As a part of a workout routine I always like to add an ab routine. Every week I fit in about 3 ab routines. Mostly on the days that I do cardio only. I also like to do abs on an empty stomach right before I do cardio to burn more calories. It’s important to never substitute an abs workout for a chest, back, legs, shoulders or arms workout. If you’re doing abs instead of the more important workouts you will find yourself falling short of your goals. Ab workouts can also be performed directly after a workout, but I prefer the morning.

Crunches – 4 sets of 15-25

The way to properly perform crunches is

1. Lay down on your back, and bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor
2. Cross your hands over your chest so your thumbs are slightly touching your chin
3. To begin the movement first imagine how you are going to do it. You want to movement so that you are moving your chest towards your pelvis (hence ‘crunching’ your abs)
4. As you begin to move towards your knees contract your abs, and exhale. Also remember to always keep your head up during the movement.
5. To go from start to finish is not a very far distance, so always focus on moving your chest towards your pelvis.
6. At the top of the movement hold the contraction for a few seconds then go back to the beginning position.

Bicycle Crunch – 4 sets of 15-25

To perform the bicycle crunch

1. Lay on your back with your hands behind your head.
2. Life your shoulders as if you were doing a crunch
3. Bring your knees up perpendicular to the floor, with the lower legs parallel to the floor.
4. Begin pedaling by kicking your left leg forward and bringing in the knee of the right leg.
5. Bring your right elbow close to your right knee by crunching to that side while exhaling. Remember to twist with your waist, and not your elbow.
6. Go back to the starting position and immediately do the same thing with the opposite leg.

These are just two examples of exercises that you can do for abs. There are all kinds that can be performed. There are tons of videos on how to perform the various ab exercises on YouTube. Before my cardio I usually only do two or three exercises. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to fit in an abs routine.

With a full body routine, and proper nutrition your bodyfat will lower. Compound exercises such as deadlifting and squats work the abs tremendously. The more your bodyfat lowers the more you will be able to see your abs. You could be doing abs everyday, but if a full body routine or your nutrition is not right your bodyfat loss will suffer. When this happens you start to lose faith, and you don’t want that to happen.

I would like to hear what you perform for abs, and what works for you.