There’s no better feeling than a hard abs workout – fact.

Who wants to exercise and create a perfectly toned and honed mid-section?

A washboard stomach you could grate cheese on? Everyone! The good news is you don’t need a personal trainer to do it!

When putting together an ab workout, it’s all too easy to stick with the standard sit up and crunch and neglect the other muscles that make up your core. Of course the crunch is a fabulous exercise but there’s other ab exercises you need to do too.

In order to work your whole core you need to workout all the muscles that it consists of by using the correct ab exercises.

Whether you want to add strength or achieve a more aesthetically pleasing six-pack you need to hit all the muscles in the area HARD with your workout.

In this post we are going to show you some of the best ab exercises in a carefully developed workout to strengthen and beautifully sculpt a chiseled six-pack.

Are you ready? All the ab exercises below are designed to be performed in one comprehensive circuit workout, so complete one set then move to the next exercise.

You will perform the circuit a total of 3 times.

Here’s how to do it…

 

The best exercise for obliques

Obliques are the muscles that ‘frame’ your abs. They run down the side of your abdominal muscles and are an imperative exercise to be included in your workout. They aren’t necessarily on the ab exercises list because they are a different muscle but they still enhance your fitness and add symmetry to your shape.

Oblique side dips

3 sets of 10 reps

To workout your obliques with side dips, stand up straight, holding a dumbbell in one hand dip to the side and roll the dumbbell down your leg so that you feel a stretch in your oblique and then raise it back to the start position. Switch the dumbbell to the next arm and repeat.

 

The lower abs

The lower abs are the part of the abs which are usually neglected because it’s a little harder to tackle them. Ab exercises usually miss out these in their typical workout routines.

The lower abs compromise of the base of the abs; to hit them hard, you need to do this exercise…

Leg raises

3 sets of 10 reps

For this exercise you need to be lying flat on your back, or on a flat bench. Keep your arms by your sides or under your bum. Keep your legs straight and raise them up to a 90-degree angle and then lower them back down to the starting position. Don’t relax at any stage, keep the tension on at all times.

like what you're reading so far?
spread the love:

Share on facebook

The best exercise for the upper abs

Usually the most visible part of the abs are the upper abs. They are easier to target and you can achieve excellent visibility if you train them hard using the correct workout methods. The crunch is a staple part of any effective ab workout.

Weighted ab crunch with swiss ball

3 sets of 10 reps

To perform the crunch, lay flat on your back on a swiss ball with your knees up and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a weight such as a 5kg weight plate, kettle bell, dumbbell, or medicine ball. Breathe out and tense your abs whilst raising your torso upwards to perform the crunch. Lower it back down and don’t relax at any stage during the movement.

 

The core workout

Because you have targeted each section of your abs specifically in the above routine, it’s now important to condition and strengthen your entire core and activate the stabilizer muscles. The perfect exercise for this?

The plank.

The plank

20 second hold

 

Nothing tests your core fitness like a plank! For this exercise, suspend your body off the floor resting on your forearms and tiptoes. Keep your midsection away from the ground and your spine straight. Hold this for 20 seconds; if it’s too easy, progress the plank by holding it for 30 seconds.

This circuit has been perfectly designed to workout all areas of your midsection.

To achieve your ideal midsection, your workout needs to be fully comprehensive.

Each exercise above hits a different muscle group and area so it has you covered from all angles! You can sculpt your abs and core muscles so they are fitness mag worthy!

Follow the above ab workout routine and as your fitness levels improve, you can continue to progress the workout further by adding more repetitions and more rounds. You can also progress the workout and ab exercises by adding more weight and resistance.

You can perform this workout up to 3 times per week as part of your exercise regime.