Reality Check ✅ How often do YOU train your abs? Abdominals are like any other muscle group that need consistent work to develop. If you work them once a week or simply perform a few crunches and planks randomly, the true results will show. 🤭 Now, to avoid confusion, I’m simply going to discuss how I prioritize my ab trainings as well as my favorite exercises for my abs plus obliques. If you haven’t read my previous post on “How To: Properly Train Your Core,” I would suggest you read that first since a strong and stable core will help reduce a lot of injuries WHILE developing your abdominals. But, if your goal is mainly aesthetics (ex: bodybuilders), you will properly want to focus a little more on your abdominals for the cosmetic benefits. 1️⃣ Your abs need 3 types of movements for development: Dynamic, Isolation, and Stability. My favorite thing to do to save time is incorporate 1 exercise for each type in a circuit for 3-5 rounds depending on difficulty. An example of this would be: Lunge w/ Explosive Wall Ball Twist, Dead Bugs, and Hollow Body Holds. Whatever exercises you choice, make it hurt (don’t be a wimp) & keep rest to a minimum. 2️⃣ Abdominals recover quickly, so stop making excuses and train them 3-4 times per week! Now remember, if your goal is mainly total wellness & longevity, you are fine with focusing on core 2-3 x’s per week to prevent injury. Also, mix it up and put your ab training in the BEGINNING of your routine as part of your dynamic warm ups. This not only will allow you to put more energy & focus into your movements, as opposed to giving only what’s left at the end of your routine, but this will ignite your abs and get them awake and ready for your heavy compound lifts, thus reducing the chance of injury. 3️⃣ My favorite exercises and the ones that I’ve seen the most bang for my buck include the following: barbell & cable woodchoppers, banded pallof presses, dead bugs, barbell roll outs, hanging leg raises w/ wall ball, pike ups (both ways) and twisting pistons.
There is so much more I could talk about but for time and length sake, I encourage you to try this out and let me know your thoughts below in the comments. Enjoy 😉