5 Exercises That Are Great For Abs

Abs is one of those muscles everyone wishes they had, so they could confidently go shirtless on the beach. Having visible abs also means there will be no belly fat. Except for the looking good part, abdominal muscles can provide stability, support and balance.

We need to clarify a few misconceptions on building abs. Firstly, you can’t have abs over belly fat, you’ll need to reduce fat and bring the body fat percentage in single digits to see maximum results. Secondly, abs exercises are not enough to reduce belly fat you’ll need to manage your diet and maybe do some cardio too.

Now let us look at some exercises for building abs.

Plank

This is one of the widest known and most popular exercises for abs. Being popular doesn’t mean it’s not effective. Plank is a very good way of targeting both upper and lower abs as well as the core. Many variations can be done to achieve different goals such as side planks, push up plank, elbow planks.  

Start by holding the plank position for thirty seconds and increase it on alternate days by five seconds to see maximum results. As holding the positions puts quite some force on the abs. If you want to exert more, you may place a sandbag over your shoulders here.

Dumbbell crunch

Crunches are another popular exercise and have been done throughout history to achieve six-pack abs but we’d like you to do an advanced version of them called dumbbell crunches. In this version, there is additional weight added to your chest by using plates to increase the load on the muscle. It mainly targets the upper abs as you progress in your workouts start increasing the weight accordingly.

Bicycle Crunches

It is another version of crunches aimed to target the oblique muscle. In this exercise, the movement of legs is in a bicycle way which forces the abs to work hard to stabilize your torso. They also help down in sliming the waist and burn more calories than any other version of crunches as your legs and elbows are constantly moving.  

Decline plank

Decline plank is a special form of plank which is aimed to target your lower abs. To do this, support yourself on the forearms while keeping the feet elevated on a bench or any stable elevated place. Next, move one foot from the bench to your side and touch the ground. Then return it to the previous position. Repeat while alternating sides. It’s a challenging exercise but the results are assured.

Hanging leg raise

For this exercise, you’ll be needing a hanging bar or a pull-up bar. To perform this hang from a bar above while keeping the legs straight, and the ankles and knees touching. Keep those together and use your abs to lift them up and then maintaining the position as much as you can and then lowering back to the start position. I’ll be honest this is one of the most difficult exercises for abs as it involves strong arms and back.

Click here to learn more about sandbag fitness training.