Ab workouts are one of the few types of exercise that some people are instinctively drawn to whether they’re dedicated lifters or not. Many people use ab exercises as an entry point into some type of regular exercise, which is great. Hopefully they eventually move on to incorporate training their other body parts, but a
ab workout
Gillon’s helping her followers sculpt their midsections. Written by Roger Lockridge Last updated on May 9, 2023 Many champions don’t just want to win titles — they want to help others become their best as well. One example of a champion that does as such is six-time Figure Olympia winner Cydney Gillon. Outside of her
Some lifters will only consider training their abs with high-repetition bodyweight exercises. If they do add resistance, it’s often with exercises performed on highly stabilized machines, excessively heavy movements with compromised technique, or basic cable crunch variations that don’t allow the abs to perform as efficiently as possible. That’s when it’s time to head into
Physical therapist John Pallof shared a simple exercise with a few influential strength coaches in the early 2000s. It offered an effective way to challenge core stability in an upright, athletic position. Due to the exercise’s relative starting and ending point, he called it the belly press. Fast-forward two decades. Pallof’s “belly press” was renamed by
Everyone in the gym has their own ideas about ab training. And the majority of people seem to hate it. It’s the one thing most lifters leave to the end of their workout in favor of movements for other body parts, if they bother to train their core at all. People often neglect core training
If you listed the most popular ab exercises, there would be some familiar contenders like crunches, planks, and leg raises, no doubt. But one dark horse in the race is the Russian twist. Credit: diplo_game / Shutterstock You’ll see it performed by bodybuilders, fitness influencers, “functional fitness” athletes who wear toe-gripping shoes that look like
Picking up two dumbbells and walking around might not appear to be anything special. It looks too easy. No challenge at all, maybe some cardio and working your grip a little bit. But once you start taking the farmer’s walk seriously, you’ll realize there’s so much more to carrying weights than meets the eye. Credit:
Some people completely shy away from direct ab exercises, either out of boredom or because they believe the big compound exercises like squats and overhead presses work their abs enough. But plenty of other lifters make ab training a priority, be it to improve performance or their physique. When it comes to a good-looking set
Ab training is not only about aesthetics and making your abs look better. Yes, these workouts will check both of those boxes, but these specialized training plans can also help you understand that your abdominal muscles are highly functional, not just for show. Credit: I T A L O / Shutterstock Once you start training
There are typically two camps when it comes to ab training. There are those who are purely focused on strengthening their abs to hoist more weight and perform better as an athlete. And then some folks are mainly interested in whittling their middle a la Brad Pitt in Troy. But hear us now: You can
The classic sit-up is one of the first exercises most people learn to perform. Sometimes on their own at home as an early attempt to get into better shape or in school during gym class where it was less painful than dodgeball and more fun than square dancing. The sit-up remains a time-tested fitness evaluation