting visible abs comes down to being at a low enough body fat percentage, which is almost entirely driven by nutrition.
One of my favorite sayings around this is that “abs are built in the gym and revealed in the kitchen.”
We’ve already discussed the second half of that equation.
But how do we program ab exercises to build them so they “pop” more when we lose body fat?
Well, let me break down what I believe to be the easiest way.
Train Abs 2x/Week
You should treat your ab training just like you would any other muscle group; that is, you should train them twice a week.
My favorite way to program them for my online coaching clients is by putting 1-2 core exercises at the end of each of their lower body/full body workouts (depending on their individual program).
In general, I prefer putting ab exercises at the end of lower body workouts compared to upper body workouts.
And my reasoning behind that is very simple.
There are fewer lower body muscle groups than upper body ones.
So, it’s more practical to include ab exercises on leg day because you’re likely doing fewer exercises to begin with.
I’ve discussed before how I believe that most people should be lifting weights 3-4 days/week.
3x/week workouts would look something like:
- Day 1: Lower Body
- Day 2: Upper Body
- Day 3: Full Body
*In a 3x/week program, you’ll likely have to include 1-2 ab exercises at the end of the full body workout as well, just so your ab training is spread out throughout the week to maximize recovery.
4x/week workouts would look something like:
- Day 1: Lower Body A
- Day 2: Upper Body A
- Day 3: Lower Body B
- Day 4: Upper Body B
* In this example, you’d put 1-2 different ab exercises at the end of each lower body workout.
Sets And Reps
For my online coaching clients, I’ll typically program anywhere between 2-4 sets of around 8-12 reps for most ab exercises.
I like to stick in the 8-12 rep range for two main reasons:
- You’re never really gonna be lifting super heavy on ab exercises (many will be bodyweight anyway). So, doing less that eight reps doesn’t make a ton of sense.
- When you do more than 12 reps, I’ve found that people tend to rush through the set and treat it more like cardio than strength training.
And, when it comes to rest times in between sets, I recommend resting for anywhere between 60-90 seconds for ab exercises.
The Best Ab Exercises: Final Thoughts
There ya have it!
Some of my favorite ab exercises and a guide on how to incorporate them into your own workouts.
I know some of the programming-related stuff can be confusing, so if you’d like me to take all of the guesswork out of the equation for you so you never have to wonder what to do in your workouts, you can apply to my 1:1 online coaching program right here.
We’ll chat soon!
-Dylan
Wow so much great info!
Thanks so much!