THE ULTIMATE ABS WORKOUT GUIDE
What does it really take to get your abs to show? What abs workouts are the most effective?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about what the best ab workout is and what it really takes to get those six pack abs and strong core muscles that you and everyone else is chasing.
That’s why I created for you a complete guide to abs workouts including a primer on the muscles we’re talking about, the best ab exercises for every region of the abs, and tips that really work for how to get abs. No gimmicks, no B.S., just the ‘hard core’ truth!
I’ve broken down this definitive guide into sections designed to help you find exactly the information you’re looking for. I’ll also be answering all of your most commonly asked questions related to abs and abs workouts.
Here are some of the main topics I’ll be covering in this guide to strength training the abs:
Before I begin showing you the best core moves, let’s take a look at some ab muscle anatomy of the major core muscles so we can get our bearings before we start talking more in depth about how to get abs and the best abs workouts.
1) AB MUSCLES ANATOMY
There are four main muscles that comprise the entire core that we’re going to cover in this section.
I’ll break out my famous Muscle Markers so that you can see exactly which areas we’re talking about!
RECTUS ABDOMINIS
First up is the largest major muscle in the abdominal region: the rectus abdominis. When we talk about ‘upper abs’ and ‘lower abs’ these aren’t separate muscles but rather separate regions of this same rectus abdominis muscle that spans almost the entire torso.
It’s also the main muscle that makes up that six pack!
The fibers run vertically north to south, and the rectus is responsible for torso flexion from top down or bottom up.
EXTERNAL OBLIQUES
Next up are the external obliques whose fibers run at an oblique angle (surprise!) from the outer edges of the ribcage down toward the pelvis. These help us to rotate and control that rotation.
They also add that nice ‘frame’ to the rectus abdominis or six pack.
INTERNAL OBLIQUES
The internal obliques run in the opposite direction from the external obliques, from the outer edge of the ribcage close to the hip, and up and in toward the midline of your body.
TRANSVERSE ABDOMINIS (core stabilizer muscles)
The transverse abdominis runs like a weight belt around your waist, and it’s one of the deepest ab muscles and one of the core stabilizers. When you suck in your abs or perform ab vacuums it’s the transverse abdominis doing the work. Working these deep abs muscles is important because it helps drive stability in the abdominal muscles.
SERRATUS
The serratus anterior is an ab muscle many people totally forget about, or worse, don’t even know exists.
If that’s you, listen up!
The serratus is important for stabilizing the trunk because it keeps the shoulder blades in contact with the rib cage. Its fibers are ‘woven’ together with the oblique fibers and together they work to control rotation of the trunk.
It is possible to strengthen this muscle with one specific abs exercise which I’ll show you later in this article!
2) CAN ANYONE GET ABS?
If visible abs are the goal, the answer is YES… with proper nutrition, exercise and discipline, anyone should be able to get some amount of visible abs, even if it’s just the top two or four of the six pack.
Typically, as body fat decreases, the uppermost abs are the ones that reveal themselves first. The first tier of the pack is the one that will poke out and stoke your motivation to keep going.
The remaining packs in the lower abdominal area are the most challenging to see because the lower belly is one of the last places both men and women retain bodyfat… it’s the hardest to lose.
And if your ab muscles are hidden by belly fat, you definitely won’t be able to see them! More on that in a bit.
Now if you’re wondering whether YOU can ultimately achieve 6 pack or even 8 pack abs, the answer could be yes or no.
It depends on your genetics…
WHAT ARE 8 PACK ABS?
The “packs” in 4 pack, 6 pack or 8 pack abs are created by connective tissue in the rectus abdominis muscle. In some areas the connective tissue is pulled tighter than in others which gives the impression of divisions in the muscle.
Some people are born with just 4 divisions, while others are born with 6 or 8. Six of these divisions is the most common in the general population.
This means that there are no 8 pack abs workouts, and not much you can do to get an 8 pack if you weren’t born with it.
But truly, who cares?
A lean set of abs and a bulletproof core looks great no matter how many packs there are. And of nearly ALL the most popular bodybuilders throughout history, none had an 8 pack.
If you want to determine what your genetic abs potential is, you can take the 8 Pack Abs test in my 8 Pack Abs vs 6 Pack Abs article.
3) NUTRITION FOR ABS
It’s important to realize that ab workouts aren’t the only ingredient in the recipe for getting six pack abs.
In fact, functional core exercises are not even the main ingredient.
Nutrition is the key.
Not sure you believe me? Let’s look into it further…
DO AB WORKOUTS BURN BELLY FAT?
You can’t burn belly fat by doing even the hardest ab exercises. Period.
Ab exercises will help develop the abdominal muscles and can provide a visual impact that can help you stay motivated (when those top two ‘packs’ starting to pop out).
But spot reduction in which you try to reduce fat in a single problem area, such as the belly, just isn’t possible.
Instead, you’ll need to burn overall bodyfat if you want to see the belly fat that’s covering your abs start to disappear.
So, what you want to know is how to lose belly fat.
Are you thinking, “Ok, I’ll just do more cardio”?
If so, think again.
When doing cardio training in which your heart rate increases, you will definitely burn off some energy which can help somewhat with fat reduction.
But the truth is that you can’t outwork a bad diet.
To get visible abs, you’re going to have to work on your nutrition.
There’s just no way around it!
WHAT SHOULD I EAT TO GET ABS?
So then if nutrition is the key to seeing that six pack, what should you be eating?
There’s a ton of conflicting info out there about nutrition. People like to make it really complicated but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it’s all this complication that keeps people from being able to stick to a plan.
I mean, how many people are going to be food journaling, counting and measuring every day for the rest of their lives? Some people even think following crazy weight loss plans is the best way to get your abs to show, but it doesn’t work because diets aren’t sustainable.
The truth is there’s a much easier way to eat a balanced, nutrient-dense diet and it doesn’t include a special six-pack diet. Let me break it down for you.
Just take a round plate and imagine it divided up into 40%, 40% and 20%.
That’s 40% protein, 40% fibrous carbs and 20% starchy carbs.
- Proteins include meats and seafood, dairy such as cheese and milk, or vegetarian/vegan protein sources like soy, beans, nuts and seeds.
- Fibrous carbs are fruits and vegetables.
- For starchy carbs, choose unrefined options like whole grains, squash or sweet potatoes.
- Fats are ‘incidental’… use them to cook your food or where they’re found as healthy ingredients in a recipe in cases like nuts, seeds and avocados.
Simple, right? This is a great way to make sure you’re eating properly to get your abs to show, without spending all your time food logging!
4) HOW TO TRAIN THE ABS?
With the nutrition knowledge under your belt, how do you go about training your abs to make sure you’re getting results?
As we discussed previously, if you have belly fat covering your abs, all the classic core exercises in the world won’t make your abs show.
Likewise, even if you’re already pretty lean, if you’re not doing your ab exercises properly and in the right order, you’re not going to get the results you want. If all you’re doing is set after set of boring crunches, you’re definitely NOT going to get there!
Yes, there’s an ideal order that you should work your ab muscles to get best results and build a stronger core. It helps make sure you’re doing the hardest work at the beginning of your core training session so you can get the most out of it.
I call it the Six Pack Progression.
My ‘Six Pack Progression’ works the ab muscles in this sequence to get optimal results:
- Lower abs
- Bottom up
- Obliques
- Mid-range
- Top down rotation
- Top down
We start out with lower ab and bottom-up abs moves in which there is isolated movement of the legs. These movements are an additional challenge that requires a lot of energy because your lower abs need to support the additional weight of the legs.
Then we move on to mid-range movements and obliques. We do upper abs movements last because even if you’re pretty fatigued by the time you get to this point in the workout, you will still be able to manage them with proper form.
All of the ab workouts in my ATHLEAN-X workout programs and my Six Pack Promise app follow this exact same sequence! The Six Pack Promise app will give you loads of workout ideas and a dedicated core workout to help you build that six pack.
If you want to see an example of a short brutal workout that follows the Six Pack Progression, you can check out Brutal Six Pack Abs Workout.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU TRAIN THE ABS?
You can train abs 5-6 times per week or even daily, for no more than 10 minutes at a time. The core muscles are involved in almost all everyday movements we do, so unlike other muscle groups, it’s ok to train them this often.
I believe you can get a complete killer ab workout in just 6 minutes. That’s why I’ve based the workouts in the Six Pack Promise app around a 6-minute time frame.
A small commitment like 6 minutes makes it easier to stay motivated to get the job done, and with abs, consistency is key!
5) WHAT IS THE BEST AB WORKOUT?
Well, I will tell you what the best ab workout is NOT. It’s not endless crunches and a set of the bicycle crunch.
As I explained above, the best ab workouts train all the muscles and regions of the abs in the exact order that I prescribe them in the Six Pack Progression.
Not only would they hit ALL the abdominal muscles and hit them in the right order…
They would also work each of the core functions of the abdominal muscles.
Let’s take a look at these one by one.
SPINAL FLEXION
Spinal flexion is the back-and-forth movement of the spine which controls forward bending such as in a simple crunch.
EXTENSION STABILITY
The abs also control extension stability which helps to pull you forward from spinal extension.
ANTI-LATERAL
The abs also serve an anti-lateral function to help prevent unnecessary or unwanted lateral (sideways) movement.
ANTI-ROTATION
The abs also serve the function of anti-rotation, which is to prevent unneeded or unwanted torso rotation.
ROTATIONAL STABILITY
The abs and obliques work together to control torso rotation, which gives us rotational stability.
ROTATIONAL POWER
The abs and obliques also work together to provide rotational power.
6) WHAT ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE ABS EXERCISES?
What makes an ab exercise fall into the ‘most effective’ category?
It needs to target the desired muscles, use little to no equipment, have multiple functions involved if possible, and be difficult to perform incorrectly.
A lot of good abs exercises like leg raises, Russian twists and bicycle crunches are commonly performed incorrectly. In these abs exercises it’s all too easy to overuse hip flexors or underperform the rotational aspect and completely miss out on the benefits.
That is why you won’t see these core movements show up on this list.
What you will see is an array of dynamic core crushers that hit the most important functions and regions of the abs. All of these bodyweight abs exercises will have some fail-safes built in to make them much easier to perform correctly, which makes them much more effective.
A few of these effective core burners work more than one abdominal muscle function and several of them use no equipment, so they can be performed anywhere!
Let’s dive in and I’ll show you my top selections and why I chose them!
If you want to try what I believe is the most effective abs routine that hits every one of these functions and arranges the key exercises in the correct sequence for maximum efficiency, check out my Perfect Abs Workout. It contains all of my favorite abs exercises as well as advanced exercises and a beginner abs exercise alternative for each move.
If you’re looking for complete and effective ab workouts at home that require no gym equipment at all and can be done practically anywhere, give my Best Ab Workout at Home a try.
SIDE BRIDGE TWIST – LATERAL FLEXION AND ROTATIONAL CONTROL
HOW TO DO THE SIDE BRIDGE TWIST:
- For this forearm side plank variation, starting position is in forearm plank position with wrists on the ground, elbow under shoulder, but with feet in side plank position.
- Make sure you’re in a stable position and then lift your trunk up off the floor to create lateral flexion pillar strength using the obliques and then twist the torso with a controlled motion before returning to the starting position.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: This full-body movement works lateral flexion and rotational control and stability at the same time. Whenever we combine functions, it makes for a more effective exercise. This is also a challenging body weight exercise with no heavy weights required.
LEVITATION CRUNCH – UPPER ABS
HOW TO DO THE LEVITATION CRUNCH:
- This variation on a classic bodyweight exercise proves that ab exercises don’t have to be elaborate to be effective. Starting position is in lying position with your back on the ground on an exercise mat in basic crunch position, feet on floor, feet hip width apart.
- Keeping your feet shoulder width apart and feet flat on the ground, lift head and your shoulder blades off the floor with arms behind your head and ‘levitate’ your upper body in a curling movement toward the ceiling, neck relaxed, hands behind the head and allowing your shoulder blades guide the way.
- Observe proper form and don’t crank on your neck or pull your head closer to your knees. This doesn’t work the abs.
- Keep the core tight throughout the entire movement by pulling your belly button in.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: This crunch variation is a simple and small movement that is very effective for training the upper abs without the need for the neck cranking involved in a traditional crunch. You don’t need a ton of range of motion here. It also requires no equipment at all.
SWIPER – LOWER ABS
HOW TO DO THE SWIPER:
- For this reverse crunches variation, starting position is with the upper body on the floor on an exercise mat.
- Focus on performing a curling movement of the pelvis backward and getting it off the floor, bringing your knees toward your chest.
- Swipe your hands underneath your tailbone in half circular motion as it lifts, which will help ensure you’re doing the exercise correctly and provides an extra challenge for core strength.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: This is a slow and easily controlled movement for the lower abs that has a self-check built in to help make sure you’re clearing the tailbone off the floor. This advanced variation of reverse crunches is one of the best exercises to hit the lower portion of the abs.
GYMNAST AB TUCK – LOWER ABS
HOW TO DO THE GYMNAST AB TUCK:
- Position yourself in the apparatus in an upright position with abs braced and hands holding onto the handles, wrists under shoulders.
- Use your arms to lift your torso up and keeping your lower body rigid, focus on unfolding your trunk right at the level of the pelvis, not on moving the legs.
- This causes a posterior pelvic tilt which is responsible for the spinal flexion that creates core muscle activation. While I’m doing it on a captain’s chair, it can also be done on a kitchen countertop corner.
- Keep your hips stable throughout this slow movement.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: This tough exercise helps tune into the movement of the pelvis rather than the legs – moving the legs forces the hip flexors to work, which we don’t want. Another benefit is that we don’t have to hang to perform it, which means its effectiveness isn’t impacted by weak grip strength. Keep the torso straight throughout the exercise as you lift the legs.
SLIDING AB TUCK – ENTIRE ABDOMINAL AREA
HOW TO DO THE SLIDING AB TUCK:
- Starting position is in high plank position with hands at shoulder width (shoulders over wrists) and using socks on a slick surface, slide your feet backward and in toward the torso with a slight twist, twisting side to side.
- Curl the pelvis into posterior pelvic tilt, not by driving with the hip flexors but by using the abdominal muscles. Keep your entire body stable throughout the movement.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: There is no equipment required for this move, and not only can we work the entire rectus abdominis, we can incorporate the obliques as well. This is an all-encompassing exercise that does pretty much everything!
7) WHAT WORKOUTS TARGET LOWER ABS?
As I alluded to earlier in this article, getting the lower abs to show is the most challenging piece of the development of a six pack.
This is because the lower belly is one of the last places in the body to hold on to fat.
If you want to see lower ab definition, you need to stay very consistent with a high-quality nutrition plan.
That being said, the best lower abs workouts should focus on three things:
- Using bottom-up abdominal exercises, as mentioned in the section about the Six Pack Progression. Why bottom-up movements? The rectus abdominis is one large muscle, so there is no ‘lower abs’ muscle separate from the rest of the abs. However, when we move from the bottom up, we move the weight of the legs along with our pelvis. That turns the exercise into an effective weighted ab exercise, which provides overload and causes hypertrophy in the lower abdominal area. The lower abs will then stand out and become more visible IF body fat levels are low.
- Focus on moving the pelvis, NOT the legs. If you’re focused on raising and lowering the legs, you’re going to activate your hip flexors and NOT the core activation you’re looking for. Move the pelvis and let it take the legs along for the ride during every bottom-up exercise.
- Engage the adductors on lower abs movements. These muscles attach to the pelvis from below, so contracting them creates stability in the pelvis which will make them more effective ab exercises. To apply this technique, cross your legs at the ankles and squeeze your legs together for both floor-based and hanging lower ab movements.
If you’d like to try a great lower abs workout circuit where you can put all of these tips into practice, take a look at my Best Lower Ab Workout.
SIDE CRUNCH
HOW TO DO THE SIDE CRUNCH:
- Allow the shoulder that’s on the floor to go fully down and then rotate toward the floor to open up the oblique muscle.
- This extra rotation ensures that the muscle gets stretched on every rep, making it more effective.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: Allows you to move slowly and deliberately to make every repetition count and really burn out the obliques.
SIDE BRIDGE
HOW TO DO THE SIDE BRIDGE:
- For this classic obliques exercise, starting position is to elevate your feet on a surface such as a chair and raise yourself into side forearm plank position with your left forearm flat on the ground stabilizing your weight on the floor.
- You can challenge yourself by dipping your torso down a bit on each rep.
- Make sure to observe perfect form throughout the exercise.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: It trains the obliques as a dynamic stabilizer which is part of their natural function in everyday activities.
ELBOW TO KNEE
HOW TO DO THE ELBOW TO KNEE:
- Lie on your side on an exercise mat with your right arm out for support and body angled slightly back, legs in extended position.
- Lift your left foot off the ground, and bring your left knee toward chest and your left elbow to meet it focusing on the obliques.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: This is an effective abs exercise that really targets the obliques!
If you do have equipment available to you and you’d like to explore more super effective obliques exercises, check out my article on Top 10 Obliques Exercises.
HOW CAN YOU TRAIN THE SERRATUS?
As I mentioned in the ab muscles anatomy section, the serratus is woven together with the obliques and works with them to stabilize the trunk and control trunk rotation.
You don’t want to forget about it in your abs training!
There is one great exercise you can do that works the serratus and the obliques together, and that’s the corkscrew.
CORKSCREW
HOW TO DO THE CORKSCREW:
- Starting position is supporting yourself in a captain’s chair or dip station in an upright position with abs braced and hips stable.
- Dip and twist your body from side to side in a slow-and-controlled move, pressing down through your hands.
- Make sure to observe perfect form throughout the exercise keeping the torso straight up and down.
WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE: The pressing down of the hands gets the protraction that works the serratus, which the twisting motion hits the obliques. This is a great exercise to add to any bodyweight-only workout.
9) HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET ABS?
One of the most commonly asked questions I get about the abdominals is how long it takes to get visible six pack abs.
This will really depend on how much overall body fat and belly fat you had when you started, how consistent you are with your nutrition and how good your ab training is.
The good news is, there are a few things you can do to speed up the process.
HOW TO GET ABS FAST?
When it comes to how to get a six pack fast, there are three important steps you can follow. Let’s look at them one by one:
STEP 1: FOLLOW THE SIX PACK PYRAMID
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, nutrition should be your foundation when it comes to getting six pack abs. It may help to visualize its importance if you look at my Six Pack Pyramid.
The Six Pack Pyramid contains all the necessary elements for building a six pack, and as you can see, nutrition is the base of that pyramid. Strength training in general is the next most important, followed by ab training and cardio. This is because after ensuring that your nutrition is in check, building muscle mass through strength training is what will help the most to reduce any body fat that is likely covering up your ab muscles.
STEP 2: INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF AB WORKOUTS
After proper nutrition and strength training are in place, it’s important to increase the frequency and effectiveness of your ab workouts to build strong core muscles. Be sure to do ab workouts that follow the correct Six Pack Progression as I outlined above.
To get unlimited ab workouts that follow this progression, check out my Six Pack Promise app or the web version ‘Six Pack Shuffle’ feature that comes with your purchase of any ATHLEAN-X workout program. It’s an ab workout generator that you can use to deal up beginner to advanced ab workouts customized to your fitness level and available equipment, all of which follow my Six Pack Progression.
STEP 3: IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EVERY REP
As you begin to increase the frequency of your abdominal workouts and are training the abs in the correct sequence, there are a few tweaks you can make to improve the quality of every rep of every ab exercise.
Here are a few of my best tips:
- Make every rep count by striving for meaningful contractions and not speed or number of reps. Go slow and use that mind-to-muscle connection.
- With bottom-up or lower abs movements, focus on lifting the pelvis, NOT the legs, as mentioned in the lower abs section. Squeeze your legs together to make your pelvis even more stable and a stable core.
- With top-down or upper abs movements such as a traditional crunch, try to focus on lifting your shoulder blades off the floor and don’t crank on the neck. Pretend there is a line just at the bottom of your ribcage and try to fold your body at that line when you are crunching. This gives a much better contraction of the rectus abdominis.
- Breathe properly! Take deep breaths, but don’t push your abdomen out as you exhale. Instead do the opposite and blow air out while pulling your stomach down. This is called cinching the abs and it activates the transverse abdominis (one of the core stabilizers).
When it comes to building abs, all the details matter, and it’s important to remember that the little things can make the biggest impact over time!
And of course, consistency is key.
Get that balanced diet dialed in, strength train regularly and perform short but effective abs workouts 5-6 days per week and you’ll be on your way to building that six pack!
If you’re looking for a complete plan to build muscle, lose body fat and get lean visible abs once and for all, check out our ATHLEAN-X programs. We’ve got plans for you regardless of what equipment you have available from dumbbells to cable machines to barbells to no equipment at all!
AB WORKOUTS FAQS
The best exercise for abs is the Sliding Ab Tuck. No equipment is required for this exercise, and you can perform it straight back to hit the rectus abdominis or by angling backward in an alternating fashion to hit the obliques. The posterior tilt of the pelvis in this exercise helps to ensure that the abdominal muscles are doing the work, not the hip flexors. This is an excellent exercise for building core strength in the rectus abdominis and obliques, and you can add it to any core-specific workout routine.
These moves will help build core strength in the rectus abdominis.
The 5 best exercises for your abs are:
These moves will give you an intense core workout to help you build a rock-solid core.
The best ab workouts should train all of the muscles and regions of the abs in the order of my Six Pack Progression: (1) lower abs (2) bottom up (3) obliques (4) mid-range (5) top-down rotation (6) top down. Doing your ab workouts in this order ensures that you’re doing the most difficult work first while you still have the energy. Doing your core workouts in this order will help build core strength in the rectus abdominis and obliques.
Ab workouts do not burn fat because your heart rate doesn’t increase enough and they can’t be performed for a long enough period of time to burn the calories required for burning fat. If you are looking to burn fat, it’s important to focus on adopting a healthy nutrition plan. Once you've done this you can begin to focus on building core strength.
The best ab workouts without equipment are:
These exercises will help build a stronger core in the rectus abdominis and obliques.
Ab workouts and exercises do not burn stomach fat, period. They can help develop the abdominal muscles to create a visual effect or six pack abs, but you will you not be able to see these muscles if there is belly fat covering them. Instead, the best way to burn bodyfat is by adopting a healthy nutrition plan.
You can train the abs 5-6 times per week or even daily. Ab workouts should be short at about 10 minutes or less. The abdominal muscles are involved in all the everyday movements we perform, so unlike the other muscle groups, abs can be trained with a much greater frequency. Training them more frequently will help build core strength in the rectus abdominis and obliques.
It is ok to train the abs up to 5-6 per week or even daily. Because the abdominal muscles are involved in nearly every activity of daily living we perform, unlike the other muscle groups, the abs can be trained with greater frequency. Doing an ab-specific workout more frequently will help build core strength and muscle growth in the rectus abdominis and obliques.
REFERENCES
Jeff Cavaliere M.S.P.T, CSCS
Jeff Cavaliere is a Physical Therapist, Strength Coach and creator of the ATHLEAN-X Training Programs and ATHLEAN-Rx Supplements. He has a Masters in Physical Therapy (MSPT) and has worked as Head Physical Therapist for the New York Mets, as well as training many elite professional athletes in Major League Baseball, NFL, MMA and professional wrestling. His programs produce “next level” achievements in muscle size, strength and performance for professional athletes and anyone looking to build a muscular athletic physique.
