Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
There are dozens and dozens of great ab exercises. However, only a few can be classified as the best. And this isn't our opinion; it's based on studies. We're going to take ab exercises to task and see what the research says you should be doing to maximize your progress.
The Ab Workout
Now, this is a lot to do in one session. Therefore, you could break these exercises into two workouts and alternate through them three times a week, putting them at the end of your sessions.
While you should still track your reps and workload, working to near failure is your primary goal. Still, you do want to see improvements over time. At the same time, you can use various rep schemes as well;
- For your barbell rollout, you can use the different variations OR add plates to the barbell. This increases the friction and drag.
- For hanging knee tucks and decline crunch, you can wear ankle weights or hold a dumbbell.
- For Pallof press and woodchoppers, you can simply change the load.
With that said, use 3-5 sets depending on your goals.
Session 1
- Barbell Rollout
- Hanging Knee Tucks
- Pallof Press
Session 2
- Barbell Rollout
- Decline Reverse Crunch
- Cable Woodchopper
The Ab Muscles
Your "abs" consist of more than just one muscle. In fact, we could break down three different muscle groups.
- Rectus Abdominis (6-pack)
- Transverse Abdominis (The sexy muscle)
- External & Internal obliques (The sides)
It's important to have a basic understanding of these muscles' structure and function to optimize their training. Therefore, we're going to break them down right here.
Rectus Abdominis (6-pack)
The rectus abdominis, commonly known as the "6-pack," comprises several pairs of muscles running vertically down the stomach. Separating each side is a strong fibrous midline structure known as the linea alba. This overall structure gives the appearance of "packs."
When standing, the rectus abdominis works with other core muscles to stabilize and increase intra-abdominal pressure. In fact, as a whole, this is the core's primary function. If you think about it, how often do you walk around performing crunches? You don't! Rather, you stand up nice and tall!
However, remember that the spine isn't a single joint but a bunch of vertebrae attached. These vertebrae have minimal flexion alone, meaning one side can bend while the other remains straight. Therefore, it also has a dynamic function, which is to flex the spine that is achieved in two ways:
- Bringing the rib cage toward the hips initiates a movement of the upper region of the muscle.
- Bringing the hips toward the rib cage when the ribs are fixed
This function makes it important to train your "lower" and "upper" abs to optimize your core training.
Check out our list of rectus abdominis exercises.
Transverse Abdominis (The sexy muscle)
The transverse abdominis is known as the body's "natural corset" because it runs around the majority of the core like a corset. This makes it the primary stabilizer of all core muscles, helping squeeze in everything and hold it all together.
So why is this called the "sexy muscle"? Do you know those two angled lines on the lower abs of guys with low body fat? This form is called your "Adonis belt," which consists of two inguinal ligaments that run over the transverse abdominis.
Developing a stronger and larger transverse abdominis pushes these two ligaments farther out, making them more pronounced.
You can find our favorite transverse abdominis exercises here.
External & Internal obliques (The sides)
On the sides of your body, you have your obliques. Actually, you have two sets of obliques: the external obliques (superficial) and the internal obliques (deeper).
As far as function, these muscles do the same, yet the function is reversed. This means your right external oblique will work with your left internal oblique, while the left external oblique works with the right internal oblique.
Together, these muscles have three functions:
- Lateral flexion
- Rotation
- Assisting with stabilization
Training rotation is crucial for daily life and athletics. Think about how many sports require rotation: swinging a bat, throwing a ball in baseball, or swinging a golf club. Unfortunately, this function is often missing from people's ab workout.
Don't miss out on the best oblique exercises.
The Best Ab Exercises
Now that you better understand how abs work let's look at the best exercises to hit every ab.
We do want to mention that these exercises are ab specific. Remember that many of your other big, compound movements also hit your abs, things like farmer carries, bent over rows, deadlifts, and squats.
With that said, here are the exercises;
Your Primary Core Exercise
Your primary exercise is 100% going to be (or should be) the rollout. In fact, if you do only one exercise, this is it. Multiple studies have found that when measuring the activity of your core muscles during various core movements, the rollout consistently comes out on top as the number 1 choice.¹
As far as function, this is a plank on steroids. It requires extremely high levels of activation from all your muscles to stabilize the spine. Due to the high levels of stabilization required, this will hit your transverse abdominis.
Your goal is to perform these on your feet and totally lay out. However, this is pretty tough and may take some time to get to. Therefore, you can use regressions with two being your primary.
- Perform Bosu ball rollouts
- Barbell rollout on your knees
With all of these, hold the barbell with a comfortable width. As you roll out, keep your arms extended and attempt to roll out the entire way until your body is stretched out. Once stretched out, pull your body in, focusing on using your core to pull yourself back. If this is too tough, roll out as far as possible and then pull your body back in.
Upper Rectus Abdominis
As we mentioned above, to optimize your ab training, you should target both your upper rectus abdominis and your lower rectus abdominis. Studies show that the best exercise for the upper portion is the reverse incline crunch.²
This is performed on an incline bench with your head up on top and your legs down. You grab the handle and then bring your knees up towards your head. To hit the upper portion, focus on curling until your midsection is off the ground while your shoulders and upper back are planted on the bench. Remember that the entire spine can flex, so you want the point of flexion to occur in the upper region.
Lower Rectus Abdominis
Research shows that hanging knee raises should be your go-to exercise for the lower portion.³
Keep in mind what we said above about the point of flexion. Here, we want it to occur at the lower portion of your core. When performing these, many people simply raise their knees until parallel. Sure, this will get some activation, but you'll focus on your hip flexors.
Therefore, you must curl your pelvis up when you pull your knees up!
Rotation (Obliques)
While we didn't mention this above, all the other exercises already hit the obliques significantly.
Therefore, for this next exercise, we're looking more at the muscle's function. Still, while we don't have any studies that measured the activation of the obliques, we think this rotation exercise would score high.
We're talking about cable woodchippers. When you perform them, it's imperative that you keep your shoulders aligned with your hips so that when your shoulders rotate, so do your hips.
Keep in mind you can also switch up the angle to hit the core differently. You can go:
- Starting high and chopping downward
- Starting low and chopping up
- Maintain neutral level
Anti-Rotation
We didn't mention this, but anti-rotation exercise is another crucial component. Anti-rotation is like the plank for your obliques, as the body must resist rotating. This is a crucial element for core muscles to help maintain stability in the spine and strengthen the core.
For this, we love Pallof Presses.
You can perform these with a cable machine or a band attached to a wall. Stand so the cable (band) is parallel with your shoulders, and hold the handle at your chest. You then push away in a straight line.
As you push farther, the cable will lift the weight (or the band will stretch more). In addition, your longer arms will create more torque. Together, this will want to pull your arms, and you must resist!
Conclusion
Well, there you have it. The perfect science-based ab workout. Give it a try and let us know what you think of it in the comments below.
Want run some of these exercises in a circuit? Check out our post Ab Circuit Workout to level up your training.
References
- “Electromyographic Analysis of Traditional and Nontraditional Abdominal Exercises: Implications for Rehabilitation and Training.” Physical Therapy, 1 May 2006, https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/86.5.656.
- Oup.com, 2024, academic.oup.com/view-large/190902872.
- Oup.com, 2024, academic.oup.com/view-large/190902872.
Garett Reid
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