Abdominal Workout for Beginners

Just because you’re new to working out (and your abdominals are hiding behind a layer of fat) doesn’t mean you need to be relegated to your middle-school regimen of situps and crunches.

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, 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 6 exercises are a mix of both abs-focused exercises (like the high-tension plank) and compound exercises that also work something else along with your abs (like hanging leg raises). 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.

High Tension Plank

Get onto all fours and prop yourself up on your forearms. 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.

Bear Crawl

Get down on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under hips. 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.

Superman

Lie on your front, with your arms and legs extended. Raise your head, your arms and your legs about 3-5 inches off the floor. Hold for a count of three, then lower back down to the start position.

Put Superman stretches into the middle of your warmups. Do two sets of 10 for 30 seconds each.

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. Perform 3-4 sets of 10-second holds in your warmup, or one 10-second hold between heavy strength exercises.

Add bear crawls into your warmups on upper-body days. 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.

Overhead Squat

Stand holding a barbell or broomstick over your head with arms straight. Squat back and down until the tops of your thighs are parallel to the ground. Push through your hips to the standing position.

Place Overhead Squats somewhere in the middle of your warmup routine. Do 2 sets of 10 reps with 60 seconds rest between sets.

Weight / Plate Crunch

This forces you to use your abs rather than your momentum to perform the crunch.

Lie facing the ceiling with knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbell or weight plate tightly to your chest. Bring your head and upper back up off the floor. Roll your hips and chest up, crunching from the top of your torso. Lower your hips and chest to the starting position.

Place this anywhere in your warmups. Do 2 sets of 10 reps with 60 seconds rest between sets.

Hanging Leg Raises

This challenges you to raise your entire lower body with your abs and hip flexors while bracing your upper body with your arms and upper back—a key part of core strength.

Grab a pullup bar with an overhead grip. Arms should be straight, and feet off the ground. Keeping your legs straight, use your abs to raise your feet toward your shoulders, pausing when your thighs reach your chest. (Yes, that requires a lot of flexibility.) To scale the move down, try bending your knees as you raise them, or using slings to help support your weight.

This too is a great closer for your warmup routine. Do 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.