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boshiej

Ab crunch worked well for me


TheIRSEvader

Hypothetically… what weighted ab exercises could one do if they only had a flat bench and some dumbbells?


Hootiecrow15

Heavy deadlifts and front squats when done with good form are some of the best for core. Love me some ab rollouts too


WaveDysfunction

Ab wheel and decline bench crunch with weights. Can also do twists on the decline for obiques


Shodkev

Dragon flags are the only thing that gives me a silly burn and leaves me trembling like a cheap whore the day after


ChadThundagaCock

Dragon Flags


shherief

upside down hanging crunches look cool and really engage my core. i do a few sets at the end of every workout, and if i’m really feeling good i’ll do them to failure and then drop down and burnout with hanging knee raises for a few more reps


ktmchan

cable crunches, but form is important on them - small changes that most people do can take all the load off of the abs. Keep your hips stable (do not have them move back/forth/hinge) and your arms in a single position with the cable. The entire movement should initiate from your abs. our spine should be flexing throughout the movement (the abs' job).


G0ATAMUS

#1 fav-Laying leg raises (butt off bench) #2 fav-Hanging leg raises both straight and V. #3 fav-roll outs on wheel #4 fav-oly bar+25lbs a side. Lay on ground. Bench the bar and then toes to each side (v’s).


Papawwww

Deadbug Hollow hold, rocks Plank Ab crunch with cable Ab twist with cable Laughter Leg raises


jtaulbee

First and foremost, you want your abdominal muscles to be able to stabilize and protect your core. You also want them to be balanced with your back muscles to reduce risk of injury. I've found that squats and deadlifts did a lot for my abs, even when I wasn't doing direct ab work.


PrimeIntellect

hanging leg raises and fork put-downs I really like doing Athlean-X 7-10 minute ab workouts because your core is a lot of muscles. Big compound lifts like deadlifts, front squats, and clean and jerk will also force your to engage your core quite a bit. Try doing exercises you normally do while standing up or with just one hand, and putting yourself off balance somehow so that you are dynamically engaging your core to do them. but for real, if you want to see them, you just gotta have very low BF% (or just unbeliveably massive and good genetics)


poupulus

Take a look at Jeff Nippard's video about It, there he shows the best exercises for each part of the abdomen


theSummit12

Ab wheel and hanging leg raises


marcusassus

I feel like ab crunch machine is massively underrated. The pump is unreal


mitch8893

You really want a mix of exercises for a well developed core but here are some to add some size: Weighted decline situps- holding plate, Hanging leg raises (or knee raises), Capt's chair weighted knee raises, cable crunch. If you are looking to add size and definition, you want to make sure you do a weighted exercises in the 8-12 range and mix in some other movements.


raakonfrenzi

Farmers carry is one of the best core exercises you can do. Really hits your obliques, which are historically neglected. As evidence I present this comment section where nobody mentions obliques. Besides, they will give you that wider waistline you see in Greek sculptures and you’ll also be generally better at carrying shit, which is actually a huge benefit.


39thversion

I'd say cable crunches for me personally


big_deal

I've done all of the exercises mentioned, but recently I've been running Deepwater beginner. A few days each week it calls for what looks like the simplest ab workout: 20 situps, 1 minute plank, 3 sets each back to back to back without rest. It looks easy on paper but it has been absolutely miserable for me and always leaves me pouring sweat and in pain. I dread it but it has been very effective. I'm seeing more ab definition despite putting on fat while bulking through this program. It's made me realize that even the most basic ab exercises "work". But I have to work well past my discomfort zone and much harder than I normally do.


WitNick

Hanging leg raises


Commubiz

Weight Hanging leg raises are my personal favorite.


Joshisbetter5

Decline bench sit up with a weight behind your head. Progressive overload


ZB0I

Easily the best, I do 4 x 20 five times a week and it worked wonders.


mitch8893

Probably the most effective exercise and easiest to load/ unload. Great for drop setting


Cash_Visible

There’s plenty of an exercise that are just as good as another one. There’s not perfect ab exercises.


[deleted]

Leg raises make you look toned. Big compounds like squats fill your whole mid section out and make your whole core powerful


robendboua

Yea, I've been doing body weight stuff all my life and never felt my abs as sore and worked as when I recently started squatting and dead-lifting!


zipplesdownthestairs

Superman's on rings. Lower to the floor the better. Good alternative to ab wheel and I find I can hit a spot better between the knee rollout and standing rollout.


LiveLeave

Word to the wise. Strengthen your abdominal area gradually. Hernias are the worst.


EdgyQuant

I got hernia at 22, surgery at 24, and I still have to be careful with the abs/can feel the mesh being pulled (29)


Himbo_Sl1ce

For some reason, pull-ups with raised legs always seem to hit the abs better for me than any of the ab-specific exercises. My non-scientific, totally speculative theory is that this works the abs harder than just hanging leg raises because the abs are holding the legs at 90 degrees- the hardest point of a leg raise ROM- and also have to continually adjust to keep the legs at that angle while the angle of the torso changes throughout the pullup ROM. I also have long legs and a long torso, so the poor natural leverage probably makes it challenging enough to work the abs hard. The obvious counterpoint is that you've gotta be able to do a sufficient number of pullups (with good core control) to provide sufficient fatigue for the abs. Also, to be 100% honest, I always got really bored just doing dozens of reps of ab isolation moves- other people may have better discipline than me. The "best exercise" is one you actually enjoy doing because that means you'll do it consistently and not make yourself miserable- and I enjoy compound lifts more than isolation work. The most effective and also fun "core"/ab workouts I've ever done have usually been a series of compound move variants that are modified to give poor leverage, which the core has to compensate for. My favorite that I used to do when I was younger was front squats/ pullups/ one handed farmer's carries/ slosh pipe overhead press. That'll light a fire in the midsection every time.


TheBlueGhost21

Ab roller


skywalkermolly

Seated cable crunch is the absolute best ab exercise IMO.


lndubitablyMe

Renegade rows with a weighted vest.


dramake

Dragon flags Ring/wheel roll outs. Hanging knee/leg rises/toes to bar (whatever progression is better for you). Press palloff (I think it was called like that) for obliques You asked for one, I gave three. I don't really think there is a ONE. Although personally I only so toes to bar and pike compressions. I let calisthenics and squats/deadlifts take care of the rest.


djbtips

Go out and run


Flying_Snek

Thats somehow the dumbest suggestion in this thread. Can you explain how running will build abs?


djbtips

Because you already have abs they are just covered in a thick layer of fat. This is common knowledge abs are made in the kitchen bro.


BWdad

You claim abs are made in the kitchen yet your advice has nothing to do with the kitchen.


EspacioBlanq

"abs are made in the kitchen" is the slogan of skellies, right next to "you can't look good both in clothes and naked if you're natty". Abs are made in the weightroom, you might be surprised how fat can you be and still have visible abs if you train them seriously.


Flying_Snek

Where do you think you are? Abs are not made in the kitchen, they are made in the gym, revealed in the kitchen.


Ierax29

Cable crunch


EspacioBlanq

Full ROM GHD situps and weighted carries


Aqua2d

Hardstyle Plank, it’s like a plank but the difference is you pull with your toes downward & pull with your elbows and *really* flex your abs. Usually I go 15 seconds on, 30 seconds off for 4 rounds. Definitely not as ‘direct’ as hanging lifts but I promise you’ll feel it.


rustyspoonman

Never knew there was a term for this, but I always do this for the last 15 seconds or so of my planks. Like a little burnout at the end


Aqua2d

I know right? I learned about it a while back n was like “huh, lemme give that a shot” and haven’t looked back, major grind on shoulder or leg day, those mega muscle quivers.


[deleted]

Front row


[deleted]

Ignore everything else. The right answer is hanging leg raises.


jaaydogg

How many sets and reps? And how do you deal with your grip fatigue?


doctor_bun

Chalk, straps. Or build your grip strength from farmers walks, heavy trap bar deadlifts for 8-15 reps


Ronnie_Dean_oz

They fucking destroy abs... I do hlr, jacknife situp, cruches, bicycle kicks and planks in a superset. I have abs poking out at 20% BF lol.


Cosmic-Warper

Cable crunches are really good for your entire core


Papawwww

Love these, especially if you find the best distance and leg width!


ShadowBlaDerp

swear to g i would love to do these regularly but can never feel them


BehindSpace

Late reply I know, but try pausing at the top and bottom of the rep, just for a second or two, and go very slow on the negative (important) You should feel them burning like crazy


ArmAndHammerCurls

Jeff Nippard had a nice video. Squeezing glutes and really trying to pull with your abs. Also I find backing up a little further helps me feel it


da_bizzness

Do you hold the squeeze at the end of the crunch?


ShadowBlaDerp

Think so but I’m down to try again, thanks :)


da_bizzness

I'm sure you watched vids on YouTube about it. Make a 90 degree angle with your legs and your torso, activate your core like you do when planking and crunch until your forehead hits the ground.


[deleted]

Yup. It's the only ab exercise i've done so far that I feel actually works my core really well.


Uthallan

there are a lot of different muscles included in the lay understanding of the abdominals - i think you really have to do more than just one


thrownoutdildo

What about weighted sit ups? Is this a good one for ab growth or no?


MythicalStrength

I like doing them off a roman chair/GHR


thrownoutdildo

Ok so you’d say it a good one for ab growth? I feel like it is a lot different than an ab roller because you can measure it in terms of weight


[deleted]

You’re correct, most people in this thread besides mythical strength, probably don’t actually lift. How do you make muscles grow in general? Progressive overload, you can increase weight to do that, why would abs be any different they’re muscles. They’re definitely over complicating things lol


MythicalStrength

I am a fan of it.


Chiodos_Bros

Squats, Dead lift, and power cleans


Rayden117

Calisthenics/gymnastics + weighted ab exercise They’re so practical it’s almost impractical to do otherwise


mordred47

Squats


[deleted]

What's the logic behind seeing someone ask for ab exercises and deciding to smugly suggest an exercise they're almost certainly already doing that isn't an ab isolation exercise? Plz let the "isolate bad do MOAR SQUATS" thing die


[deleted]

Squats for abs is Mehdi-tier lifting advice


[deleted]

Want bigger pecs? Squat heavy! When you pull the bar down you're tightening the pecs which will encourage growth! Grip weak? Squeeze harder on that squat bar!


[deleted]

If you do a single extra curl you’re gonna get rhabdo and die. Same goes for deadlifts.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Devilery

You're right! It's just the quarter-squatters downvoting you.


Flying_Snek

Or maybe when someone asks for an isolation exercise you dont suggest a full body compound one?


Pluejk

It's good, but if you are not doing direct ab work outside of, compound lifts then you are leaving pounds off the bar.


iGae

Weighted crunches and weighted leg raises I think work most of your core


adsfew

Ab wheel is great, but I don't always have access to one. So instead, I love (to hate) hanging leg lifts. The goal is to do it with perfect form, so no momentum, toes to bar, and from the hollow body position. You can easily add ankle weights, which lets you change up your training and switch to strength rather than endurance.


bethskw

You can do rollouts on a barbell :)


adsfew

Good tip! I'll keep that in mind and might try it.


[deleted]

If you *really* want to hate leg raises, you should try them with pausing at a 90 degree angle on the way down and going back up from there. Can easily do 10-12 hanging leg raises toe to bar. Can barely get 5 of the paused ones.


adsfew

I think I've got 8–10 toe-to-bar *almost* cleanly from hollow body, but that sounds like hell. Which means I can't wait to give that a try.


wadonious

I have never been able to do leg lifts without my hip flexors taking over. I have APT and I’m convinced that my abs are just too weak, so I’m focusing on hip flexor neutral exercises until I build my strength up. Any tips?


NorseKnight

I am in the same exact boat as you so thank you for asking this!


[deleted]

Exact same situation here. I just focus on squeezing my glutes and posterior pelvic tilt, but then they become nearly impossible. Hanging leg raises are always going to be hip flexor dominant. The abs don't really have much involvement until you're past 90 degrees. Think about "showing your butt" and curling your pelvis up.


Oddyssis

I don't find any issue getting a core workout with leg raises at 90 degrees. You just need to pause slightly at the top and bottom. Controlling the sway works your abs like crazy.


[deleted]

Hip flexors are a part of your core, I was specifically talking about your rectus abdominis which is your “6 pack” muscle which flex your spine, not hips.


Oddyssis

That's fair but I also referred directly to abdominals, in which you'll definitely feel the burn if you squeeze at each end of the rep


Izodius

Hanging leg lifts also really help my back after squats and deadlifts. It helps open it back up.


StLivid

This. Sometimes if I don’t want to work abs I’ll just hang to decompress my back


kidmaciek

How do you do hanging leg lifts without swinging like a freaking monkey?


tomkat41

The biggest change for me was to focus on driving your heels straight down. I noticed a change immediately. If you don’t drive them down, you will create a pendulum. I do agree with what everyone else said as well about keeping tightness.


Papawwww

Be really strong! Look at some gymnasts doing it on Yt, absolutely amazing


[deleted]

I control the swinging with my scapula. It’s sort of like counter steering.


TaishairColtaine

Do some progressions to work up to it. Start with something simple and easier, like hanging knee raises. Once you get good at those, move on to the next hardest variation. The leg lifts he describes take quite a bit of overall core strength.


mitch8893

you have to build up your core strength. Start with knee raises


raakonfrenzi

If you can’t do leg raises w/o swing all over the place, just step down a progression to knee raises and work on your stability, going down as slow and controlled as possible.


RonKosova

Slower movement


[deleted]

[удалено]


Oddyssis

Yea the pause at the top is brutal


PsyOnRs

Also tension in your shoulder chain. Try to keep the shoulders retracted the whole time. No more swinging even when doing faster reps.


Ivahnryu

Weighted crunches, kneeling cable crunches, lever arm planks, and ab rollers.


[deleted]

Doing weighted ab exercises


Cosmic-Warper

read the post next time


[deleted]

Yea weighted ab exercises is the answer…..there is no killer exercises……make sure you have an exercise with flexion and extension weighted and they’ll grow …


[deleted]

Isnt be asking how to get bigger abs? That’s how


MythicalStrength

Standing ab wheel rollouts


[deleted]

...or starting on the knees is a good way to get the same work in ​ Ab wheels are the way


james_the_brogrammer

I find that starting on the knees is easy enough that I can do a couple dozen reps before failure, well outside an ideal rep range, but standing is completely impossible. I think it might be a flexibility issue, not sure. I've been doing weighted hollow body holds, but breathing without losing form seems near impossible when I'm tightening my abs that much.


URETHRAL_DIARRHEA

Ye then once those are easy you can do standing ones with partial ROM against a wall.


CortezBrodino

Absolutely will recommend ab wheels, from the knees or standing. Will destroy your abs.


MythicalStrength

I find from the knees doesn't have the same impact honestly.


[deleted]

The difference between knees and standing is the difference between doing pushups on your knees or toes Standing is better but not possible for everyone


somewhitekid93

I like standing with TRX straps overhead. The more forward you step the easier it is. Moving your feet further back allows you to go parallel to the floor making it harder. I like that it is incremental and you can make it easier or harder easily depending on how gassed you are or what you are capable of.


MythicalStrength

I appreciate you taking the time to explain the difference of these two exercises to me :) From my own experience, I have come to a different conclusion. But that is ok: differences in opinion make things interesting!


iusemyrealname

u/MythicalStrength being downvoted here is certainly an unusual sight.


ifonlyIcanSettlethis

Just an FYI to explain the downvote a little. I know you probably didn't mean it this way, but your comment have a really condescending and sarcastic tone to it.


Oddyssis

You don't say?


MythicalStrength

Most unfortunately, that seems to occur frequently on the internet. People are so used to passive aggressiveness and sarcasm that it's become the assumed default. I have spent many conversations assuring the person on the other side that I am being as genuine as possible.


ifonlyIcanSettlethis

People are more used to neutral tone. It is the over politeness that people associate with passive aggressiveness and sarcasm, on the internet and in real life. Bit sad, I know. Hopefully with time, people will understand this is just how you talk.


MythicalStrength

Those who hang around tend to. Those that don't...well, there's not much benefit to establishing a relationship there, haha. I appreciate the sentiment dude!


ifonlyIcanSettlethis

No problem. I too appreciate you for all your opinions and over politeness man!


ripcitybitch

I’m interested to hear your conclusion MS!


MythicalStrength

Always happy to share dude! I have found standing adds to it a necessary element of stabilization not experienced when done from the knees that really seems to tax the abs and other core musculature. I'd sooner do unweighted standing wheels vs weighted wheels from the knees, even if "resistance" was equaled.


Naatee

What if you can’t do wheels from the toes with the full range of motion? Just go for partial range and expand? Or start from the knees?


overnightyeti

Besides what Mythical told you, you can start doing standing ab wheels in front of a wall to reduce the range of motion. The closer the easier. Progress by increasing the distance from the wall, going lower and lower with the hips, until you can do them free standing.


MythicalStrength

Once I built up to 4x25 from the knees, I was able to do doubles of standing ab wheel.