To best achieve six pack abs, you need to understand the basic anatomy of the core muscles. First off, there’s the rectus abdominis, which can be further divided into two regions; the upper and lower abs. Given that they’re innervated by different nerves, each of these two regions can be selectively activated with different abs exercises. Next, there’s the obliques which run down the sides of the abs. Lastly, there’s the serratus anterior situated right on top of the ribs. Each of these muscles play a significant role in sculpting out ripped abs. Meaning that your abs workout routine and abs exercises needs to be designed in a way that hits each of these various muscles. In this video, I’ll show you how to craft the best ab workout for a six pack based on both scientific research and our anatomical understanding of the core muscles.
So the first ab exercise we’re going to perform in the abs workout routine is the reverse crunch, which effectively favours the lower abs over the upper abs in terms of activation. What you want to do is before you even start, initiate something called posterior pelvic tilt. When you perform a rep, all I want you to think about is curling your pelvis up towards your belly button and think about contracting your lower abs. Build up this movement to roughly 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps done with bodyweight and full control, then move onto performing them weighted and/or with a decline implemented like so for 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps.
Next, we’ll move onto high to low woodchoppers, one of the best abs exercises available that works the obliques. For these, you want to keep your arms extended and elbows locked, and then use the one side of your obliques to rotate your torso down and across your body towards the opposite knee. I’d recommend a set and rep range of roughly 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps, and adding more weight as this becomes easier. If you find difficulty with this movement then a viable alternative are bicycle crunches.
Next, it’s time to move onto weighted crunches, which enable us to selectively emphasize the upper abs for well-rounded six pack abs. The key is that you’re emphasizing the top down aspect of these movements by focusing on simply bringing the rib cage forward and down towards the pelvis. Your hips should simply remain stationary as you perform each rep. You’ll want to use a moderate rep range of 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps and again, gradually overload these with more weight as your abs develop and strengthen overtime.
The last exercise of this abs workout will be something called serratus jabs, which elicits very high activity of the serratus anterior. You can use a band or cable and set it up such that your arm travels upward during the jab. Then you want to simply perform an upward punching motion and reach as far as you can at the end position in order to protract that scapula and fully activate the serratus anterior. Again, use a rep range of 10-15 reps per side for these and overload it overtime by increasing the resistance.
So to wrap the best ab workout for a six pack up for you:
Exercise 1:
Reverse Crunches: 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps (bodyweight)
BUILD UP TO: 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps (weighted/decline)
Exercise 2:
High To Low Cable Woodchoppers: 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps per side
OR
Bicycle Crunches: 2-3 sets to failure (bodyweight)
Exercise 3:
Weighted Crunches: 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps
Exercise 4:
Serratus Jabs: 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps
I’d recommend performing this workout 1-3 times per week, which can either quickly be done after your main workouts or on your rest days.
Now keep in mind though guys that this abs workout is just one piece of the puzzle. If you truly want to attain ripped abs then you need to pair your workouts with a nutrition plan that helps you both shred off fat effortlessly while providing your muscles with the fuel they need to recover and grow to the best of their ability after each workout. And for a step-by-step program that takes care of all the guess work for you and shows you exactly how to train AND what to eat week after week in order lean down most effectively with science, just like several other members have been able to do with their Built With Science programs, then then take the analysis quiz below to discover which approach is best for you:
Filmed by: Bruno Martin Del Campo
Abs workout PDF download:
MUSIC:
Music by Ryan Little – Think About You –
STUDIES:
RECTUS ABDOMINUS
REVERSE CRUNCH
BICYCLE CRUNCHES
SERRATUS JABS
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