best abs workout?

[king4oranges]

Anyone know any great workouts for abs. Something that you can do at home and has worked. Reps?sets?days?

[johnm is...]

I like planks as a core strengthener. 1 minute flat, and 30 seconds each side.

All the ab exercises in the world won't matter if you're not eating right, though.

[Rostov Papa]

I like planks as a core strengthener. 1 minute flat, and 30 seconds each side.

All the ab exercises in the world won't matter if you're not eating right, though.

I concur with both points.

Weighed situps are good. What I like is to take a 10-25 pound barbell, and hold it behind my head. You can really feel it. Do 3 sets going straight up, and then 3 sets twisting to the left, and right. These will really add some strength to your abs.

Or you can use a medicine ball to hold behind your head. Or a plate... Anything you can hold in place behind your head. You'll have to start light, but you'll be able to move up in weight pretty quick.

Also I found it's important to work your lower back on par with your abs. Most gyms have a machine where you sit and rather than crunching forward, you lean back. Then there's also the bench where you lay on your chest, hanging over, and raise back.

[Rostov Papa]

Also, decline the bench as far as you can. Damn if you won't feel a good burn going in a full-range of motion.

If possible, hang upside down, and get full extension, then sit up. You know that inverse thing that old guy advertises? Where he's like "Im 75, and I feel great"! That's a great piece of equipment to use for that purpose - you can invert it 90 degrees, and do full-range situps.

You'll really get them abs popping out..

But like JohnM said - if you don't eat right, or by however means, keep your body fat down to around 8-11ish %, then abs aren't gonna show.

[dan_cov]

Barbell squats.

[Butt stuff]

I like planks as a core strengthener. 1 minute flat, and 30 seconds each side.

All the ab exercises in the world won't matter if you're not eating right, though.

Yeah planks are great, ****ing ball ache at the same time though. I do them and also russian twists, they're my fav- I use semi-heavy dumbbell instead of a medicine ball so that you really feel it in your abs after a few reps. Mess around with how acute/obtuse your V is and it'll change the difficulty and area where you're hitting.

[HedonisticFrog]

Hanging windshield wipers and hanging straight leg v raises are good ab exercises. I do one set of each three times a week. Anything you can do for high reps isn't ideal for building ab strength.

[Butt stuff]

Also ab pull down, quick/easy and satisfactory ab workout. The handjob of of ab exercises if you will.

[NVSemin]

[Spartacus Sully]

I like planks as a core strengthener. 1 minute flat, and 30 seconds each side.

All the ab exercises in the world won't matter if you're not eating right, though.

you really only need to hold a plank for 10 seconds, rest and repeat.

holding a plank for 1 min is really only good for holding a plank for 1 min, about as useless as cranking out 500 crunches. Plank type exercises that promote greater movement are much better.

here is a link with 10 or so different plank like exercises that will do a much better job than just holding a 1 min plank.





as far as an ab routine I do several different exercises back to back combining them into one set.

I always start off working the lower abs, I do leg lifts, figure 8 leg lifts, and leg extension type exercises where I lay on my back, bring my knees to my chest then straighten out my legs with out touching the ground, then bring them back to my chest.

Ill do 10-30 of each.

after that I move into obliques, ill do 25 for each side, the most important part is getting both of your shoulders off the ground.

after the obliques I do 20 full situps where I lay flat on my back, hands straight above my head, sit up to touch my toes.

then finally finish the whole thing off with 20 jack knife situps.


your upper abs and lower abs are all one muscle, I start off with lower ab exercises because with them worked out alittle, it is easier to recruit those muscles while you do the rest of the ab exercises allowing you to work your lower abs better through out your work out even when the focus of the exercise isn't the lower abs.