Why Are The Abs So Hard To See?

It’s one thing to have well-developed abs, it’s another thing to actually be able to see them. Plenty of lifters still have a layer around their midsections, it’s just the way it is. If you’re trying to be as strong as possible and lift super heavy, the extra fat will help to be honest.

I know this from experience. While I can finally see my abs I certainly can’t mess around with the kind of weights I could back in the day. On the other hand, I’m more focused on being in better shape than trying to lift as much weight as possible these days.

It comes down to what your priorities in the gym are. Even if you aren’t trying to lose fat ab workouts are essential for keeping stability while lifting heavy.

It Takes On Point Nutrition

Getting rid of the extra through your diet is integral to getting those abs to show. This is the hard part for many. It really requires a lifestyle change as opposed to “going on” a diet. It comes down to creating a caloric deficit.

Avoiding fast food and processed foods at the market will go a long way in helping you strip away the extra fat. Lean meats and green vegetables make up most of my diet at this point and I don’t see myself ever going back to the way I used to eat. Prepping natural food ahead of time and consuming smaller portion sizes is essential. Once you learn how to eat for fat loss you’ll be well on your way to visible abs.

Training The Abs

As far as training goes, abdominal workouts will develop the muscles so they “pop” when the fat is gone. Some fear the possibility of overdeveloping the muscles of the midsection. However, I feel this isn’t something natural lifters need to worry about. I’m certainly not afraid to add weight while I do certain ab exercises. I like a mix of burning the abs with high reps with no weight and using very light weights to build them so they show out more. Doing supersets and drop sets enables me to keep my overall sets low and still get a ton of great work.

My top five ab workouts include plenty of variety. These exercises can of course be mixed and matched. There are also plenty of other exercises to hit the abs. Just make sure to hit all of the major muscles of the midsection. I’ll add a lower back exercise such as the hyperextension or kettlebell swing to make these overall core workouts as well.

 

Ab Workout #1

Hanging Leg Raises

I use wrist straps to grip an overhead bar and raise my legs with a very slight bend in the knees to do hanging leg raises. You have to make sure to raise your hips on every rep to activate the muscles of the lower abs. I’ll go all out in these by starting with a light dumbbell between my feet though ankle weights will be easier if you have them. Rep out, rest a little, and continue going. Drop the weight and keep going. In my case, I prefer to get as much as I can out of one continuous superset with short breaks and weight drops.

Hanging Side to Sides

This is one where I start in a hanging position with my legs out in front of me and my knees slightly bent. I then twist my lower body from side to side while keeping my upper body straight. It takes some experimentation to really hit the oblique muscles here. You have to concentrate and not just go through the motions.

Dragon Flag

This one isn’t easy, that’s for sure. This ab exercise requires the entire body to be raised. As you can imagine, this will really work the core of your body. You lie on a mat, anchor your body, and raise it while just keeping the upper back/shoulders on the mat. The key is to keep your entire body as straight as possible. I’m still trying to master this one myself.

 

Ab Workout #2

Lying Weighted Leg Raises

This is done while lying face up on a mat with a light dumbbell between your feet or ankle weights on. Get a grip on something to be able to raise the legs up while keeping the upper body stable. At the top of each rep, you have to raise the hips to target the lower abs. Do as many reps as you can, get a short rest, then do more. Drop the weight and continue repping without it. It takes intense training to get real results and this will put you on your way.

Slanted Hyperextension Bench Side Bends

Get on one of your sides with a weight in your hands and bend down to one side before raising up using your oblique muscles to do the work. The beauty of this exercise is that you can train one side, train the other, then repeat as you’ve gotten rest on the side not working. I’ll do a couple of back-to-back sets with weight, then do one without it.

Weighted Decline Sit-ups

Sit-ups seem to be a bit antiquated when it comes to abdominal workouts, but they have their place. I get on a declined ab bench with a weight either held above me or right at my chest. Then I sit up while keeping the weight up or raising it up, depending on where I have it at the start. This is another great exercise to drop weight and continue repping to failure.

 

Ab Workout #3

Weighted Leg Raise Machine

Not every gym has one of these machines but I see them more and more. I like training my lower abs on them because it’s easy to do drop sets. Once you hit failure you can drop some weight and continue your set. Make sure to focus the resistance on the lower abs. A short pause at the top of each rep will really hit the muscles.

Landmine Anti-Rotations

This exercise for the obliques will have you going to a barbell corner row setup. From here you lift the weight with both hands and make an arcing motion from side to side. While doing this you need to keep your body straight with just a slight knee bend. It won’t take much weight to target the obliques here.

Cable Crunches

I like to go to a cable machine with a rope on it for this exercise. Then I get down on my knees and crunch forward using my upper abs. Cable crunches are great to do a drop set on.

 

Ab Workout #4

V-Sit-Ups

This exercise will hit both the lower and upper abs. You start by lying face up on a mat. Then both the upper body and legs are raised until your body looks V-shaped. I find that these take some getting used to so practice the movement a few times to get it down. Once you have built up enough strength for a high number of reps, try doing them with a medicine ball, handing off the ball from the hands to the feet and back.

Cable Twists

Grab a cable handle with both hands and twist the upper body to one side using the obliques. I like to twist downward a bit or straight out. Try to keep the arms as straight as possible to target the obliques. I go back to back between sides three times each to really hit it.

Planks

The plank is a classic core strengthening exercise. Get on your hands and knees facing down to start. Then get down on your toes and elbows while keeping the body straight to complete the exercise. This is one to use a stopwatch on to see how long you can go. As you get more advanced try putting some weight on your upper back.

 

Ab Workout #5

Bicycle Crunches

This is done while lying on your back. You then raise your legs with the knees bent and pull one leg at a time towards your upper body. Also, keep your elbows up to turn the upper body to the side you are training. It’s best to just go for a lot of reps without weight on this exercise.

Starfish Crunches

The starfish will also have you lying face-up, but with the arms and legs out so, your body resembles an X. You then sit up reaching one arm to the opposite leg until your hand touches your foot or very close to it. I don’t use any extra weight here either.

Heavy Dumbbell Walk

For this exercise targeting the obliques, you basically take a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand, with no weight in the other, and walk straight. You’ll shortly notice how much the opposing oblique has to work to stabilize your core. Go as far as you can, then switch hands.

 

How Often Should You Train The Abs

In all honesty, you can do some training for the abs and other muscles of the core in just about every workout. This is what I do. It’s just that not too much time is spent on them. Just a few exercises are usually done for a superset or short breaks in my training.

I also like to break up my ab exercises by doing them between my workouts for other muscle groups. For instance, on my chest and shoulders day, I’ll start with an ab exercise. I’ll then do a different exercise for the midsection between my chest and shoulder workouts. At the end of the workout, I’ll do a final ab exercise. Of course, you can train then however you want.