
If you want the core of your workout to be about, well, your core, let’s look at a few tips and exercises to build a foundation of knowledge for your ab workouts.
First off, all humans are born with six-pack abs. If you say you don’t have abs, look again. They’re there, just hiding. The best exercises to help you get six-pack abs are going to be ones that burn calories while also strengthening your core. Second, there are more muscles in your core than just your six-pack. Don’t forget about your obliques, as they surround your six-pack. Third, you may have heard the saying, “six-packs are made in the kitchen.” These exercises will help you build and define your six-pack, but without the right nutrition and diet, you may not see the progress you’ve been working for.
Now, let’s get to work. Here are four exercises (let’s call them the 4-6) to help you get your six-pack.
- Mountain climbers. Get into a plank position, hands shoulder-width apart, and then one-by-one, pump your legs, bringing one knee toward your chest at a time. Keep switching, pumping and engaging your core with your back flat. This gets your heart rate up while attacking the abs.
- Diagonal wood chops. Start in a standing position and imagine you’re holding a ball with two hands. Slowly rotate your arms and hands up and over your left shoulder so your right arm ends up across and diagonal to your body at a 45 degree angle. Then, slowly rotate the opposite direction down toward your right hip. Do not move your head, chest, torso or hips. Hold this position briefly before rotating back to the starting position. Repeat in the opposite direction. For more of a challenge, you can add weight with a real medicine ball so you can really work your obliques.
- Tuck jumps. Start in a standing position, legs shoulder-width apart. Hold your hands out, palms down, about six to twelve inches from your chest. You can touch your fingertips together if that’s easier, too. Then, dip your knees and prepare to jump up as high as you can. Explode up and tuck your knees toward your chest in an attempt to touch them to your palms. Then, extend your legs back out and land safely. These are basically a plyometric crunch and will help you engage your abs and work a sweat.
- Plank to side plank reach is great for strengthening the entire core with an additional focus on the obliques at the side of your abs.
The 4-6 targets your six-pack and obliques to get your six-pack going in the right direction. When it comes to fitness and hitting your body goals, there’s no easy road, but with consistency and the right diet, you’ll start to see change. But don’t forget one more important thing: have fun! Getting in shape can seem like a chore, but once you notice how good you feel, a sense of lightness may spark in you that has nothing to do with your weight.
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