Give this ab routine a try to chisel the ultimate 6-pack by summer.
Summer’s around the corner. Ready to show off your chiseled muscles at the beach or pool? Unfortunately, a winter sitting on the couch watching football, drinking beer and eating comfort food has taken a toll on your waistline. The washboard is gone and has been replaced by a marshmallow. Time to torch fat and sculpt muscle with this killer abdominal and anaerobic cardio circuit. Getting ripped, six pack abs takes more than just countless crunches.
Firstly, the abdominals are comprised of several muscle groups: transverse abdominus (deep core stabilizers), rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques. All of these separate muscles must be targeted to fully develop a flat and toned midsection. Secondly, no matter how toned the muscles of the stomach are, six pack abs will not be viewable unless body fat is reduced. This needs to be done by combining correct dieting with a fat busting anaerobic cardio workout like the one presented below. When combined, these elements will result in washboard abs that will be the envy of everyone this summer.
Ab Routine
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Superset 1:
- 1A – Elbows Plank with Press Up to Push Up Position – 60 seconds
- 1B – Side Planks with Rotation – Hold 10-15 seconds on each side before rotating (3 / side)
- 2A – BOSU Plank with Knee Crunch & Cross (knee to elbow, extend leg back to hip height, then cross under to opposite elbow repeat all reps on that side). 8-10 reps per side
- 2B – Hanging Leg Raises – 15 reps (Don’t swing)
- 3A – Cross Crunch on BOSU/Stability Ball – 15 reps per side
- 3B – Crunch on Stability Ball – 20 reps
- 4A – Curl Up with Trunk Extension – 15 reps
- 4B – Penguin – 60 seconds (Lay on back, arms at sides palms down, knees bent, feet flat. Curl forward until shoulder blades clear floor – you’ll stay in this horizontal plane whole exercise. Using obliques only, bring right hand towards right heel. Repeat on left. Continue alternating sides. Do not let knees/hips rock).
- 5A – Weighted Russian Twists – 30 reps
- 5B – Oblique Crunches on SB/Bosu – 15 reps per side
Superset 2:
Superset 3:
Superset 4:
Superset 5:
*Repeat workout sets 3 times
Anaerobic Cardio Routine
Interval training for 30 minutes with 5 minute warm-up and cool-down. Pick your poison: stairs, treadmill, bike or elliptical.
Author: Whitney Cole and Byron Paidoussi