Six Pack Abs Blog

Not all abs exercises are created equal. With so many abs exercises around (77 abs exercises, 20 abs exercises, 2 more, and 1 bonus), how do you know which exercises to pick?

Use this checklist, and you’ll have a head start.

5-Point Abs Exercises Checklist

1. The exercise should be hard enough to exhaust you after 12 reps. The best rep range to build muscle is 8-12. This applies to your abs, too. Sit-ups, for instance, can get too easy after a few weeks of training. After a few weeks of training, you’ll be doing more than 12 reps. Unless you use external weights, you won’t get as much bang for your buck as you would if you did another exercise that’s harder and that exhausts you after 12 reps.
2. The exercise should challenge your abs throughout. Many exercises that are done on the floor let you relax your abs between reps. In the sit-up and in the crunch, this happens at the end of the eccentric phase (when your upper back and head come into contact with the floor, your abs relax). Some exercises, like the Bench Crunch and the Plank, challenge your abs throughout. Favor those in your routines.
3. The exercise should stretch your abs. Muscles hypertrophy (grow) only if they shorten and lengthen when you work them out. Good trainers know isometric (no movement) exercises (like the Plank) don’t hypertrophy muscles. To the contrary, exercises with a wide ranger of motion will hypertrophy your abs fully, because they recruit more muscle fibers. So, pick exercises that stretch your abs: they’ll have a wide range of motion, and they’ll help define your abs better.
4. The exercise should be easy to do. It shouldn’t require expensive equipment, and it shouldn’t be long to set up. If you spend more time getting ready to do the exercise than doing it, something’s wrong (the Dumbbell Push Sit-Up comes to my mind) . That’s time taken off your workout that could have been spent working out and getting you a six pack.
5. The exercise should be fun. I usually don’t care whether exercises are fun to do or not. But life is short. If you get a kick out of your favorite abs exercise, pick it over another. You’ll enjoy working out, and, chances are, you’ll stick to your routine longer. That, in the long run, guarantees you better results.

By the way, the Bench Crunch, my favorite abs exercise, gets all 5 checks.

What makes are good ab exercise? Share your checklist with us by commenting below.

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