Best and Worst Exercises for Abs
Is it just me, or are you tired of this too? One so called fitness expert tells you that the best exercises for abs are crunches and the next one tells the complete opposite. I think much of the misunderstanding comes because some personal trainers and experts just don’t take the time to ask themselves what the abdominal muscles really do and how to train them most effectively. In this article I am going to list the 3 worst exercises for abs and the 7 best exercises for abs.
Here are 3 of the worst exercises for abs based on how many of these factors they include.
1. Crunches: The problem that I see with crunches is that you’re lying on your back instead of standing, it doesn’t require any stabilization and there is little or no rotation involved. A better alternative, if you are addicted to crunches, is to do them on the physioball. But still, there are more effective exercises for abs.
2. Leg Raises: The biggest problem with leg raises is that it creates a tremendous amount of pressure on your hip flexors. The hip flexors attach to the lumbar (lower) spine and can create low back pain. The captain’s chair is a better alternative if done correctly, but still not one of my favorites.
3. Ab Machines: This is probably the worst of all abdominal exercises. Machines, in general, are not nearly as effective as free weights or body weight exercises. Additionally, your feet are not usually on the ground, your back is stabilized by the machine and it involves awkward movement patterns.
Now for the best exercises for abs, some of which you may never have thought of as abdominal exercises.
1. Renegade Dumbbell Rows: This is basically a pushup with a single arm horizontal row. Not only do you have to perform a push up, which by itself is one of the best abdominal exercises, but you have to prevent rotation as you pull one of the weights to your chest while the other hand is on the floor. Great exercise!
2. Kettlebell Swing: This one involves swinging a kettlebell, dumbbell, weight plate, whatever, from below your knees to shoulder height repeatedly. To control the weight well require a lot of stabilization and rotation control.
3. Front Squat: I know, this isn’t your traditional abdominal exercise but think about it for a minute. The amount of stabilization necessary to support the movement of the body during a front squat is incredible.
4. Push Up Variations: You can’t beat the push up for simplicity and effectiveness. Throw in a movement that lifts either one of your hands or one of your feet off of the floor and you just took it to another level.
5. Mountain Climber or Cross Body Mountain Climber: Begin in a push up position and bring one knee to your chest. Switch back and forth between legs. For the Cross Body Mountain Climber, try to touch your knee to the opposite elbow.
6. Woodchopper: Grab a medicine ball, kettlebell or a weight plate and stand in a short squat position. Begin with your hands to the outside of one knee and raise the weight at a diagonal angle with straight arms to the opposite side outside of your shoulder. Repeat this beginning from the other knee.
7. Gymball Rollout: Start in a standing position with your hands on a physioball so that you are in a pike position. Roll forward with your hands on the ball until your body is straight. Return to the pike position. Be careful not to go too far forward so that you low back arches.
Bonus. Spiderman Push Up: Start in a push up position. As you perform a push up bring one knee forward and to the side so that it touches the elbow. On the next repetition switch legs. For added difficulty, move the left arm forward as the right knee touches the right elbow.
The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise
Here is an article by Mike Geary. He describes the effectiveness of the front squat and why it is one of the best exercises for creating a total body effect. Most long boring cardio exercises do not require the type of total body balance, stability, and coordination that the front squat and dead lift stimulate. What does that mean for you? Maybe more efficient core training?
Total body exercises are the best and most effective way to lose fat and train your body for the stresses of everyday life. The front squat and the dead lift require not only lower body strength but strengthen the core muscles that help to support the whole body as well as ripping the six pack that so many times is cleverly disguised. Enjoy! Train Fast! Explode!
The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author: The Truth About Six Pack Abs
The Front Squat
As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises.
In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution.
If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment.
Squats can be done with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or even just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights – NEVER with a Smith machine! My ebook, The Truth About Six Pack Abs contains the full story on why machines are so inferior and even potentially DANGEROUS compared to free weights.
The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell back squat where the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the upper back. Many professional strength coaches believe that front squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch grip overhead throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance than back squats with less risk of lower back injury.
I feel that a combination of all three (not necessarily during the same phase of your workouts) will yield the best results for overall muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance. Front squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front squats. I’ll cover overhead squats in a future newsletter issue.
If you are only accustomed to performing back squats, it will take you a few sessions to become comfortable with front squats, so start out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel the groove and be able to increase the poundage.
To perform front squats:
The front squat recruits the abdominals to a much higher degree for stability due to the more upright position compared with back squats. It is mostly a lower body exercise, but is great for functionally incorporating core strength and stability into the squatting movement. It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the bar on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of the shoulders.
In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms into an “X” position while resting the bar on the dimple that is created by the shoulder muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up high so that your arms are parallel to the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar for support.
Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your palms face up and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from falling. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout the squat. Find out which bar support method is more comfortable for you.
Then, initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping your weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury resistant knee joints.
Keep in mind – squats done correctly actually strengthen the knees; squats done incorrectly can damage the knees. Practice first with an un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn the movement. Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs once you learn the correct form.
For complete descriptions of over 50 of the most effective full body exercises for stripping away body fat while developing a rock-hard body, download my e-book The Truth About Six Pack Abs
Barbell, Kettlebell, and Dumbbell Complexes to Take Your Body to a New Level of Hardness and Conditioning
Barbell, Kettlebell, and Dumbbell Complexes to Take Your Body to a New Level of Hardness and Conditioning
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author: The Truth About Six Pack Abs
If you’ve been looking for a different training technique to break out of a rut, eliminate the boredom, and bring on new results, “complexes” may be just what you’ve been looking for.
If you’ve never heard of “complexes” before, the basic concept is that instead of repeating the same exercise for multiple reps to complete a “set”, you sequence one rep of several different exercises right after one another and repeat the sequence several times to complete a “set”. It’s basically like performing a routine, instead of just mindlessly performing a typical “set”.
This type of training is excellent to work a huge amount of musculature in a short amount of time, and definitely takes your workouts to a whole new level of intensity. The conditioning aspect of this type of training is amazing, as you’ll find yourself huffing and puffing after repeating a sequence a mere two or three times.
If I had to venture a guess, I’d have to say that this type of training probably elicits a good growth hormone response as well, due to the large amount of full body work completed in a given time period. But that’s just my guess.
I like to incorporate about 5 exercises into my complexes. Any more than that and you might start to forget what’s next in the sequence. Here’s an example of a killer barbell complex that really gets me fired up:
Example Barbell Complex
1. high pull from floor (explosive deadlift right into upright row in one motion);
2. barbell back to thighs, then hang clean (explosively pull bar from knees and “catch” the bar at shoulders);
3. barbell back to floor, then clean & jerk;
4. barbell back to thighs, bend over, then bent over row;
5. barbell back to thighs, then finish with Romanian deadlift
Use a weight that you can still handle for your weakest lift of the bunch, but keep it heavy enough to challenge you. Try to repeat the sequence 2-3 times without resting… That’s 1 set. You could progress over time on this routine by increasing the amount of times you repeat the sequence in each set, or by adding sets on subsequent workouts before eventually increasing the weight.
For example, say you completed the above complex with 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 3 sets in today’s workout. Next time you perform the workout, try to do 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 4 sets. Once you successfully complete 5 sets with 155, increase the weight 5 or 10 lbs next time, and drop back to 3 sets. This is a great way to make improvements over time, while cycling your training volume.
Now I’m going to show you a great kettlebell complex that really kicks my butt. If you don’t have a kettlebell, you can use a dumbbell, but I’d highly recommend picking yourself up a kettlebell… very convenient to have around when you want to bang out a quick intense workout at home without going to the gym.
I’ve been training with kettlebells for a little over a year now, and can definitely say that they’ve dramatically improved my strength, body composition, and overall physical capabilities. If you’re not familiar with kettlebells, they are an old eastern European training secret that has just started to take the US by storm over the last few years. Many elite athletes are using kettlebells as their preferred training tool for serious results. Learn more info and pick up one of your own body-hardening kettlebells here.
I’d recommend just starting off with one bell and learn all of the single kettlebell drills first, before delving into the double-bell drills. Just one kettlebell coupled with some bodyweight exercises can literally be enough to comprise your own home gym, without any other equipment necessary. Or a kettlebell can just be a great alternative workout to incorporate into your routines once or twice a week. Either way, it opens up a whole new world of training for you.
Example Kettlebell Complex
1. one arm swing
2. one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;
3. one arm overhead squat;
4. bell back down to bottom, then one arm high pull;
5. bell back down to bottom, then one arm clean & press
As with the barbell complex, repeat the sequence (without rest) 2-3 times with each arm. That’s one set…and one hell of a killer set at that! Try increasing from 3 to 4 to 5 sets on subsequent workouts with a given weight before increasing your sequence reps. If you’re not drenched in sweat with your heart beating out of your chest after that complex, you either went too light, or you are a mutant freak!
Since dumbbells are more accessible to most people than kettlebells, now I’ll show you how to put together a good dumbbell complex.
Example Dumbbell Complex
1. upright row with each arm separately then both together
2. front lunge with one leg, then the other
3. back lunge with one leg, then the other
4. curl to overhead press
5. keep dumbbells at shoulders and squat
Again, the same type of sequencing and progressions explained with the barbell complexes work great with the dumbbell complexes. I think a great strategy is to alternate barbell complexes on one day with kettlebell or dumbbell complexes on alternative training days.
For example, you could do barbell complexes Monday, K-bell or D-bell complexes Wednesday, and back to barbell complexes on Friday. Maybe hit some sprints and bodyweight drills on Saturday; then Monday would be K-bell or D-bell complexes again, Wednesday would be barbells again, and so on. Give this program a try for a month (if you dare), and you will be one hardened individual!
For more killer full body training routines and a fully comprehensive nutritional analysis for developing the body you’ve always wanted, don’t miss out on my internationally best selling program with users in over 150 countries, The Truth about Six Pack Abs.
