Core Exercises

Your Ultimate Guide To Core Training For Awesome Abs

There’s more to core training workouts than sit-ups and crunches.

But here’s the truth about ab exercises getting 6 pack abs…

there’s no magic move.

True, some are better than others. That’s what you’ll find here. But, even these phenomenal ab workouts won’t transform you into a underwear model.

The real reason you don’t see your abs is because you’re holding too much fat around the midsection.

One more truth.

While I love the exercises here. And the’ll give you a strong core. They won’t do much to help you shed the muffin top or spare tire.

The spot reduction you see touted everywhere is a lie. At least stretching the truth.

Research suggests that fat is mobilized from areas where the muscle is working. So, doing an awesome ab workout increases blood flow and releases some abdominal fat. But here’s the kicker.

It’s not enough to make a difference.

So, spot reduction is a myth.

But when the fat does come off, you’ll want some muscle there to show off. If you don’t, you’ll end up looking like this guy…

need some ab work

 

That’s why you’ll want to include ab training in your workouts.

The Biggest Ab Training Mistake

Too many lifters train their abs like a 70’s aerobics class. High reps and little pink dumbbells. Then they wonder why they don’t see results.

Too much volume. Too little effort.

Thousands of crunches per day aren’t necessary. You’d never expect your arms to grow from doing a 1,000 curls per day without any resistance. Just like any other muscle, you can’t just throw random exercise at the end of a workout and expect to get results.

What you need is an ab training routine that hits the three core components of muscle building.

Here are the best ab exercises according to science.

 

 

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Flexion Core Exercises

You can’t think about ab workouts without a flexion exercise vaulting to front of mind.

Makes sense though. every other muscle group talks about flexing and squeezing the muscle.

Flexion exercises target the rectus abdominis. Your 6 pack abs muscle.

rectus abdominisThe rectus abdominis attach at the crest of pubis. Your groin. This is the origin.

On the other end. The insertion, connects to the costal cartilages of ribs 5-7 Xiphoid process of sternum. Your ribs.

The goal of flexion exercises is to bring the origin and insertion togeher.

Extension Core Exercises

The core is three dimensional. We need to attack it from every angle to maximize health and prevent injuries.

Extension exercise isolate your low back muscles. You could think of them as anti-flexion exercises that resist folding forward through the lumbar spine.

These exercises target the posterior core. The anterior core muscles don’t get much love..

  • Back Extensions
  • Reverse Hypers
  • Superman’s – I don’t recommend you do these.
  • Deadlift
  • RDL

Anti-Extension Core Exercises

Anti-extension exercises resist bending through the low back. Extension of the spine occurs when your back arches backwards.

This is an especially important exercise for athletes because it trains and strengthens their core in order to maintain a neutral spine position when performing overhead activities.

Lateral Flexion Core Exercises

  • Side Bends
  • Side Plank Crunch

Anti-Lateral Flexion Core Exercises

The goal of anti-lateral flexion is to resist side bending. Think about caring your groceries in or holding a baby. The extra weight on the one side forces the core muscles on the other to hold you up straight and not bend to the side.

Rotation Core Exercises

Powerful rotation is a key athletic quality for many sports. Think golf, baseball, and tennis.

  • Russian Twists

Anti-Rotation Core Exercises

Anti-rotation exercises train and strengthen your core to resist twisting movements.

Anti-rotation core exercises target your deep core and obliques by working the transverse plane of motion.

Combination Core Exercises

These exercises don’t fit well into a single category because they hit so many boxes.

 

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