The ONLY 2 Exercises That Built My Six Pack Abs
Summary
TLDRThe video highlights the importance of proper ab training to build well-defined abs, beyond just lowering body fat. It discusses common mistakes, like relying on exercises that primarily engage the hip flexors, and stresses the importance of focusing on the abs' main function—bringing the rib cage and pelvis together. Two key exercises for targeting the lower and upper abs are suggested: reverse crunches for lower abs and crunches or cable crunches for upper abs. Progressive overload and proper form are emphasized, alongside combining ab exercises with fat loss for optimal results.
Takeaways
- 💪 There are many ab exercises, but only a few are effective for building a well-defined six-pack.
- 📉 Low body fat is important, but not the only factor in visible abs. Muscle size also plays a role.
- 📊 A 2017 study showed that ab exercises can lead to muscle growth, with lower abs growing the most.
- 🧬 Genetics influence ab visibility, but training is crucial for developing well-defined abs.
- 🚫 Many popular ab exercises, like planks, focus on stabilizing the core rather than building muscle.
- ⚠️ Incorrect form, especially relying on hip flexors, can reduce the effectiveness of ab exercises.
- ✅ To target lower abs effectively, focus on exercises like reverse crunches that raise the hips and round the spine.
- 🏋️♂️ Upper abs can be targeted through crunches or advanced exercises like rope cable crunches, using a C-shape movement.
- ⏳ Progressive overload and rest are key to building abs, just like any other muscle.
- 🧠 Ab exercises should be combined with fat reduction strategies to make abs more visible.
Q & A
What is the main reason why some people can't see their abs even when they are lean?
-It's not just about having low body fat. Some people may have lean physiques but still can't see their abs because they haven't developed the muscles enough for them to 'pop' through the fat. The key is training the abs to grow in size.
What was the result of the 2017 study on soccer players' ab training?
-After 10 weeks of ab training, the soccer players' upper abs grew by 2.1 mm, their middle abs by 1.9 mm, and their lower abs grew the most by 2.7 mm. Although these numbers may seem small, even slight growth can significantly enhance the appearance of defined abs.
Why do most common ab exercises like planks not help in building visible abs?
-Exercises like planks are great for core stabilization but do not contribute much to building the size of the abs because they mainly engage stabilizing muscles rather than directly stimulating ab growth.
What common mistake do people make when performing leg raises?
-Many people keep their backs straight and only swing their legs, which engages the hip flexors rather than the abs. To properly activate the abs, the spine needs to round, forming a 'C-shape' instead of an 'L-shape.'
How can you target the lower abs more effectively?
-To target the lower abs, you need an exercise where the lower half of the body moves toward the top half, such as reverse crunches. Performing these correctly by raising the hips and rounding the spine will engage the lower abs more.
What are some beginner and advanced versions of the reverse crunch?
-For beginners, bringing the knees closer to the chest and just lifting the tailbone off the bench without swinging the legs can still effectively target the lower abs. Advanced versions involve getting higher and gradually straightening the legs.
How can you make ab exercises more effective using an ab mat?
-Using an ab mat or a stability ball under the lower back increases the stretch in the abs at the bottom of the movement, which enhances the effectiveness of the exercise by targeting the muscles in their most stretched position.
What is the key movement for targeting the upper abs?
-To target the upper abs, you need exercises where the upper body folds toward the lower body, like crunches. Proper form involves rounding the spine into a 'C-shape' by contracting the abs and bringing the chest toward the pelvis.
Why is it important to avoid using momentum in exercises like cable crunches?
-Using momentum in exercises like cable crunches, such as swinging the hips back and forth, engages the hip flexors rather than the abs. To properly work the abs, you should focus on locking the hips and using only the spine to fold the body.
How should you structure your ab training for optimal results?
-Ab training should be done like any other muscle group, with progressive overload and enough rest. Three sets of 6 to 12 reps are recommended. If you can do 12 reps, increase the difficulty or add weight. Start with training once a week and increase to twice a week if you're serious about building abs.
Outlines
💪 The Secret to Building a Six-Pack
While there are over 500 ab exercises, only two have proven effective in helping the speaker build a six-pack. Contrary to popular belief, achieving defined abs isn't just about low body fat; many lean people still lack visible abs. Genetics play a role, but effective training is key. A study of soccer players demonstrated significant ab growth from 10 weeks of focused training, with the lower abs showing the greatest improvement. Visible abs can be developed by increasing muscle size, even if body fat remains present. The speaker emphasizes the importance of proper ab exercises to avoid relying too much on hip flexors, as exercises like planks may stabilize the core but do little to build abs.
🦵 Common Mistakes in Ab Workouts
The speaker highlights a common mistake in ab training: keeping the back straight, which causes the hip flexors to take over during exercises like leg raises. Instead, effective ab exercises should bring the rib cage and pelvis together by rounding the spine, not stabilizing it. Exercises like leg raises, when done with incorrect form, shift the workload to the hip flexors, preventing ab development. By focusing on movements that properly engage the abs, the speaker shows how to correct form and target different parts of the abdominal muscles effectively.
⬇️ Targeting Lower Abs: A Key Strategy
To build lower abs, the speaker prefers reverse crunches over leg raises. Reverse crunches focus on contracting the abs by bringing the knees towards the chest, effectively rounding the spine. A beginner-friendly version of the exercise involves lifting the tailbone off the bench without swinging the legs. As one progresses, more advanced versions can be introduced, including gradually straightening the legs. The speaker recommends using an ab mat to increase the stretch and enhance results.
⬆️ Upper Abs: Effective Exercises
For upper abs, exercises should focus on folding the upper body towards the lower body. The speaker advocates crunches but emphasizes proper form, avoiding flattening the spine and maintaining a C-shape during movement. Using tools like an ab mat or stability ball can enhance the stretch. Once crunches become easy, the speaker suggests moving on to rope cable crunches while maintaining focus on spinal rounding and avoiding hip flexor engagement. Turning around and crunching away from the cable increases difficulty, targeting the abs more effectively.
🏋️♂️ Progressive Overload and Ab Training Frequency
The speaker advises treating ab muscles like any other muscle, using progressive overload and allowing time for rest. Three sets of 6–12 reps are recommended, with an increase in difficulty once 12 reps are achieved. Training abs once or twice a week is ideal, but visibility will still depend on fat reduction. The video concludes with advice on combining ab training with fat loss strategies, promoting a more comprehensive plan for defined abs.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Abs
💡Six-pack
💡Core stabilization
💡Hip flexors
💡Reverse crunches
💡C-shape vs L-shape
💡Progressive overload
💡Stretch position
💡Rope cable crunch
💡Muscle hypertrophy
Highlights
There are over 500 ab exercises, but only two that effectively help build a six-pack.
Having low body fat alone doesn't guarantee visible abs; ab visibility depends on training them effectively.
Some people with higher body fat have visible abs due to genetic factors and effective training methods.
A study of soccer players found that, over 10 weeks, their upper, middle, and lower abs grew by 2.1 mm, 1.9 mm, and 2.7 mm, respectively.
Increasing the size of abs makes them more visible, especially if one struggles to naturally have defined abs.
Most ab exercises, like planks and butterfly kicks, strengthen the core but do little for growing abs.
To build abs, focus on exercises that round the spine and engage the abs fully.
Common mistake: Keeping your back straight during leg raises and other ab exercises makes the hip flexors do most of the work.
Exercises should focus on rounding the spine, such as reverse crunches for lower abs, to activate them properly.
Beginners can modify reverse crunches by bringing knees closer to the chest to emphasize lower ab engagement.
Using an ab mat increases the stretch of the abs during exercises, making them more effective.
For upper abs, folding the chest towards the pelvis in a C-shape rather than an L-shape ensures better engagement.
Crunches should raise shoulder blades off the ground to avoid hip flexor dominance.
For advanced ab training, use cable crunches but avoid swinging the hips to ensure full ab activation.
Train abs like any other muscle, with progressive overload and adequate rest, aiming for 6-12 reps per set.
Transcripts
there's over 500 ab exercises out there
but only two that actually help me build
my six-pack because to get welldefined
abs it's not just about having low body
fat that were true why is it that some
people get really lean yet you still
can't see their abs whereas others with
just as much or even more body fat have
abs that pop of course there's a genetic
aspect to this but it also comes down to
how you train them so back in 2017
researchers had 28 soccer players
trained their abs for 10 weeks and
measured how much their abs grew now the
ABS exercises they used weren't the best
options I'll show you later on but it
still led to some pretty good results on
average their upper abs grew by 2.1 mm
their middle ABS by 1.9 mm and their
lower abs grew the most by 2.7 mm this
might not sound like much but even a few
millimet can make a big difference in
terms of how defined your abs are you
see you can make them more B ible by
reducing the layer of fat between your
abs and your skin but another overlooked
way is just to increase the size of your
abs so they poke through that fat more
this is especially useful if like me
you're a hard Gainer who wasn't
naturally blessed with thick ABS to
begin with but here's the thing most app
exercises you see online won't help you
actually build your six-pack take planks
or even butterfly kaks for instance
these are both great core strengthening
exercises but they'll do next to nothing
for actually grow in your abs why well
all they're really doing is stabilizing
your core like they would during a
compound movement trying to plank your
way to bigger ABS is kind of like trying
to wallit your way to bigger quads see
the main function of your abs is to
bring your rib cage and pelvis together
by rounding the spine and so this brings
us to one of the most common myths I
hear about effective AB training when
performing ab exercises you've got to
keep your back straight take leg raises
for instance for you years these were my
go-to app exercise and it turns out I
was doing them wrong pretty much all of
the time because of this advice see if
your back stays flat and all you do is
you swing your legs up and down into an
l-shape then your abs will contract to
stabilize but really it's going to be
your hip flexors that do all the work
and it's not just leg raises this is a
common problem with most ab exercises at
least with how they're typically done
but the thing is it's actually pretty
easy to build your abs once you stop
letting your hip flexes do all the work
and the nice part is you can emphasize
either your upper abs or your lower abs
more based on the type of exercise you
do so to keep things simple let me just
share my two favorite exercises for both
and the ones I really credit for
building my six-pack let's start with
the lower abs so a lot of new research
suggests that muscle regions closest to
the moving body part will grow the most
so for example leg curls have been found
to grow the lower hamstrings more than
deadlifts which seem to emphasize the
upper hamstrings more so to Target the
lower abs we just want an exercise where
the bottom half of our body moves
towards the top half and even though I
now know how to do leg raises with
correct form I actually still prefer
another exercise see if you've been
keeping up with my recent videos
especially the one where I explained how
to build muscle twice as fast you know
that muscles seem to grow best when
they're challenged in their most stretch
position and I'm actually funding and
helping run a study start in this month
to investigate this further but so far
the evidence is quite promising but the
problem with leg raises is they
challenge your abs closer to the top
when they're contracted we want an
exercise that does the opposite so how
do we accomplish that simple we can make
it more difficult at the start by laying
back on a bench and doing reverse
crunches but you've got to remember what
I just said about your hip flexors if
your back stays straight they're going
to be doing most of the work so instead
bend your knees in towards your body and
think about raising your hips up and
crunching your knees towards your chest
to actually round your spine think
c-shape instead of l-shape go up as far
as you can then slowly control the way
down but I'll admit this is a tough
exercise so let me first show you a more
beginner friendly version followed by a
more advanced version that you can
gradually work up to for beginners bring
your knees closer to your chest and try
to just lift your tailbone Off the Bench
without swinging your legs if you can do
that you'll still be effectively hitting
your low ABS once it get stronger try to
get higher and higher and then gradually
straighten your legs up more to simulate
the effect of adding weight to the
movement and if you want to make this
even more effective then you want to
increase the stretch your abs get at the
bottom and for that I'd highly recommend
getting an ABM and placing that between
your lower back and the bench and I'll
leave an Amazon link to the one I
recommend in the description box down
below but now let's move on to the upper
abs so for the lower abs we wanted to
bring the lower body up towards the
Torso but now we want the opposite an
exercise where we're now folding the
upper body towards the lower body again
I'll show a beginner version first and
then a more advanced version I've
personally been seeing amazing results
with now the easiest way to hit the
upper abs as a beginner is with crunches
but again you've got to avoid the all
too common mistake of flattening your
spine and moving in an l-shape instead
think about folding your chest down
towards your pelvis into a c-shape your
spine should extend out to stretch your
abs and then your abs should contract to
fold your chest over your pelvis now
with crunches just try to get your
shoulder blades off the ground any
higher and it's just going to be your
hip flexors taken over but again if you
want even better results from each rep
then you need to use an appat trust me
this fixes a lot of issues with these ab
exercises as it gives them enough of a
stretch and challenge in that bottom
position you can also always use a
stability ball Bosa ball or at the very
least a rolled up towel with which as
you can see still lengthens the ABS just
a little bit more but once crunches
become too easy I'd highly recommend
moving onto a rope cable Crunch and last
time I'll say it but you've got to pay
attention to your hip flexes with this
one too if your hips are swinging back
to your heels of your rep you're just
using momentum and your hip flexes to
move the weight again focus on the spine
lock your hips at 90° lock your arms
next to your ears and then contract your
upper abs as you try to fold your chest
down onto your abs when done properly
your hips should remain in one position
while your spine extends and arches on
the way up to stretch your abs and then
rounds on the way down as your abs fully
contract now it might take a few reps to
get the hang of these if you've never
done them before but once you do feel
comfortable I'd highly recommend making
them even more effective by turning
around and crunching away from the cable
now all the same tips apply you just
have to get used to balancing and maybe
go a little bit lighter to start out a
longer rope also helps with this one but
once you do get it right you should feel
that the movement is now a lot harder in
that beginning position exactly what
we're going for but here's an important
tip you should know about growing your
abs train them like any other muscle
hard with Progressive overload but also
give them time to rest I personally
recommend doing three sets of each
exercise for six to 12 reps once you can
do 12 Reps for all three sets then bump
up the difficulty or add a little bit
more weight start with training them
once a week and if you're really serious
bump it up to twice a week but honestly
you can have the largest ABS in the
world and they'll still remain hidden if
they're covered by too much fat to get
the best results you want to combine AB
training with a proper plan to get rid
of the excess bat covering your abs so
give this video watch next where I cover
the best science back approach to do
just that but if you're looking for more
guidance and just want a proven
step-by-step plan that takes care of all
the guest work for you just head over to
build to science.com to find the best
program for you and your body thanks for
watching and see you next time
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