Are you a girl or guy whose frustrated because no matter many crunches you do your abs don’t look the way you want? Do you want to build an impressive set of abdominal muscles that don’t just look good but are also strong enough to help you perform your best in the gym and keep your body healthy? If you answer yes to these questions, the ab workout in this article is for you. After reading it you’ll have a good understanding of how you need to train to build your abs and also know a great abdominal workout that you can begin doing immediately, without any fancy equipment!
Contrary to popular belief, your abdominal muscles only function is not flexing your upper body toward your knees. This is what people think and why crunches and sit ups are so popular. What your really working when you do these exercises are your hips. Your ab muscles primary functions are to stabilize your spine, absorb force, and move in several ways. They include: flexing your trunk, extending your back, and twisting your body. A great ab workout is therefore one that uses exercises that work your abs in these ways. The abdominal workout in this article does this and which is why it’s so effective.
One word of warning. Don’t be surprised when you don’t see any crunches or situps on the exercise list. Just give it a try, I assure you that you’ll feel your abs are being trained 100% during every exercise.
You should do the ab workout below 3 times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is one way to do this. Alternate the A and B workouts below one after the other with a days rest between each. You’ll take weekends off to rest and recover. For example, during the first week you’ll perform 3 circuits of workout A on Monday, 3 circuits of workout B on Wednesday, and 3 circuits of Workout A again on Friday. Then, when you workout again the following Monday you will perform Workout B. You’ll increase either the number of circuits or weight you use every week. The list below shows you how.
Abdominal Workout Sets and Reps
Week 1: 3 circuits per workout. Perform 8 reps per exercise.
Week 2: 3 circuits per workout. Increase the weight used on exercises you can do 10 times.
Week 3: 4 sets for each exercise. Perform 8 reps per exercise.
Week 4: 4 sets for each exercise. Increase the weight used on exercises you can do 10 times.
Week 5: 5 sets for each exercise. Perform 8 reps per exercise.
Week 6: 5 sets for each exercise. Increase the weight used on exercises you can do 10 times.
Since these are total body workouts you’ll find that you build muscle and get stronger throughout the rest of your body too. The only equipment you’ll need are a kettlebell, medicine ball, and resistance bands. You can substitute barbells and dumbbells if necessary.
After performing this workout for 4-6 weeks you can switch to a new program with a new focus. I recommend always including at least a few of the exercises from this workout in your programs to ensure your abs are always being trained properly.
Listed at the end of this article are videos for every exercise in this workout.
Ab Workout A
Alternating Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebell Front Squats
1 Arm Kettlebell Row
Resistance Band Push Ups (only use resistance bands if you can do more than 10 regular push ups)
Farmers Walks
Medicine Ball Side Throws
Ab Workout B
Kettlebell Push Press
Split Squats
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Burpees
Medicine Ball Slams
Planks
Perform each workout as a circuit. Working out this way will help you burn more calories from stored body fat which will make your abs visible faster. You’ll do every exercise one after the other with no rest between each. Rest 2-5 minutes between each circuit.
Eating Right Is Important For Visible Abs Too
While this workout will build your abs and make them stronger, no amount of exercise will make these muscles visible if you aren’t eating properly. This doesn’t mean that eating to lose fat and for visible abs needs to be complicated. Listed below are 7 ab dieting tips that will help you get rid of your excess body fat. Even if you already have visible abdominal muscles, applying these tips can help you get even leaner, build muscle, and look better.
Ab Diet Tips
1. Eat enough protein to build muscle. This means about 1 gram per pound of body weight.
2. Eat protein rich foods. Think eggs, fish, pork, and red meat. These foods have all of the muscle building amino acids our body needs. They’ll also help you stay full for hours between meals, reducing your chances of falling off the wagon and cheating on your diet.
3. Minimize the processed carbohydrates and refined sugars you eat. This includes foods like: bread, candy, crackers, pasta, and rice. You shouldn’t eat them more than 1-2 times a week in small quantities if at all.
4. Eat lots of vegetables (broccoli, brussells sprouts, onions, peppers, spinach). They’re low in carbohydrates and calories so you don’t have to worry about adding fat no matter how much of them you eat. Their high fiber content will fill you up too.
5. Eat plenty of healthy fats from foods like avocados, fatty fish (salmon and sardines), and even the fats found in eggs and red meat. Cooking with coconut and olive oil is good for your body too. All of these fats will make fat loss easier because they’ll keep you full between meals. Studies show that fish oil can help you lose fat and build muscle too.
6. Drink plenty of water. This will help you stay full and hydrated which is important for fat loss and being able to put 100% into your workouts.
7. Use the right supplements. I don’t mean products that are loaded with caffeine that will make you feel nervous and jittery. You instead should use supplements that will help you cut cravings and help your body burn fat faster. They include branched chain amino acids, fish oil, l-carnitine, and a quality protein powder.
Now You Know How To Build Strong 6 Pack Abs
Give this workout and the diet tips in this article your all for 4-6 weeks, and I guarantee you’ll find that your abs are stronger and look better than ever.
Abdominal Workout Descriptions
Alternating Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebell Front Squats
1 Arm Kettlebell Row
Resistance Band Push Ups
Medicine Ball Side Throws
Kettlebell Push Press
Split Squats (using a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells)
Kettlebell Stiff Leg Deadlift
Burpees
Medicine Ball Slams
Planks
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