Introduction
I’m in the gym almost every day, so I see what people do there. This isn’t to say I spend my entire time watching what others do, but there are just certain things that stand out that just can’t be unnoticed. One of these is the amount of gym-goers who look like they are just going through the motions when it comes to direct abdominal and core training. It seems like most weight training enthusiasts are doing the basics when it comes to the abs, performing common exercises such as crunches or leg raises. I mean if you’re a man going hard at chest and arm training or a woman working legs and glutes all-out multiple times per week, why neglect your midsection?
Don’t get me wrong, you get plenty of core work from weight training and calisthenics exercises that don’t target them directly. Heavy lifting or using balance while training will force the core to do some work. Look at it from the other side, a stronger core will prevent it from ever being a weak link in any other type of training.
Most of Us Want a Leaner Waistline
From an aesthetic point of view, getting a leaner midsection is a major reason people of any sex go to the gym. Though this is my opinion, I have been quite a bit heavier with a much larger waistline. I can confidently say that, from my perspective, I’d much rather be lean with visible abs like I am now compared to what I was 5 years ago. Many people still hold this opinion no matter what the fat acceptance crowd says, just look at the amount of regular gym rats. The same people are there almost every day. Of course, this is the other main reason to do more direct ab and core work. I’ve seen much more detail in my core area as I’ve added more advanced exercises.
Going Through the Motions
It seems that many people hitting the gym don’t attempt to progress with their core exercises like they do for other exercises. Maybe a little progression is made in the amount of repetitions done, but that’s usually. about it. More resistance can be added to some exercises, but there’s an upper limit to this and you aren’t really looking to build large ab and oblique muscles anyway. for the most part. The real key to progressing with most ab and core exercises is to do more advanced forms of the movements.
Do More Advanced Versions of Core Exercises
The vast majority of upper ab, lower ab, oblique, and general core exercises can be made more advanced with a variety of small tweaks. Take the basic crunch as an example: you can try v-ups by raising both the upper and lower body to get your body to form a v-shape. One way to progress to this is to do hollow holds where your upper body is just a bit off the mat as well as the lower body and held by contracting the core muscles. This will help you work up to better v-ups.
Hanging Leg Raises
Leg raises are a classic lower abdominal exercise and there are multiple ways to make them more advanced. One of the simplest (not easy mind you) is to raise the legs higher on hanging leg raises. You can raise the legs all the way up until your shin or feet touch the bar you are hanging from. At this point, you can even raise your lower body higher by lifting your behind up higher. It’s also very core-crushing to twist to one side while raising your legs all the way up.
Dragon Flags
As far as lying leg raises go, you need to do more than just move your legs up and down as you get more advanced. Raising your hips upward will enhance the exercise. However, the real deal when it comes to progressing the lying leg raise is to master the dragon flag.
The dragon flag will have you raising up almost your entire body, with just the upper back on the floor. The body needs to be kept straight with the toes pointed while you either raise and lower yourself or hold a position. You also need to anchor yourself by gripping something that will allow you to get into this position. To practice the dragon flag you can start by kicking your legs out while going upward for a bent knee lying leg raise. Then try a short hold and lower to the floor as slowly as possible. You can also keep the body with a little bend at the hips and try to keep straighter as you progress.
Advanced Dragon Flags
Once you can do basic dragon flag raises and holds they can be progressed further with some advanced techniques. Start the exercise with the body straight and on the floor without kicking out and raise from there. Try twisting as you hold a mid-range position. You can perform a back-and-forth scissor motion while in a holding position. Another great way to make the dragon flag even more difficult is to keep a grip with one hand anchored and the other hand gripping that forearm. My final suggestion is to add very light resistance, like 3 or 5 pounds, in the form of a dumbbell or ankle weights.
It’s also possible to progress to hanging dragon flags (which I haven’t tried and they certainly don’t look easy). One way to work up to this is to hang from an overhead bar and try to straighten the body to parallel to the floor position. The best way to start is to raise and lower the body, which is the point where I am in my progression.
Planks
Planks are another classic ab exercise that can be made more advanced. You can likely get to a level where you can hold a normal plank for a decent amount of time, so why not just make the exercise more difficult just to save time. Try raising one leg and holding your plank, try raising the opposite arm at the same time. This is the simplest way to advance the plank.
Adding resistance is my preferred way to make the plank more advanced. It seems to just work better for this exercise than other core movements. In my case, I will get a 25 or 45-pound weight onto my lower back and hold a plank, possibly raising one leg at a time to make it even tougher. Wearing a weight vest will also work well for doing this.
Side Planks
Side planks can be made more advanced by lowering and raising your hips, using the obliques to do the work. This can also be done with resistance held on the side of the hip or waist that’s facing upward. Try elevating the feet to do side plank raises as well, with or without resistance. My final way to advance this movement is to elevate the feet on a bench in a side plank position, then bend the lower leg so just the upper leg is on the bench. This will work the obliques and adductor muscles of the upper thighs. I like it because of the stretch I get in the adductors. It’s the classic “killing two birds with one stone” type of exercise.
Conclusion
There are plenty of other ab and oblique exercises you can make progress on by making them harder, and therefore more advanced. A lot of it comes down to experimenting and trying new things. If it makes sense, test it out to see if you feel the muscles working in the right place and go from there.
Stop just going through the motions on your core exercise like 99% of the people in the gym are doing. There’s a reason most don’t make changes even though they’re in there every day. Take your core training to the next level and you will see incredible results!
