Ab training - how to get abs!

How to get abs, that is the question. 

And make it fast too!

I'm going to break it down for you in just two lines:

• Do progressive strength training for the abs. Which we will cover in this article.
• Lose enough bodyfat by eating at a calorie deficit to make the abs visible. How? It has been covered in this article:

Meal planning matters - all you need to know (with free meal plans)

At first this was supposed to be just a training article but I don't think we can dismiss the fact how much your bodyfat levels and genetics mess up the table when it comes to abs. Hardly anyone has a perfect 6 or 8 pack. This is just due to the genetics and cannot be changed. Abs come in various shapes and if you have a symmetric and well defined 8 pack thank your parents for that. Most of us have to settle for 5 or 4 packs. Ab separation is also genetic. Some blocks have been fused together without a clear separation in between. You can make the blocks bigger but cannot add distance in between to make them more visible. You might not be able to get visible separation for some parts even if you dieted down to stage lean levels of bodyfat which is really just paper thin skin on top of your abdominals.

Good news is that in order to get “good lighting” abs you just need to have fairly developed core muscles and low enough bodyfat percentage around 10-12% which is fairly straightforward to reach with proper training and calorie restriction.

Hard looking core

But here's the ugly truth. You might have to get leaner than you wish to have a hard looking core. Dieting down to single digit bodyfat levels is not an easy task since this is usually way below our bodies set point. Our bodies need a certain amount of bodyfat to stay healthy and keep hormone production balanced. When there is not enough bodyfat certain hormones like testosterone and leptin get down regulated thus increasing hunger signals and stress. There will be changes in the mood and overall fatigue becomes prevalent. 

Going below 10% bodyfat is not really that different than dieting down from 15% to 10% but it is more stressful for the body. Same rules apply that you need to create a calorie deficit in order to lose fat and keep proper macronutrients in your diet to preserve muscle. Fat loss is a bit slower at single digit range so you should expect it to take a bit longer than you want. Going from 10% bodyfat to 6-8% range will take at least 6-8weeks if you don't take any diet breaks. If you try to lose fat faster you will risk losing muscle in the process.

For most low bodyfat levels are not sustainable long term so I don't recommend anyone staying shredded for extended periods of time. Life is just generally better when you are in a healthy bodyfat range which is 10-15% for most guys.

It's good to know that people lose fat at different rates at different parts of the body. Some store more fat on the chest, back, abs or thighs. For me the stubborn fat is located in the center of my core so I have to get really lean to get visible separation in the center line. Also some parts of the abs have been fused together so the best I can achieve is a 5 pack. 

How to estimate bodyfat percentage

Easy and a cheap way to estimate your bodyfat percentage is by using a simple skinfold caliper. Measuring bodyfat with any method is always a guess so I wouldn’t put too much value on the bodyfat percentage anyway. But measuring the skin thickness will give you a good idea if you still need to lose some fat on top of the abs or is it just training you are lacking.

Bodyfat was somewhere around 6-8% in this picture

According to the Accumeasure skinfold caliper I had around 6-8% bodyfat. Measured at the point they suggested the skinfold caliper reading was 2mm or less. Closer to the centerline and next to the belly button which I use as a reference point the reading was around 4mm in these pictures. 

When the skinfold caliper reading is somewhere around 6-8mm at measuring point you have somewhat visible abs if you have trained them. That is somewhere between 10-15% bodyfat.

Accumeasure skinfold caliper is good enough and affordable for around 10usd. Link here:

https://www.amazon.com/Accu-Measure-Fitness-3000-Personal-Tester/dp/B000G7YW74

Here is how you measure bodyfat with the Accumeasure skinfold caliper:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU8Wkgxfzf0

Training the abs

If you do bodyweight strength training you don't get much indirect stimulus for the core as you would get from doing heavy squats and deadlifts. This means that in order to develop your core we need to do a bit more work than normal weight lifting routines include. But the good news is that it is not that different compared to any other muscle groups. We are talking about something like 8-12 hard sets per week to make steady progress split into 2 or 3 workouts. That's 4sets for a workout. For weightlifters weekly volume could be lower ranging from 4 sets to 6 sets to make some progress.

In order to make your ab workouts progressive use the following leg raise and crunch progressions. The following progressions will keep you in the 6-12 rep range. When you can do 12 reps move to the next exercise. You are likely to perform somewhere around 6-8 reps for the next exercise.

Leg Raise progression

You can do leg raises by hanging from a pullup bar or gymnastic rings. Or you can do them with straight arms on parallel dip bars. You can use two chairs or a kitchen counter and a table to do parallel bar leg raises at home. Read "Best places to do dips" to find more places to do parallel bar leg raises at home.

Dips Everywhere - best places to do dips

1. Seated knee tucks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ltA3GRs9s

Sit on a chair or a couch. Lean slightly backwards with arms supporting your upper body. Lift your knees towards your chest. Hold the top position for about 1 second before lowering your feet back on the floor.

When you can do 12 reps progress to the next exercise

2. Lying knee raise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK8Rm_tv3WM

Lay on the floor with bent knees. Lift your legs with controlled movement forming a 90 degree angle in relation to your upper body.

When you can do 12 reps progress to the next exercise

3. Lying leg raise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2oyawG9KI

Same as the previous exercise but performed with straight legs. Use controlled movement on the way up and on the way down.

When you can do 12 reps progress to the next exercise

4. Hanging knee raise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD_A-Z15ER4

Hang from a pullup bar or rings. Lift your knees towards your chest. Curl with your abs instead of just keeping a straight upper body. Hold the top position for 1 second before lowering your knees. 

When you can do 12 reps progress to the next exercise

5. Hanging Leg raise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr1ieGZ5atk

Same as above but performed with straight legs. Hold the top position for 1 second before lowering your legs. Curl with your abs instead of just keeping a straight upper body.

When you can do 12 reps progress to the next exercise

6. Weighted leg raise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQds_kvhEHo&t=110s

Usually the weighted version is not necessary since the hanging leg raise done with proper form and tempo by squeezing the abs at the top of the movement is already challenging. When you start to do the weighted version use a very light weight between your legs. The moment arm of the legs is so long that you don't really need that much weight. Using too much weight will make you cheat through your reps and thus reducing the effectiveness of this exercise.

Crunch progression

1. Easy crunch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCPtwlCtFqE

Easy crunch is not really that easy as it looks. When performed properly with a good squeeze at the top it is a really tough exercise. Lay on the floor and put your hands on your thighs. Now curl up with your abs and hold the top position for 1 second count. Descent back to the starting position with controlled movement.   

When you can do 12 reps progress to the next exercise

2. Crunch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKmrqcoCZ-M

Basic crunch is a good exercise when performed properly. You need to focus on curling your body up, holding the top position for a second and slowly return to the starting position. Don't use momentum to bring your body up. You need to do a well controlled contraction of the abs to bring you to the top position. 

When you can do 12 reps with good form progress to the next exercise

3. Weighted crunch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYGY9-kG9hM

Use a weight like a dumbbell, weighted backpack or a weight plate. Don't put the weight behind your neck. This will encourage you to cheat and lift your neck up when performing this exercise. Instead place the weight on your chest or hold the weight with straight arms. Lift the weight towards the ceiling by lifting your upper back off the floor. Start with small weights to nail the technique correctly.

Other exercises:

Situp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDwoBqPH0jk

Some people might prefer the situp over the crunch. That is fine. Place your legs under something heavy like a couch. You might want to use some exercise mat or carpet to make this exercise more comfortable. With controlled movement lift your body up and bring it down with controlled movement. Don’t cheat and use momentum. This will take the emphasis of the abdominals and work the hip flexors.

Weighted situp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZvSaq192cg

Place a weight on your chest and perform a situp. You can use a weighted backpack, dumbbell or weight plate. Don’t put the weight behind your neck since it will compromise the neck position.

Bicycle crunch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOzyLKrDkq4

This exercise will help you target the obliques a bit more compared to standard straight crunches. Lay on you back on the floor and put your palms behind your neck. Lift your left leg and touch it with your right elbow. Now do the same movement but with the opposite leg and elbow. 

Hanging oblique knee raise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA54DW5yijk

This is like a normal hanging knee raise. But instead of bringing your knees straight up you will lift your legs alternating from side to side.

Training tempo and other tips

One thing I need to address before moving to the example workouts. When doing any exercise you generally want to use “2-1-2” tempo. Which means the rep should take about 2 seconds on the way down, 1 second hold at the bottom and 2 seconds on the way up. Usually this translates to something like “1-0.5-1” tempo in real life since we don’t really use a timer. This ensures that you don’t cheat in your repetitions and reach the proper depth at the bottom. If you just drop yourself to the bottom position and quickly bounce back up you will not get much training stimulus and the progression model presented above will not work. Cheated reps won’t get you real results. So keep that in mind.

Cheating on your ab exercise is fairly common. Guilty as charged. I used to do that with my weighted exercises. Instead of progressively overloading my abs I was progressively cheating through my ab workouts. And the results were that I was going up in weight with no noticeable progress in my ab development.

When progressing with your ab exercises you need to make sure you are using good form. Tempo has to be 2-1-2 with special attention on all parts of the movement. When lifting your body you need to use controlled form and concentrate on curling with your abs. Count "one-two" on the way up. If you use momentum you will activate hip flexors more and reduce the effectiveness of the exercise for the abs. Hold the top position for 1 second and squeeze your abs. Lower yourself with controlled movement. Don't allow your body to fall down uncontrolled.

If you are not able to do controlled movement up and down and not able to do 1second hold on the top you are cheating. You should work your way up to a higher rep range with the easier variation. For example if you have difficulties with the hanging straight leg raise work your way up to 15 reps with the hanging knee raise first.

Workouts

Train leg raises on one day and crunches on the 2nd day. Or if you train abs once a week do 4 sets of hanging leg raise progression and 4 sets of crunches. Third exercise you can add to your routine is some oblique work such as bicycle crunch or hanging knee oblique raises.

If you train twice a week

Workout A Crunches 10-12 reps

4x Weighted crunches

(2x Bicycle crunches)

Workout B Leg raise 6-8reps

4x Hanging leg raise

(2x Hanging oblique knee raise)

If you do 3 workouts a week for the abs alternate between A and B workout. You can do some oblique work after the crunches and leg raises to increase the training volume. For example 2 sets of oblique work at the end of your routine. 

If your routine has one day for ab training

3x Hanging leg raise 6-8reps

3x Weighted crunches 8-10reps

3x Bicycle crunch 10-15reps

Now go get some abs!

Interested in Bodyweight Strength Training?

This one is for those who are interested in practical information in one small package.

Get Guide to Bodyweight Strength Training at Amazon.com

I did my best to gather all the information between these covers so that you can make the best progress possible. It is a textbook with some math. But you can skip the math part and read the best parts. I don't mind!