Just how long have you been working for that elusive 6-pack? Even if you’ve mastered the method for putting on 10 pounds of muscle in a month, your core is probably still hard to tame. Most people find that abdominals are the hardest muscles to sculpt satisfactorily.
Good news! There are ways to get a 6-pack, even if nothing else has worked. Start with these 5 ab exercises. They are proven to transform core muscles.
Our Top 5 Ab Exercises
#1: Reverse Crunch
Muscle Target: Rectus Abdominis
How to:
- Start in a traditional crunch position.
- Bending the knee, lift your legs so that your calves are parallel to the floor while your thighs are perpendicular to the ground.
- Breathe in and draw your knees towards your head. Do not change your leg position. Your abs will be responsible for pulling your hips and knees toward your head.
- Hold this position for 2 seconds. Your shoulders, head, and arms are all that should be touching the floor.
- Relax your legs to the starting position.
Frequency and Reps: Repeat 10 times per set. Perform 2 sets, 4 days a week.
Tip: Stretch well and get your energy up before performing this exercise because it can be straining on the spine and blood pressure.
Muscle Target: Full Upper Body plus Abdominal
How to:
- Hang from a pull-up bar.
- Keeping your torso and legs straight, tighten your abdominals while lifting your legs.
- Lift your legs to be perpendicular to the floor.
- Hold for 3 seconds.
- Lift your legs 3 inches higher.
- Hold for 3 seconds.
- Lift your legs 3 more inches.
- Hold for 3 seconds.
- Slowly lower your legs.
- Take a break from hanging off the pull-up bar for 10 seconds.
Frequency and Reps: Repeat 5 times per set. Perform 3 sets, 3 days a week.
Tip: You’ll need upper body strength before you can perform this powerful exercise. Complete pull-ups for a few weeks ahead of time until your upper body strength is built up.
#3: Cable Crunch
Muscle Target: All Central Abdominals
How to:
- Weight a pulley and add a rope attachment.
- Holding the rope attachment, kneel facing the cable machine.
- Allow the weight to lightly stretch your abs.
- Contract your abs to bring your forearms to the floor without bending your waist.
- Exhale as you perform this movement.
- Hold the position for 5 seconds.
- Slowly rise to a kneeling position again, and then slowly stand.
Frequency and Reps: Repeat 5 times per set. Complete 3 sets, 3 days a week.
Tip: If this exercise is difficult, begin with standard weighted crunches until you are able to perform the cable crunch without back strain.
#4: Russian Twist
Muscle Target: Internal and External Obliques
How to:
- Anchor your feet while lying on the floor with your knees bent.
- Bending by contracting your abs, not moving your hips, raise your torso to create a “V” with your thighs.
- Extend your arms to be parallel to the floor.
- Twist your torso to the right.
- Hold the position for 2 seconds.
- Return to starting position.
- Repeat, twisting to the left this time.
- Return to starting position.
Tip: To make this exercise even more intense, perform it on a decline bench. You can also hold a weight to make this more extreme.
Muscle Target: Rectus Abdominis and Transversus Abdominis
How to:
- Kneel on the ground with your hands on a stability ball.
- Keep your back straight as you roll the ball as far forward as you can. Bend using only your abs.
- Slowly roll the ball back to starting position.
Frequency and Reps: Repeat 10 times per set. Perform 2 sets, 4 days a week.
Tip: You can target your oblique muscles with this exercise by rolling out at a 45-degree angle in either direction.
Make the Most Out of These Exercises
For exercises like these to have their maximum effect, you’ll need to supplement them with a body shaping routine. As male fitness models can attest: you have to work hard, eat like a fitness junkie, and exercise the rest of your body to really make your 6-pack pop.\
Back up these 5 ab exercises with Gold’s FREE 8 Week Shred program to get your core in its better shape.
-1.jpg)
