Trainers offer their most inventive and insanely powerful exercises for your abs to make your core strong. Let’s see what they have to offer.
Single-leg plank Flex and Extend
With planks, the possibilities of exercises for abs are unlimited! This intriguing version comes from exercise guru and BarreAmped founder Suzanne Bowen.
“I particularly enjoy this exercise because it flexes the spine (contracting the abs and stretching the lower-back muscles) and then extends the spine (contracting the abs and stretching the lower-back muscles).” “This back-and-forth motion works the abs very hard and also helps to create a balance between the back and front,” she says.
- Take a complete plank position.
- Raise your left leg off the ground.
- Pull your left knee into your nose, contract your abs, and round your back.
- Maintaining a strong core, arms, and legs, straighten your left leg behind you as you stretch your spine and descend your hips toward the floor (without allowing your hips or legs to contact the ground).
- Pull your left knee in slowly.
Repeat around 4 times, then relax and switch sides.
Oblique Twist Body Bar Oblique Twist
This standing core test is a favorite of Wilhelmina fitness model, exercise scientist Tom Holland. “This movement is one of those exercises for abs that targets the obliques as well as those hard-to-target rib cage muscles that are located at the bottom of your shoulder blades. This exercise is amazing for your abdominals.
- Begin by holding a weighted body bar to one shoulder.
- Engage your abs and rotate your upper body only until the bar is in front of you, contracting one side of your obliques.
- Return to the beginning.
Perform 10-25 reps on one side, then switch to the other shoulder and repeat 10-25 repetitions on the other side.
Abs Snails
Nick Tumminello, the owner of Performance University in Florida, designed this abs workout to target your complete core, including the muscles in your shoulders, glutes, abs, and back.
- Sit on the floor in an L-sit position, with your knees together and your hands behind your chest, fingers pointing back.
- Maintain a straight line with your elbows and knees.
- Lift your hip off the floor by squeezing your shoulders and glutes.
- From here, reverse the movement by pulling the hips back.
- When your hips can no longer travel any further back, softly lower your butt to the floor and return to the beginning position.
That is one repetition.
Stability Ball Wall Squat
Squats are well-known for contouring the lower body, but this is one of those exercises that also works the abs hard. “This move will fully engage all of your core slings, says Linda LaRue, LA Lakers core performance specialist.
“The advantage is that you will not only get fitter, flatter abs, but you will also burn calories while improving your balance, coordination, and speed.”
- Begin by pushing your shoulder blades down and slightly raising your breastbone.
- Suck your belly button into your spine while performing a Kegel (think holding in urine).
- Squeeze your palms on either side of a small to medium stability ball (this will help engage your diagonal upper core slings).
- Learn at a diagonal angle against the wall.
- Inhale into a deep squat, then drive up to standing with vigor. That is one repetition.
Try two sets of 12 reps, with 30 seconds of rest between sets.
To make it more difficult, float one foot slightly above the floor behind you while maintaining a neutral spine throughout the action.
Elevator Abs
Do you believe you’ve tried every type of plank there is? Guess one more! Kristin Russo, an ACE-certified personal trainer in New York City, created this unique core workout that targets both your transverse abdominis (the deepest core muscles) and your obliques (the largest and outermost muscles).
- Begin at the top of a pushup with your core braced.
- From your head to your ankles, your body should make a straight line. Elevate your right foot off the floor and gradually elevate your knee as near to your right elbow as possible.
- Bring your right knee down to the floor while keeping your core braced (use your abs to keep your knee and foot from touching the floor).
- Pull your knee up toward your chest using your abdominals.
- To get to this position, contract your entire core while slightly rounding your upper back (rather than merely pushing the knee up and down).
- Return the knee to your wrist, then swiftly back up toward your armpit (like an elevator).
Repeat with the left leg for 8-10 reps.
Circularly Arm Crunch
This dynamic routine was devised by Jonathan Ross, an ACE-certified fitness specialist and author of Abs Revealed, who employs a stability ball and fast upper-body movement to significantly activate your abs.
- Lie on a Swiss ball.
- Your back with your lower back and hips should be in contact with a Swiss ball.
- Have your feet flat on the floor.
- Raise your head and shoulders, squeeze your rib cage toward your pelvis, and extend both arms to the ceiling.
- Hold for a count of one.
- Move your arms down and around to the right in a quick circular motion as you descend out of your crunch.
- Come all the way back up to the top of a crunch, stretching your arms up at the peak of your circle.
Do 8-10 reps to the right, followed by 8-10 reps to the left.
Rock Lift Abs
This exciting core exercise from Tamilee Webb, the star of the Classic Buns of Steel, will rock your abs (and most likely make you smile).
- Start with a sitting position. Your butt is slightly off the floor.
- Hands should be just outside your hips, fingertips forward.
- Bend your left knee, keeping your foot flat on the floor.
- Stretch your right leg straight out, slightly lifted off the floor.
- Rock backward, bending both knees, sliding onto your shoulder blades, and driving your hands into the floor behind your shoulders.
- Return to a seated position quickly (with your right leg extended) and use your core and arms to lift your hips slightly off the floor.
- Hold for one count while bracing your abs tight, then rock back and repeat.
Perform 10 repetitions before switching legs. Experiment with up to three sets.
Alternating Sandbell Reach
This exercise is a great entire core exercise. You must not only stabilize the core in the sagittal plane (front-to-back movement), but you must also prevent rotation in the transverse plane. “The added resistance of the SandBell also challenges the shoulders and lats during the reaching pattern.” What if you don’t have access to SandBells? Dowdell suggests utilizing two weight plates, one on either side of a tiny towel.
- Begin in a pushup posture.
- Have your hands on top of a SandBell. One each. (or a weight plate placed on a tiny towel) on a smooth floor.
- Dowdell recommends starting with a 4-6 pound SandBell or a 5-pound plate and gradually increasing the resistance.
- Tighten your glutes and brace your core.
- Extend your left arm as far as possible with your right elbow bent and lower your body to the floor.
- Maintain parallel shoulders and hips to the floor. From your head to your ankles, your body should make a straight line.
- Return to the beginning position by extending your right elbow, lifting your body to the top position, and drawing your left hand back below your shoulder.
Rep on the opposite side.
Try 3 sets of up to 12 reps on each side.
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