Workout Summary
Main Goal:
Build Muscle
Workout Type:
Single Muscle Group
Training Level:
Advanced
Days Per Week:
2
Equipment Required:
Bodyweight, Cables, Exercise Ball
Target Gender:
Male & Female
Author:
Workout Description
This advanced ab workout is designed to increase the size of your abdominal muscles, making them more defined, and more visible. The routine is done twice a week, with at least 2 days rest in between sessions. Traditionally, ab exercises are usually done at around 20 reps, but this workout works in a rep range of 10-12 with loads increasing to build the size of the abdominals.
Workout Schedule:
| Workout 1 - Abdominals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Abdominals | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Cable crunch | 3 | 12 |
| Weighted leg raise | 3 | 10 |
| Weighted exercise ball crunch | 3 | 12 |
| Notes | ||
| All exercises should be done slowly! Focus on crunching the ab muscles, not rotating at the hips. You should use enough weight so that you can just complete the set with good technique. If you feel like you can do a few more reps, add more weight. | ||
| Workout 2 - Abdominals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Abdominals | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Hanging knee raise, twisting | 3 | 12 |
| Decline sit ups (weighted) | 3 | 10-12 |
| Decline abdominal reach (weighted) | 4 | 10 |
| Notes | ||
| Hanging knee raises - twist left AND right on each rep. | ||
Comments (123)
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Posted Tue, 05/25/2010 - 16:20
Works Well. I've Included In My MMA Workout.
Posted Wed, 03/02/2011 - 16:17
whats ur mma work out like
Posted Fri, 04/15/2011 - 18:24
yo ryan what up lol
Posted Sun, 06/06/2010 - 09:51
On the leg raises should it be hanging or lying?
Posted Sun, 06/06/2010 - 11:32
Either would be OK.
Posted Thu, 06/10/2010 - 09:59
Hey man quick question,
Im 18 and I have an 8 pack, but due to the fact that I used to be pretty overweight,
my last two abs are covered in extra skin(almost looks like fat)
Any stretches or ab workouts that might help stretch that out, or make it disappear?
I eat healthy, and regularly, just cant get it gone.
Also:
Is it bad if I do ab workouts in my down time for resting between other muscle group workout sets?
Example:
I do my biceps, and while im resting a minute between my sets, I do abs?
Thanks again,
Jairus
Posted Thu, 06/10/2010 - 14:34
A cutting diet is the real key to reducing this extra fat. And it's OK to do abs in between sets as long as you have energy to still focus on the major muscle groups.
Posted Wed, 07/28/2010 - 18:27
do you know if using a cutting diet lets say eating chiken and brown rice alot. Will i still gain weight and stay lean with a diet like that. Like the whole day eating chiken breast brown rice or a potato and vegtables.
Posted Thu, 07/29/2010 - 14:07
Hi Anthony,
Fat gain and fat loss always come down to daily calories. You can overeat a lot of clean foods and get fat, or undereat and lose fast and muscle. here is an article that talks about staying lean and gaining muscle:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/your-go-to-guide-to-gaining-mu...
Posted Thu, 08/18/2011 - 12:01
Ive heard that swimming tightens up and pulls in skin.
Posted Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:09
I am 14, and I do abs everyday, and I eat great. I do cardio workouts also. I have lost 35 pounds and I have a six pack, but my lower two abs are covered in my extra skin. Any suggestions on what to do?
Posted Tue, 08/14/2012 - 21:35
bro theres a muscle (cant remember what its called) which is kind of like a belt and is situated near your belly button and wraps around your waist. the size of this muscle differs from person to person, some are thick and some are thin, unfortunately it is superficial to your abs, meaning that it is likely in your case, that you have quite a thick one which is covering up your bottom two abs, i have this problem too. so no matter how big or strong they might be, they wont be seen.basically its like a mask
Posted Thu, 06/10/2010 - 13:35
I noticed that this workout only has one exercise that does the obliques. Is this workout meant mainly as a front ab muscle workout? (I don't know the correct muscle name, pardon me for sounding uneducated).
Posted Thu, 06/10/2010 - 14:22
Most ab work focuses on the "six pack" area of the abs. There is often a fear of widening the waist line, so many ab workouts don't include much oblique work.
Posted Thu, 06/10/2010 - 14:46
I suppose that makes sense. I was under the impression that you should always work out your obliques as well. Should I just swap them into this routine in place of one of the regular ones in the first day?
Posted Thu, 06/10/2010 - 14:48
I would simply add in oblique work, or remove an ab exercise.
Posted Tue, 06/15/2010 - 17:25
Hey. I've got an 8 pack already. You can say I'm definitely ripped. I've used this program for about two weeks now, using it the way it was recommended. Is it okay to do this four days out of a week instead of two?? I'd like to see if it would be a good idea because i need to give my abs a challenge. Thanks
-Tony
Posted Wed, 06/16/2010 - 09:26
You could perform 4 ab workouts each week.
Posted Wed, 06/16/2010 - 09:01
I also have the same problem as Jarius, I've been working on my abs a lot lately, i have the top 4 abs they show decently, but i cant seem to get rid of the skin surrounding my abs, due to i lost 42kg quite fast, I'm 17 years old, I've been told it will start to shrink because I'm still young and growing.
But i need a suggestion to a supplement, to help retract the skin, I'm 6ft 1" and 85 kg if that helps at all.
Thanks heaps Chris
Posted Wed, 06/16/2010 - 09:25
Hi Chris,
I recommend asking this question on the forum to see if anyone has some good suggestions.
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/forum/
Posted Mon, 07/19/2010 - 11:24
KEEP EATING RIGHT, KEEP YOUR DIET RIGHT, LOTS OF CARDIO, AND WHEN YOU GO TO BED FOR THE REST OF THIS WEEK... WRAP YOUR STOMACH IN PLASTIC WRAP THAT YOU USE FOR COVERING LEFTOVERS.. WRAP IT TIGHT 3-4 TIMES AROUND YOU IN YOUR PROBLEM AREA.. TRUST... YOULL BE WASHING YOUR CLOTHES ON YOUR STOMACH IN NO TIME...
Posted Tue, 03/08/2011 - 21:14
Don't wrap your stomach in plastic wrap. lol
http://www.livestrong.com/article/135850-the-dangers-wrapping-your-stoma...
Posted Sat, 11/05/2011 - 11:42
Drink lots and lots of water, it will give your body more elasticity
Posted Mon, 06/21/2010 - 13:09
I'm not exactly an "advanced lifter." I've only been hitting up the gym seriously for the past year. Is this not a good workout to do? I've been using it for a few weeks, and it feels good to me. I'm able to complete it. Why does this labeled advanced?
Posted Mon, 06/21/2010 - 15:11
Hi Josh,
It's primarily labeled advanced because of the volume and intensity of work. If it is feeling good for you, definitely stick with it!
Posted Fri, 06/25/2010 - 22:57
Is it possible to over work abs?
Posted Mon, 06/28/2010 - 16:17
Yes.
I think many people try to perform too much ab work, thinking it will lead to a flat stomach.
Posted Sat, 06/26/2010 - 20:49
At my Gym the cable cruches arent on the pully like in the video, can you do it with one of the machine, and when doing this workout it seems easy, but im just asking, because i do a fair bit to work my abs, such as
-cable cruches-40 reps 4 set with 97kg on the machine
- 130reps 3 or 4 sets, ab crunches on the decline bench( similar to the sits in the video but i dont go all the way down, does this make a big difference?)
-knee raises-40 reps 3 sets
but i cant find many things for obliques i would appreciate some advice or why your workout would be so effective because from all the comments it seems to help people
-Chris
Thanks :)
Posted Mon, 06/28/2010 - 14:22
Hi Chris,
You can perform the machine version of the exercise.
Decline crunches - it shouldn't make much if any difference.
For obliques you can perform dumbbell side bends.
Posted Sun, 07/04/2010 - 20:37
i got a question.. for the Weighted leg raise and Weighted exercise ball crunch. how do i add more weight on a leg raise.. attaching weights on my legs? this is hardly possible.
Posted Tue, 07/06/2010 - 17:13
Hi Jared,
You can use ankle weights or a weighted vest for the leg raise. For crunches, hold a dumbbell on your chest or under your chin.
Posted Wed, 07/07/2010 - 17:52
Just wondering if there is such a thing as too much maintenance. On days I am not doing abs is it ok to do, say, sit-ups, planks, side-planks, and bicycles every day. If no, how often should I?
Posted Wed, 07/07/2010 - 19:07
Hi Paul,
It can be done, but generally it is hard to overtrain abs. I would train them 2-3 times per week max, and only cut back if soreness is preventing you from working out other areas of the body.
Posted Sun, 08/01/2010 - 05:43
Hi Steve,
Can i replace the Decline Sit Ups/ Abdominal reach with 2 something else? Thanks!
Posted Sun, 08/01/2010 - 14:05
Absolutely! Take a look at the ab exercises page and find something that works better:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/abs.html
Posted Tue, 08/03/2010 - 21:25
Hey I've been an athlete for all my life first I was playing soccer then basketball and now I'm boxing at a high level. One thing that always bothered me no matter how hard I train my 6 packs never stand out. If I tense you can see them a bit but if i don't tense it just look like a flat stomach with not much muscle on it. Why is that?
Posted Wed, 08/04/2010 - 09:51
Hi Cam,
Seeing a six pack is all about diet. Here is an article that addresses that topic:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/the-great-abs-mistake-crunches...
I would also recommend this article to help you get on track with a cutting diet:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/your-go-to-guide-for-cutting-f...
Posted Wed, 08/11/2010 - 01:43
Are these 2 workouts done on the same day?
Posted Thu, 08/12/2010 - 14:10
Hi Nino,
No, you perform each of these workouts once a week, for a total of two ab workouts.
Posted Tue, 12/06/2011 - 14:39
Hi,
If I was able to do these 2 workouts twice a week, what should I do to increase their intensity so I do each workout once a week?
Posted Thu, 09/09/2010 - 16:14
Can you suggest another exercise to replace the weighted leg raise?
Also, my gym doesn't have a decline bench. There is a bench I can reduce by about 5 degrees, but it's not a significant decline. What do you suggest?
Posted Fri, 09/10/2010 - 08:57
Hi Had,
I would suggest trying weighted situps. As far as the decline situps, I would simply sue regular situps.
Posted Sun, 09/12/2010 - 14:27
does this exercise include the obliques?
Posted Mon, 09/13/2010 - 19:20
hi Brad,
The twisting knee raises hit them to some degree.
Posted Sun, 09/19/2010 - 09:13
Steve my upper body has became perfect and greatly buffed but my abdominal area is quite skinny! My waist curves inside and u wont believe that its breadth is below 30 inches! Plz can u suggest an excercise to increase my waist (in other words increase abs sideways)?
Posted Mon, 09/20/2010 - 15:18
Hi Saif,
I recommend trying weighted situps and dumbbell side bends.
Posted Sat, 01/28/2012 - 20:08
Hey if I want to get the "v-cut" abs from doing oblique workouts can I just add the excersise windshield wipers to each workout?
Posted Mon, 09/27/2010 - 11:05
hey can i use this routine while bulking?
Posted Mon, 09/27/2010 - 15:22
Absolutely.
Posted Sun, 10/03/2010 - 14:18
how long do i rest between sets
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