Six Pack Abs Exercises
Six pack abs exercises are your starting point to impressive abdominal muscles.
Have you always wanted to make your friends jealous? But not done it because it’s too hard?
But what if it’s not?
What if I could tell you a ton of effective six pack abs exercises that just work?
And what if you could start right now, because most of them are easy to get started and don’t require equipment?
You keen?
Let’s go!
Surprisingly, according to Men’s Health, countless crunches and sit-ups aren’t the way to six-pack abs because of the lack of variation to get your muscles really working (and growing!).
Here are 7 six pack abs exercises, followed by some additional tips for your motivation. You don’t even necessarily need to belong to a gym for a workout to get abs. For any of these exercises, you can go to YouTube to see a demo. Try them out and increase the number of reps as you get stronger.
Learn how to do a plank properly
If you go to the gym, you make have seen a lot of people doing planks.
You know, with their butt in the air.
Or arched like a banana.
They’re trying, but they could hurt themselves.
Doing a plank like that is not going to build rock hard six pack abs either.
Well, it might, but not as effectively as they could do if the exercise is done right.
To do a plank, you face the mat and support yourself as if you’re going to do a push up.
Your elbows should be bent at 90 degrees and you should support the upper part of your body on your forearms.
Your feet should be resting on the ball of your foot and your toes.
To be in the correct plank position, you want have your elbows right under your shoulders.
Don’t raise your head, and make sure your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
Pull in or contract your abs as you do this.
Keep your back nice and straight, so your body forms a straight line from shoulder to heel.
A great way if you’re doing this alone is to video yourself, or take a timer picture.
See if your body is as straight as you thought it was.
It surprised me how mine wasn’t when I tried this.
Hold a plank for 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute, 1 hour.
Whatever challenges you without meaning you need to curl up into a ball for the rest of the day.
You should be able to feel that you’ve done the exercise when you finish, but not be sore.
Scissor Kicks
Scissors kicks work the middle and lower abs, and your glutes and quads as a bonus.
They will tone your core muscles, helping define your 6 pack abs.
Start by lying down, with your back flat on the floor.
With your arms at your sides, push down on your palms.
Lift your legs to a 45 degree angle, and lower one leg and lift the other.
switching back and forth with alternating legs in a scissoring motion.
The Pendulum (Also known as The Windscreen Wiper!)
The pendulum, also know as the windscreen wiper because your legs make the same movements as your windscreen wipes do when you switch them on.
This exercise targets the obliques (the sides of your abs).
Lie flat on the floor, raising both legs to a 90-degree angle – in other words so that your feet are pointing toward the ceiling.
Place your hands out straight from the shoulder to prevent your shoulders from moving.
Keep your legs straight and together, lowering them to one side.
As you lower, keep your shoulders on the floor, and feel your 6 pack abs as they control the movement.
Breathe in as you lower your legs, and out as you return them to the center position.
Repeat the same process for the other side.
Ensure that you keep your back in a natural arch as you do the exercise.
If this exercise becomes difficult and you find your back arching to keep your legs in the air, stop. You’re done for the day.
Single-Leg Stretch
This is a Pilates mat-based exercise that hits the top of your abs.
To start, lie on your back with your legs bent at the knees.
Lifting your shoulders and head, curl your chin toward the chest.
On an inhale, draw one knee toward your chest while placing your hand from the same side on your ankle, with your other hand at your knee or the other leg.
Extend the other leg off the floor at about 45 degrees.
Switch your legs, and do a mirror image of the exercise with your opposite leg.
Leg Pull-Ins
This exercise begins on a flat bench with your legs hanging off the end.
Place your hands at your sides, and hold onto the bench or put your hands beneath your glutes.
Extend your legs to a straight position in line with your body – out in front of you.
Bend your knees in, pulling your thighs in toward your body while breathing out.
Hold to contract your abs and then slowly return your legs to horizontal as you breathe out.
Repeat for as many repetitions as you can, building up to more as you strengthen your core.
Use an Ab Wheel
Ab rollers give you an isometric exercise.
It’s a bit more challenging than some other exercises, but you will feel and see results from it.
To use the ab wheel, kneel with a cushion under your knees.
With your knees under your hips, hold the wheel with your hands gripping the wheel directly under your shoulders.
Gradually push your hips forward and roll the wheel forward keeping your back as flat as you can.
When you reach the limit of pushing forward, push the wheel towards the floor and pull back.
Squeeze your abs and return to the starting point.
Russian twist
Sit holding a manageable weight plate, a drink bottle full of water, or the dog (!).
Extend your arms and lift your feet from the floor.
Twist your torso to one side, the twist going so that you would almost put down the weight/water/dog(!).
Return to the center, then do the same to the other side.
At all times, keep your stomach in a v shape, and your feet off the floor if you can.
This will target your obliques as well as the area with your emerging six-pack.
This exercise is about maintaining your balance on your butt, and keeping in the v-shape.
Try them both slow and fast. Try them twisting as far as comfortable to really work the obliques.
Have a lemon flavored water.
You deserve it!
And I was only kidding with using the dog as a weight.
Fingers to Toes
Sit on the floor, on a mat if you like.
With your legs out in front of you, bring your knees in then straighten you legs, so that your legs are at a 45 degree angle.
Your body should make a v shape.
Make sure you keep your torso off the floor.
Reach with your arms straight, and keeping your legs straight, aim to touch your toes.
Reach as far up as you can so that you feel a burn in your six pack abs.
Relax and return to the v-position.
Keep your feet up and torso off the floor, maintaining the burn in your abs.
Repeat as many times as you are able to comfortably do.
But don’t do these so many time that when you’re finished you can’t get out of the v position and you have to walk around on your hands and knees until the pain stops!
Slow and steady.
Six Pack Hacks
Remember, a six pack is the result of consistently working out AND being careful with your diet.
Keep both up and you will have the best abs you’ve ever had.
Here are a few tips in addition to the six pack abs exercises to make things a bit faster. These six pack hacks will really help you speed up your results.
Tips to Help Build Six Pack Abs Faster
- Reduce the number of carbs you consume, so that you burn more fat and can see your six-pack abs quicker (do intermittent fasting, and exercise before eating for a little extra boost!)
- Track what you’re doing so that you can see your progress over time. You can use a small notebook to notate how many reps you are doing along with how often you make a date for yourself to workout. This will keep you motivated when you feel as though you’re not making progress.
- Measure your waist, weigh yourself, and write it down. Remember that muscles weigh more than fat.
- Be realistic and patient. Your six-pack won’t appear overnight and you will be losing weight as well as toning your core if you work out at least 3 times a week.
- Start incorporating these exercises into high-intensity interval training (HIIT). If you want a further challenge, instead of resting completely between sets, attempt to do active recovery – do an exercise that works out a different body part, but allows the muscles that you are recovering from to do so.
- Cherish your body AND mind. Work out ways that will help reduce your daily stress. It’s been shown that our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol under stress, which causes fat cells to expand and reproduce.
- Finally, take time each day to meditate and relax. The University of New Mexico recommends following a regular stress-management program to keep your cortisol levels in check.
Six Pack Abs – Consistency Is The Key
Remember, the key to making use of six pack abs exercises is to be consistent.
If you can do the exercises so that they tire you but don’t kill you, you will be able to train again the next day.
And you will improve.
If you think you’re going to do 5 sets of 100 straight off, and deflect speeding bullets with your rock hard abs after one session.
Well, let me know how that goes!
If this gets easy, combine.
Do this, then run, or go swimming or do a further HIIT class.
But still don’t try the speeding bullets thing – it won’t end well.
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