Abdominal Workout
Written by Sam · Filed Under Workouts & Training 15,951 views
Abdominal Workout
Whether you want to hit the beach and have abs that really turn heads or you just want to feel good when you look in the mirror, abdominal muscles are a point of fixation for many! The problem is that we need to have a very low body fat percentage in order for our six pack muscles to really show. In fact, your body fat needs to be probably below the 10% mark in order to look like you have super ripped abdominals!
Now one thing worth mentioning right away here is that most body fat calculations made by machines in gyms these days are extremely inaccurate. These machines can have a percentage of error as much as 18%. In other words, it can give you a reading of 10% but you may actually have 28% body fat! The golden standard for body fat calculations actually involves x-rays (known as DXA) so the point I’m trying to make here is that you shouldn’t rely on the machines at a gym or even a body-caliper calculation by a trainer. I will make an effort to write a more detailed article on this topic in the near future!
Ok, so body fat calculations aside, what we all want is to have those abs show so let’s take a look a quick look at what is causing us to have the layer of fat which hides the abdominals.
Bad eating habits – skipping breakfast or having 3 large meals a day keeps our metabolism low. Better to aim for 5 smaller meals throughout the day with healthy snacks (such as fruit, nuts, yogurt, smoothies). Also, try and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
Being lazy – not getting to the gym regularly and sitting at a desk all day are big culprits which make us extremely lazy. Try to aim for at least 30mins of some kind of sweat-inducing activity daily (and yes vacuuming, cleaning and gardening do count!).
Poor sleep patterns – sleep is our body’s recovery period so not having regular sleep for 7-8 hours a day weakens our mental willpower to eat healthy and exercise at our highest intensity.
Abdominal Workout Routine
The above was a quick and simple review of what is causing us to not to have sweet looking abdominals but what about a killer abdominal workout routine?
Try this one out twice a week and increase your core strength including your abs, hips and lower back muscles.
3 sets of the following exercises with 12-14 repetitions:
Abdominal crunches on a stability ball (view image)
Side plank (30 seconds each side) (view image)
Abdominal wheel extensions (view image)
Back extensions with stability ball (view image)
Balance board knee tucks (view image)
Hanging leg raises (view image)
Woodchopper with medicine ball (view image)
Deadlift with dumbbells (view image)
Add a 10 minute high intensity run at the end of this workout and you will start seeing great results with your abs in 3-4 weeks time.
You can now download this work out here – Abdominal Workout (right click and save as)
Have any questions or feedback about this workout? Please leave a comment below:
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Should this be done as a superset? For example, do all the set 1 exercises one after the other, then take a break before set 2?
This is quite an advanced workout already, but if you have the stamina to do the set 1 exercises one after another then go for it! You will accelerate your ability to get super ripped very quickly!
are these ab exercises for men only? i wanna have sexy tummy too:p
Definitely not for men only, women can do these exercises as well but you may have to tone it down at first due to it’s advanced level. Let me know how it goes for you!
what if you are more of a power lifter, will you still see results in the same time frame?
It really depends on what level you are training at. Most power lifters are also eating quite a few calories to help keep their strength very high, and if that is the case then it will be a little more challenging for you to see the results from this workout. You may want to periodize your workouts so you are not in the powerlifting stage when doing this workout.
Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Stuart McGill, one of the leading back researchers in the world? To summarize, the main role of the rectus abdominis muscle is to stabilize the lumbar spine, not to promote flexion. Why? The intervertebral discs are like a credit card. The more you flex and extend them, the weaker and weaker they get. So when you constantly perform abdominal flexion exercises such as situps or crunches that take you through a range of motion, you are constantly increasing your risk for spontaneous disc herniation. Therefore, any ab workouts should be designed to prevent motion at the lumbar spine. Planks, side planks, ball or wheel rollouts, dead bugs, etc. If you come across his work, I urge you to read it. It will change the way you think about abs and abdominal programming.
do you have any good abb workouts without any fancy equipment
Really all the other stuff you can do for ab workouts is crunches with all the varieties in placement of your legs (i.e. legs up, one leg up and side crunches, etc.). But once again, just doing ab crunches won’t get you a 6 pack, you also need to keep your body-fat low. I will definitely be adding more ab routines in the future so stay tuned!
hey sam thanks for the advice, i think im doing good with my weight thanks to the 5 day thing but i dont really have a workout should i just make my own out of different types of crunches? and im also looking forward to the new routines.
I would honestly say to invest in a stability ball as it’s awesome to help you add a lot of variety to your ab workout and the stability ball is pretty cheap (usually $15-$20). Also if you haven’t already check out my article on Workout Routine for Men at Home where I also include a list of super affordable exercise equipment that you may want to invest in. The best is that you can also take some of it with you if you travel!
does it matter if i do my workout in a differnet order
It doesn’t you can do them in any order.
i heard that you can work on your abs 7 days a week is this true?
Not if you’re doing it right! Your muscles recover and grow during rest time so it’s good to have at least 2 days in between working the same muscle group.
In the side plank, with 30 seconds each side is one set, or do I have to do it 12 times to make one set?
That’s right Mike, 30 seconds each side is one set.
Thnx man, hey but you know i have two questions more:
1. I dont have medicine ball, may i use a dumbbell, and if i can how heavy does it has to be?
2. Is it going to be faster the change if i make this rutine every day or every two days or making it so many times is helpless?
Thank you again
Hey Mike, you can use a 5,10,15 lb dumbell…you know when the right weight is if your goal is 10 reps and the last rep is almost impossible.
Rest days are very important to prevent over-training so make sure to get 1 or 2 days rest/week from the gym and your workouts. You can do this workout a maximum of 3 times a week.
Hey Sam,
i had a quick question. ive been looking at all your workouts, and i really like the Channing Tatum one, and the Taylor Lautner one. Should i do the Channing one for six weeks, then switch up by using the Lautner one for another six weeks?
and another question, instead of the Core/cardio days, could i use one of your many ab articles???
please help!
thanks
Hi Matt, great idea of doing those workouts one after another in 6 week cycles. And yes, you can definitely do one of the other many ab articles on the core/cardio days, adding the variety is what will really keep you progressing!
ok thanks!
one more question, the drop sets, for the channing tatum workout…are those the “strip” curls? orr what?!
and by the way.. great website! most helpfull one yet!
Hi Matt, glad you like the site. Not sure what strip curls are but drop sets are about starting heavy and dropping weight in each set…great for adding variety.