My Favorite AB Exercises

by Marc Lasecki
(Egin, SC - USA)

Hello,

My favorite ab exercises are as follow:

1. Crunches done as a Tabata set. These really fry the abs plus you can track your progress by seeing what your lowest rep count per set is. I like to add squats and pushups to make a really killer workout.

2. Slow motion crunches. Do a normal crunch but do it very slowly. I do my crunches in a three count manner, but the key is I never let the tension up on my abs. That is I will never lower myself back to the floor, I always keep my body off the floor during the whole set.

3. Medicine ball toss/crunch & twist. I like to sit on the floor with my feet elevated to reduce the use of my hip flexors. Then my partner tosses me a medicine ball and I toss it back. We do this for a count of ten. Then when my partner tosses me the medicine ball I do a crunch while holding the ball. I do ten of these. Then we toss the ball back and forth again. Then I will do ten twists while holding the medicine ball to the right. Again, we toss the medicine ball. Finally, we conclude by doing twists to the left while holding the medicine ball.

4. Squats while standing on a medicine ball. This works the entire core.

5. Swiss ball crunches. You cannot go wrong with the classics. Great range of motion plus a killer burn.

6. Turkish Get Ups. This exercise helps me build up power in my core region.

7. Front squats. I like this exercise because my abs help stabilize my body while I get a good leg workout.

8. Kettlebell Windmills. This exercise works the core but with most of its emphasis on the lower back.

9. Isometric Ab Flex. I like to do isometric ab flexing first thing in the morning. I feel like this exercise has helped pull my abs inward thus helping me get a flat stomach. The best part of this exercise is that it can be done anywhere (i.e. in the shower, at your desk, standing in line, etc).

10. Deadlifts. This exercise really helps strengthen my lower back plus it works almost every major muscle in the body. More bang for the buck!

These are some of my favorite ab exercises. I hope you enjoy them.