Thread: Exercises for abs!

Squats, deadlifts, pullups, military presses, unilateral work, pullovers, power lifting....if more is needed then planks.

the above post is accurate, but you can also do the traditional crunches and leg raises. look at a boxers abs. most boxers have very defined strong abs, with limited weight training. look at a gymnasts abs.. probably the best in the business(my opinion). do knee ups, or leg ups. or hanging leg raises. planks like stated in the above post are great. do a military press, but then hold the bar above your head. now walk 100-200-300 etc. yards..
try them all. hit the abs from all angles.
good luck.

Originally Posted by stepaukas

do a military press, but then hold the bar above your head. Now walk 100-200-300 etc. Yards..

wtf?

Originally Posted by stepaukas

the above post is accurate, but you can also do the traditional crunches and leg raises. look at a boxers abs. most boxers have very defined strong abs, with limited weight training. look at a gymnasts abs.. probably the best in the business(my opinion). do knee ups, or leg ups. or hanging leg raises. planks like stated in the above post are great. do a military press, but then hold the bar above your head. now walk 100-200-300 etc. yards..
try them all. hit the abs from all angles.
good luck.

If you're going to take the dreaded crunch and leg raises route, please note that unless there is spinal flexion (i.e. your TORSO is curving inward like an arch) you're not contracting the abs but rather the hip flexors. This is how most people do it. It's not supposed to be done this way. People will say they can still feel their abs burning, but that's just isometric tension.

Nevertheless, the range of motion is so small and the intensity is so minimal that are these really worth the time and stress on the lower back?

Try putting over your bodyweight across your shoulders and squatting below parallel.

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

wtf?

Count me in.

Why not just perform overhead squats? I get where you're coming from, but for the weight to be high enough to make that lift worthwhile you'd be at tremendous risk walking around with a BB overhead and your arms locked out.

Why not farmers walks? Much more productive and SAFE.

Originally Posted by Phineas

If you're going to take the dreaded crunch and leg raises route, please note that unless there is spinal flexion (i.e. your TORSO is curving inward like an arch) you're not contracting the abs but rather the hip flexors. This is how most people do it. It's not supposed to be done this way. People will say they can still feel their abs burning, but that's just isometric tension.

Nevertheless, the range of motion is so small and the intensity is so minimal that are these really worth the time and stress on the lower back?

Try putting over your bodyweight across your shoulders and squatting below parallel.

Good advice.

personally, i do all the above. farmers walk. squats. deads , planks, crunches, kneeups but the walking with the weights overhead , and sometimes using dumbellsinstead of barbells , really hits my abs.
i also get a 60# sand bag in a tube shape and carry that on my shoulders and walk/jog for a 12 minute mile. this really hits the abs..
as a gymnast from 1960-1975, we did all kinds of kettelbell work, and lots of muscleups, and knees to elbows on the still rings . these all were very good core exercises. not too many people have rings or high bars or pommell horses to train on though. my neighbor was a great boxer and i went to the gym a lot with him to spar and train and his abs were very strong and very well defined. all he did was crunches, leg raises and situps.
old school..
lots of ways to train them. find out what burns and works the best for you and stick with it.
ray schmidt, an older friend of mine from years ago, was a great diver and gymnast. he did crunches and L sits .. and this old diver/gymnast had the best abs i ever seen.
good luck

Originally Posted by Phineas

Count me in.

Why not just perform overhead squats? I get where you're coming from, but for the weight to be high enough to make that lift worthwhile you'd be at tremendous risk walking around with a BB overhead and your arms locked out.

Why not farmers walks? Much more productive and SAFE.

Agreed, and for fuck's sake stepaukas think about the person you are giving advice too what did he post "I lack on knowledge of exercises for the abs" that screams beginner.Telling a beginner to lift a barbell over his head and go walk a couple of football fields is horrible advice.

Bicycle manoeuver and vertical leg crunchs!

Lately i've been doing HIT workouts, and a set of Military Press with extended tempo destroys my abs every single time. I'm doing 3 seconds up, 4 seconds down, 10-12 reps. Pretty much pressing overhead for 2 minutes non stop, and the slow tempo means i have to stabilize far more than regular presses.

Try em, even with a light weight (im only doing 90lbs, and i can press over 160lbs) and i promise your core will be utterly raped. Put them in a circuit with planks and Goblet Squats and theres your core workout my friend:


1. Overhead Press x 12 (3x4x Tempo)
2. Plank x 60sec
3. Goblet Squats x 20


If you can even contemplate doing a single crunch after a few rounds of that i'd be very impressed.

Pretty much everything listed above, I would like to add in good mornings. 6pk abs are more related to diet, than the actual workout.