The Only Ab Exercises You Need

These are really the only ab exercises you need to do to develop 6 pack abs and balanced core strength. Your abs have multiple layers of muscle. You want to make sure you work them all without wasting too much time doing more than you have to. This quick yet effective 6 pack ab workout will show you how to get shredded abs with only 7 exercises.

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Your abs are made of multiple layers of muscle starting with the rectus abdominus and the external obliques positioned on the outside, then under that layer we find the internal obliques, and finally, underneath all of that, we have the transverse abdominous. Each of these layers of muscle plays an important role in maintaining a flat defined looking midsection with nice abs. For example, developing the rectus abdominus helps create blockier-looking abs, while developing the transverse abdominus helps pull your stomach inward which gives you that flat stomach look. And the 7 ab exercises that I'm about to share with you are literally the only ab exercises you need to hit every muscle and develop perfect abs. 

And the first exercise that I want you to start your ab workouts with is the weighted declined situp. This is going to be one of the most important exercises for developing blocky abs. We're positioning it in the beginning because I want you to really push yourself to increase the weight that you use for this exercise over time. The ABS require Progressive overload to grow just like any other muscle in the body. So you're going to select a weight that's challenging for you to do 8 to 10 crunches with on the decline. Then you're going to take a seat and hook your ankles in. From there you're going to bring the weight behind your head and lower your upper body down until your shoulder blades touch the bench. Then sit back up to the starting position and repeat for reps. If you don't normally do decline sit-ups it's important that you first build up your core strength by practicing this exercise without weights. Once you've built up that core strength I recommend taking a light dumbbell and getting stronger at crunching with it in front of your body against your chest. Finally, after becoming more efficient with that you can bring the weight behind your head which is the most challenging version of this exercise. At that point, the goal is to slowly increase the weight over time which is something that most people forget about doing when it comes to abs. By increasing the weight over time your blocks of abs will become bulkier and more prominent, which helps increase visibility. 

Next is a leg raise in combination with a pulse up. Again I do want you to use a weight with this exercise. To begin you're going to start laying down on the ground with your hands above your head holding something sturdy for support. Then in between your feet, you're going to have a dumbbell that you're going to close both your feet around. From there you're going to raise your legs and the dumbbell straight up until the dumbbell is pointed towards the ceiling. Then really squeeze your core and push your hips up towards the ceiling for a pulse up. After that you're going to slowly lower your hips back down to the ground, then lower your legs and the dumbbell almost all the way to the floor but stop right before the dumbbell hits the floor and raise your legs again repeating the entire process for reps. Now of course when doing this with a dumbbell you have to be very careful. I've taught this exercise to many clients and I've never had anyone injure themselves, but if you open your feet the weight will obviously dropdown. So make sure you get good at this exercise without weight first and when starting to use weights start light and work your way up. If you're worried ankle weights are also a great option.

Next, we have V situps. With v situps, you can use a weight or you can go for a higher rep count like 20 reps. To use a weight you'll need a medicine ball or a sandbag. You'll begin by holding the medicine ball in your hands over your head while lying flat on the ground with your legs extended out below you. Then you're going to raise your legs as you sit your upper body up at the same time. When you do this your body should form what looks like a V shape from the side. At the top, you're going to pass the ball from your hands to your feet. Then lower back down to the starting position with your hands above your head and your feet with the ball slightly above the floor. Next, you'll repeat the process except this time after you sit up you're going to pass the ball from your feet to your hands. And just keep repeating that back and forth for reps. Remember that v situps on their own are pretty challenging as it is, so if you can't use a weight for this one it's perfectly fine to just use your body weight...