Ab Exercises For Building Strength
Nothing says health and fitness more than a sculpted set of abs. A trim waist is a sign of good health. A well-defined midsection is testament to hard work.
But having a visible 6-pack should not just be your focus in training abs. You’ve heard of people with abs that could grate a block of parmesan cheese into fine powder succumb to lower back pain and abdominal tears.
The function of the abdominal wall is to protect your lower back. When you wear a belt during exercise, its purpose is to support your lumbar area by giving the abdominal muscles a surface to push against.
Keeping your abs tight during overhead pressing exercises, Squats and Deadlift will help your lower back maintain its strongest position to overcome applied resistance.
While traditional exercises such as crunches and leg raises still have their value in an abdominal workout program, they will not help you develop a strong, sturdy and stable midsection.
You need to choose exercises that require you to maintain a strong trunk position by forcing the abs to contract as powerfully as possible. The benefits of doing these exercises will also carry-over to support everyday tasks. Thus, functionality should be considered when selecting the exercises.
Here are 5 of the best functional exercises to build strong abs:
1. Turkish Get Up
Turkish Get Up is often labelled as the most important exercise no one wants to do. Why? Because it is extremely challenging; a basic Get Up involves 14 intricate movements that must be strictly followed. Adding resistance such as a dumbbell or a kettlebell will make it more challenging but at the same time, increases the rewards. Turkish Get Up will benefit those who participate in running, MMA, basketball, tennis and rugby.
Recommended Volume: 3 sets x 5 reps
2. Walking Overhead Lunge
Lunges are a great exercise for developing the legs. Walking Overhead Lunges involve placing an overhead resistance such as a barbell plate or a pair of kettlebells increases the involvement of the abdominal muscles to support the lower back. Walking during the overhead lunge adds a third degree of difficulty because now you have to focus on maintaining balance and stability. Walking Overhead Lunges are a fantastic full-body exercise that will build strength as well as provide cardiovascular endurance.
Recommended Volume: 3 sets x 20m
3. Spider Crawl
Unlike the Bear Crawl, Spider Crawls requires you to keep your upper back in line with your hips and lower back throughout the exercise. This places greater stress on the abdominal muscles because if your hips sink below the level of your upper back, you place more pressure on your lower back. 3 tips to make Spider Crawls more challenging: look straight ahead, crawl very slowly and crawl in reverse.
Recommended Volume: 3 sets x 20m
4. Bent Press
Bent Press is effective in developing hip and trunk stability mobility and flexibility. It also builds strong oblique muscles and actively engages the entire abdominal area composed of the rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis. Similar to Turkish Get Up, start out with Bent Press with your bodyweight and focus on perfecting your form before adding resistance.
Recommended Volume: 3 sets x 5 reps
5. Bird Dog Exercise
Don’t be taken by the light-hearted name of this exercise. Bird Dog Exercise is a staple in many abdominal strengthening programs especially for those with lower back injury. Bird Dog Exercise will improve trunk and hip flexibility. Performing the exercise on 1 knee and 1 arm increases the work capacity of your abdominal muscles. When doing Bird Dog Exercise, focus on the quality of the rep not the quantity performed in a set.
Recommended Volume: 3 sets x 10 reps
As you have read, you don’t have to do countless sets and reps of abdominal work to get results. The keys to having an effective workout are: resistance, precise execution of form and functionality.
You do not have to do all of these exercises in 1 workout. A better approach would be to set aside 3 days per week for abdominal work then distribute 2 to 3 of these exercises.
