Just because you're new to working out (and your abdominals are hiding behind a layer of fat) doesn't mean your abs workouts need to be relegated to a middle school regimen of situps. For one thing, crunches aren't really doing anything for your six-pack. Abs-only routines aren't a great idea, either—you can't just spot-train your way to glorious washboard abs. So: If thousands of crunches aren't the answer, then how the hell do you get a six-pack?
"For starters, sustaining a caloric deficit, training the whole body consistently with challenging intensities, eliminating booze, and sleeping more will have a bigger impact on the summer six-pack," says Lucas Dunham, a performance specialist at EXOS. "Core exercises, however, can be catalysts for more frequent, intense training sessions."
And when it comes to core exercises, it's best to aim for compound exercises, which force your core to work in tandem with other large muscle groups.
The following 10 exercises are a mix of both abs-focused exercises (like the classic plank) and compound exercises that also work your abs (like the farmer's carry). As long as you focus on engaging your abs throughout the move, you'll feel that deep abdominal burn on your way to a concrete core. And once you become more experienced, you can put the finishing touches on your physique by focusing on the abdominal V, shredded obliques, and a carved serratus. Choose five moves, then mix and match to create abs workouts that'll have your core quivering in no time. Try 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Here are the 10 best abs exercises for beginners.
Beginner Ab Workout
1. High-Tension Plank
James Michelfelder
Why It's Effective
The plank is one of the most common core exercises, ever, but most guys get it wrong. Creating tension in your abs primes your body to maximally contract all of its muscles. "This is a very useful ability when sprinting, jumping, and lifting weights," Dunham says.
How to Do It
- Get onto all fours and prop yourself up on your forearms, to start.
- Turn your palms up toward the sky, keeping your thumbs on the ground, and form a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Squeeze your glutes and quads, which will draw your knees up and prevent sagging.
- Brace your core as if you were expecting a kick to the stomach, and press your forearms into the ground.
- Once you feel everything tighten, squeeze even harder and take big, deliberate breaths as you plank.
- To increase the challenge, squeeze harder and exhale more air with each breath as you hold the position.
When to Do It
"Utilize the high-tension plank at the end of your daily warmup, or between sets of compound strength movements like squats, rows, presses, and deadlifts," Dunham says. Perform 3-4 sets of 10-second holds in your warmup, or one 10-second hold between heavy strength exercises.
2. Deadbug
James Farrell
Why It's Effective
"The core plays a big role in helping you move your limbs while stabilizing your spine—an incredibly important prerequisite for most strength-training exercises," Dunham says. The deadbug protects your lower back mid-movement and keeps you from wasting any energy.
How to Do It
- Lie on your back, with your hips and knees bent to 90 degrees, to start.
- Raise both arms toward the ceiling and pull your lower back to the floor to eliminate the gap.
- Press one leg out, tapping the heel to the floor, and exhale as much as you can to keep your lower back glued to the floor.
- When you can’t exhale anymore, pull your knee back to the starting position.
- Make this more difficult by holding weight in your hands, or by lowering the opposite arm and leg.
When to Do It
Add deadbug variations to your daily warmup, and really master the movement, Dunham suggests. Perform 2-3 sets of four reps on each side at the beginning of every workout.
3. Bear Crawl
Ture Lillegraven
Why It's Effective
"As toddlers, crawling taught us how to have integrity in the shoulders and hips, and how to really use the core when we move," Dunham says; it can have the same benefit in adulthood, too. "Bear crawls are great for conditioning, finishers, and warmups."
How to Do It
- Get down on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips, to start.
- Pick your knees up an inch or two off the ground—you're not sticking your butt in the air, so stay low.
- Keep your chest pushed away from the floor as if to avoid something sharp from poking you in the sternum.
- Raise your head so you're just looking in front of you, and start to move forward, using opposite arms and legs.
- Try to float with each step, and breathe comfortably.
- Ramp up the intensity by moving in multiple directions, and increasing your speed.
When to Do It
Add bear crawls into your warmups on upper-body days, Dunham suggests. About two sets of 30 seconds will be enough to create torso and shoulder awareness, while 3-5 sets will work your conditioning. "The bear crawl is great as a finisher because it’s almost impossible to do it without using your core, even when fatigued," Dunham says.
4. Farmer's Walk
James Michelfelder
Why It's Effective
Loaded carries are great at improving your postural integrity (i.e. straight spine, strong core), and they're extremely practical outside of the gym, Dunham says: "Loaded carries are good for conditioning, or as an abs move that trains your core to brace when performing high-intensity movements."
How to Do It
- Pick up two kettlebells or two dumbbells as if you were performing a heavy deadlift, to start.
- Hinge at the hips, bend at the knees, and brace your core to protect your back.
- Once in the top position, walk slowly and fight the urge to rush, shrug, slouch, or lean forward.
- You can do the exercise with two weights (called a "farmer's walk" or "farmer's carry"), or it can be loaded unilaterally (often called a "suitcase" carry).
When to Do It
"For the best results, perform heavy loaded carries two times a week as a finisher or in your main strength work," Dunham says. Pick a load heavy enough that you can’t carry it for a minute. Carry the weight for 3-5 sets, with 1-2 minutes rest in between sets. Perform light carries daily as a quick warmup.
5. Reverse Crunch
Beth Bischoff
Why It's Effective
Doing lots of exercises like crunches and situps after sitting all day long can result in poor posture, tight hip flexors, and lower back issues, Dunham says. But flexion is still an important part of movement, and reverse crunches offer a more optimal result.
How to Do It
- Lie on your back with something stable and heavy like a bench at arm's length behind your head, to start.
- Position yourself so that when you hold on to it, your arms are completely outstretched.
- Bend your knees and plant your feet as you press your lower back into the floor.
- Exhale, and, as you breathe out, slowly start to pull your knees in toward your chest, curling your pelvis off the floor.
- As you inhale, slowly roll back to the starting position.
- That's 1 rep.
When to Do It
"The reverse crunch is an effective way to reset your hips before a lower-body training session," Dunham says. "Additionally, the drill trains the lower abs to take some of the burden off your hip flexors."
6. Slow-Motion Mountain Climbers
Per Bernal
Why It's Effective
"Controlled hip flexion with a neutral torso is a great way to target deep core musculature, as well as boost runs, lifts, and jumps," Dunham says. Slowing down the speed of mountain climbers will intensify its challenge on your core.
How to Do It
- To start, hold a pushup position with your feet on sliding discs.
- Squeeze your glutes hard to lock in your hips and lower back and create tension through your legs by pulling your belly button up toward your chin, and your knees up to your chest.
- Slowly pull one knee toward your chest, without letting your torso or hips drop, then slowly extend that leg back to a pushup position.
- Repeat on the other leg.
- Each rep should be a 3:3 tempo—three seconds in, three seconds out.
When to Do It
"This core exercise is a great active recovery in a circuit-style conditioning workout," Dunham says. "Pair this exercise with a sprint, or something fast-paced, as it'll allow your heart rate to come down, while still providing a tough stimulus for the core."
7. Hollow-Body Hold
Chris Wellhausen
Why It's Effective
Hollow-body holds are excellent for carving your physique and forging back strength, Dunham says. They can also help you get better at pullups.
How to Do It
- Lie on your back with your arms and legs extended, to start.
- Brace the front of your core like a shield, and try to pull your belly button up to your chin.
- Lift your arms and legs off the ground, then pull your toes toward your shins and your kneecaps toward your hips.
- Keep this tension throughout the movement.
When to Do It
Do hollow-body holds on days you train back or upper body (i.e. when you do pulling movements), Dunham says. Perform 3-4 hollow-body holds for 10 seconds at the beginning of your session to prime your core.
8. Abs Wheel Rollout
James Michelfelder and Therese Sommerseth
Why It's Effective
Kneeling rollouts are essentially tougher versions of hollow-body holds. Rollouts are a challenging way to improve the quality of your pullup, too.
How to Do It
- To start, get down on your hands and knees and hold an ab wheel or barbell with plates, or place sliders under your hands.
- Push your chest up and away from the floor until you're slightly rounded in the upper back.
- Pull in your belly button and squeeze your glutes.
- Keeping your elbows slightly bent and shoulders away from your ears, slowly start to lower yourself by moving your hands forward.
- Only roll out as far forward as you can while maintaining tension on your abs.
- Slowly pull your hands back to the beginning position, maintaining a squeeze in the hips.
- That's 1 rep.
When to Do It
Add this as a warm-up before pullups, or use instead of pullups if you're still developing the strength to get one. Keep the volume pretty low, about 2-3 sets of five reps, 1-2 days per week.
9. Hanging Knee Raise
James Michelfelder
Why It's Effective
Rock climbers have incredibly strong cores. Your ability to control your legs and torso when hanging is a great way to get your core stronger quickly.
How to Do It
- Using an overhand grip, hang from a bar and squeeze a rolled towel or pad between your knees, to start.
- Slowly start to curl your knees up breathing out fully.
- Slowly lower your legs, using your core to control the downward movement.
- That's 1 rep.
When to Do It
Perform 1-2 sets of each as a general warm-up, and implement daily for best results. For the hanging crunch, perform sets of 5-6 slow reps. For the heel hooks, try to get 1-2 sets of four controlled reps per side.
10. Swiss Ball Crunch
Beth Bischoff
Why It's Effective
t only do Swiss ball crunches help you strengthen your core, but they can also help improve your balance, coordination, and stability.
How to Do It
- Lie back on the Swiss ball with feet shoulder-width apart on the floor, to start.
- Your lower back should be supported by the ball.
- Place your hands behind your ears and tuck your chin.
- Curl your body up off the ball until you’re sitting up.
- That's 1 rep.
- Perform as many reps and sets as you can before breaking form.
When to Do It
Add Swiss ball crunches to your daily warmup or tack them on to the end of your workouts. Perform 2-3 sets of 15 to 20 reps twice per week for best results.
Related: 50 Best Abs Exercises That Pack a Six-Pack Punch
How Long Does It Take to Get Abs
thing says hard work and dedication quite like ripped, chiseled abs. While everyone has abdominal muscles, only a handful of people actually have a visible six-pack. Looking for a fast track to get a sculpted stomach? Bad news—there isn't one. While noticeable abs are possible for everyone, the time it takes to get them will depend on your genetics, training program, and the amount of fat on your stomach. To get visible abs, focus on your nutrition first ensuring you're eating in a calorie deficit, then add in a mixture of high-intensity and resistance training.
Related: What 4 Body Fat Percentage Ranges Look Like
What Body Fat Percentage Do You Need to See Abs?
The body fat percentage you need to see your abs depends on a few factors—your gender, where you store fat, and your genetics. For men, you will generally start to see your abs anywhere between 6 to 15 percent, with 10 percent being categorized as the sweet spot. For women, who need a higher amount of body fat to remain healthy, 16 to 20 percent is more realistic.
Beginner Ab Workout Tips
As with any type of exercise, when it comes to building out your abs, it's best to start small. Before you jump right into weighted crunches or straight-leg barbell situps, perfect form on the beginner-friendly exercises listed above. Also, make sure you are taking adequate rest days to ensure you recover properly.
Related: Here's What 19 Countries Think the 'Ideal Male Body' Looks Like
