We all come from a long line of crunch-happy abs trainers—descendants who have taken the path of least resistance by performing a few perfunctory sets of this common exercise after tougher workouts. But if you want to carve out a shredded six-pack, you’ll have to do better than that.
It’s time for us to construct a lineage that’s more determined and more devout when it comes to developing magazine cover-worthy abs. To do that, we’ll first have to evaluate some fundamental truths.
Click through for four tips to live by if you want to sculpt an enviable set of abs.
4 Shortcuts to a Leaner Midsection and Supremely Shredded Abs
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A Good Routine Hits All Areas
When you throw in a set of crunches at the end of your routine, you’re putting a cap on how much of your rectus abdominis—the superficial muscles that make up a six-pack—you’re actually training. While it’s impossible to fully isolate any area of the abs, the crunch does emphasize your upper abs.To achieve good top-to-bottom definition, you’ll need to hit your lower abs with the same intensity. And since this section is usually the most neglected area of anyone’s abs, you should try to hit them first, when you’re fresh. A good move to start mastering is the double crunch, which blasts your sixer from north to south. Follow that with some lower-abs focused reverse crunches and that stubborn area around your navel will start to flatten out in no time.Side crunches should be a regular part of your routine as well, as a well-defined set of obliques well-frame the more visible rectus abdominis. This may not sound like rocket science. And it’s not. But what follows may seem that way.
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Train Deep Muscle for a Slim Waist
The iconic images that you see of Golden Era bodybuilders like Frank Zane are more than just good art for your garage wall—they’re teaching tools. In particular, the images of Zane holding his vacuum pose, in which he’s holding his abs in tight. If you pull your belly button in toward your spine, you can feel it—that’s your transverse abdominis at work.These “core” muscles lie beneath your rectus abdominis, and therefore often get the “out of sight, out of mind” treatment. But by training these muscles regularly, they become tighter and help to hold the rectus abdominis high and tight. The result is a visually slimmer waistline. These muscles can be trained actively by pulling the stomach in or performing planks, but they’re trained vigorously on heavy, compound moves that call for spinal stabilization such as squats, deadlifts, and overhead pressing movements.
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Matthew Leete / Getty
Time Under Tension Matters
No two abs routines are the same, it seems. One guy may fail at 15 reps, while another takes 100 reps to reach failure. A number of factors can come into play such as exercise selection, total range of motion, and conditioning level. But one way to help level the playing field is by focusing on total time under tension.By focusing on time instead of counting reps, you’re able to put the focus where it belongs: rep quality. This leads to a greater burn and, in most cases, a better mind-muscle connection than when sprinting through a high-rep set.
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The Workout
This circuit combines the above factors by calling for you to alternate some more typical abdominal exercises with planks. Thirty seconds may not seem much for you pro-level plankers out there but by fatiguing the rectus abdominis, the transverse abdominis gets progressively less assistance as the circuit wears on. You’ll make the transfer from exercise to exercise as quickly as possible. Set your phone timer or watch a clock to keep on pace.Exercise | Time | Focus1. Double crunch; 30 sec.; Upper/lower abs2. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis3. Reverse crunch; 30 sec.; Lower abs4. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis5. Crunch; 30 sec.; Upper abs6. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis7. Side crunch (Right); 30 sec.; Obliques8. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis9. Side crunch (Left); 30 sec.; Obliques10. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominisRepeat the entire circuit 2-3 times, resting 30-60 seconds between circuits.Perform this routine 2-3 times per week at the end of your regular weight training.Each week, add five seconds to the duration of each exercise.
When you throw in a set of crunches at the end of your routine, you’re putting a cap on how much of your rectus abdominis—the superficial muscles that make up a six-pack—you’re actually training. While it’s impossible to fully isolate any area of the abs, the crunch does emphasize your upper abs.
To achieve good top-to-bottom definition, you’ll need to hit your lower abs with the same intensity. And since this section is usually the most neglected area of anyone’s abs, you should try to hit them first, when you’re fresh. A good move to start mastering is the double crunch, which blasts your sixer from north to south. Follow that with some lower-abs focused reverse crunches and that stubborn area around your navel will start to flatten out in no time.
Side crunches should be a regular part of your routine as well, as a well-defined set of obliques well-frame the more visible rectus abdominis. This may not sound like rocket science. And it’s not. But what follows may seem that way.
Train Deep Muscle for a Slim Waist
The iconic images that you see of Golden Era bodybuilders like Frank Zane are more than just good art for your garage wall—they’re teaching tools. In particular, the images of Zane holding his vacuum pose, in which he’s holding his abs in tight. If you pull your belly button in toward your spine, you can feel it—that’s your transverse abdominis at work.
These “core” muscles lie beneath your rectus abdominis, and therefore often get the “out of sight, out of mind” treatment. But by training these muscles regularly, they become tighter and help to hold the rectus abdominis high and tight. The result is a visually slimmer waistline. These muscles can be trained actively by pulling the stomach in or performing planks, but they’re trained vigorously on heavy, compound moves that call for spinal stabilization such as squats, deadlifts, and overhead pressing movements.
Time Under Tension Matters
No two abs routines are the same, it seems. One guy may fail at 15 reps, while another takes 100 reps to reach failure. A number of factors can come into play such as exercise selection, total range of motion, and conditioning level. But one way to help level the playing field is by focusing on total time under tension.
By focusing on time instead of counting reps, you’re able to put the focus where it belongs: rep quality. This leads to a greater burn and, in most cases, a better mind-muscle connection than when sprinting through a high-rep set.
The Workout
This circuit combines the above factors by calling for you to alternate some more typical abdominal exercises with planks. Thirty seconds may not seem much for you pro-level plankers out there but by fatiguing the rectus abdominis, the transverse abdominis gets progressively less assistance as the circuit wears on. You’ll make the transfer from exercise to exercise as quickly as possible. Set your phone timer or watch a clock to keep on pace.
Exercise | Time | Focus
1. Double crunch; 30 sec.; Upper/lower abs
2. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis
3. Reverse crunch; 30 sec.; Lower abs
4. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis
5. Crunch; 30 sec.; Upper abs
6. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis
7. Side crunch (Right); 30 sec.; Obliques
8. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis
9. Side crunch (Left); 30 sec.; Obliques
10. Plank; 30 sec.; Transverse abdominis
Repeat the entire circuit 2-3 times, resting 30-60 seconds between circuits.
Perform this routine 2-3 times per week at the end of your regular weight training.
Each week, add five seconds to the duration of each exercise.
