The 30 best abdominal exercises

When it comes to getting specific muscle groups to grow, most of us know off the top of our heads a suitable exercise that promises visible success in almost 100 percent of cases. However, when it comes to the abdominal muscles, most of us stand like the proverbial ox before the mountain, because no matter what we try, nothing really works. Of course, a low body fat percentage is necessary to bring out the abdominal muscles, but without effective exercises, even a low body fat percentage is useless. Accordingly, below we would like to introduce you to the 30 best exercises for abs.

Exercise 1 - Barbell Rollout
If you've ever stumbled across equipment like the so-called ab roller on various shopping TV shows, this exercise will look very familiar. And most importantly, you don't need anything except a barbell bar loaded with a 5-kilogram disc on each side. Kneel in front of the barbell and grasp it shoulder-width apart. Then tighten your abdominal muscles and roll the barbell forward. Once you have reached maximum extension, move back to the starting position.

Exercise 2 - Crunch with arms extended
This exercise works very much like a classic crunch. The only difference is that during the exercise you stretch your arms straight up to the ceiling and hold this position.

Exercise 3 - Training with the Ab-Roller
If your gym has such a machine, you can use it instead of the barbell for the corresponding exercise (exercise 1). Do as many repetitions as you can until you notice that the form starts to suffer.

Exercise 4 - Russian Barbell Twist
Load a barbell bar on one side with a 5-kilogram plate and place it with the unloaded end vertical on the floor. Then grab the top end with both hands and begin to move the barbell from side to side by rotating your torso. Make sure you have a secure, shoulder-width stance while doing this.

Exercise 5 - Swiss Ball Crunch
The Swiss Ball Crunch is a variation of the exercise that gives it its name, which is performed on an exercise ball. The big advantage is that the instability of the ball ensures that the abdominal muscles are worked much harder.

Exercise 6 - Leg Raises on Dip Bar
Get into the starting position where you normally do dips and lift your legs until there is a 90-degree angle between your torso and thighs. It is important that you do not use any momentum to help you.

Exercise 7 - Flutter Kick
Lie on your back with your legs stretched out and place your arms stably beside your body. Now lift your feet about fifteen centimeters off the floor. This is the starting position from which you then alternately let your feet shoot upwards by about one foot length, as in a scissor kick.

Exercise 8 - Front Squats
The Front Squats are not only excellent for building strong quadriceps, but also contribute significantly to the functional strengthening of the abdominal muscles, as the center of gravity in the course of this exercise is much further forward than in classic squats.

Exercise 9 - Horizontal Cable Woodchop
Go to an adjustable cable pulley and lock it at the height of your shoulder. Then grab the handle with both hands and stand sideways, shoulder-width apart from the pulley and rotate your torso from side to side with arms outstretched, just as if you were gaining momentum to chop down a tree with an axe. Once you have completed ten to twelve repetitions, switch sides.

Exercise 10 - Leg Raises
Lie on the floor and hold onto the base of an exercise bench for stability. Then tighten your abdominal muscles and lift your stretched legs until your hips begin to lift off the floor. Once you reach this point, slowly lower your legs and start again.

Exercise 11 - Russian Twist with the medicine ball
In principle, the Russian Twist with a medicine ball works similarly to its counterpart with a barbell. Sit on the floor and take a medicine ball with a weight of your choice in both hands. Then bend back slightly and extend your arms with the medicine ball. Now proceed as in the classic Russian Twist and rotate your torso from left to right in a controlled manner.

Exercise 12 - Mountain Climber on the Medicine Ball
This exercise is a variation of the classic Mountain Climber, also known as the mountain climber. Pick up a medicine ball and support yourself on it with both hands while alternately tightening your knees. Again, the instability caused by the ball adds muscle tension.

Exercise 13 - Pike to Superman
To perform this exercise, you will need an exercise ball on which you place your feet while getting into the starting position of the push-up. Now roll your body up by tightening your feet until your upper body is almost vertical to the floor. From this position, roll back down and start again.

Exercise 14 - Plank
The classic plank is similar to a push-up in that you lean on your arms and hold this position for as long as possible. For best results, make sure to tighten your abdominal muscles throughout the entire exercise.

Exercise 15 - Pull Up to Knee Raise
This exercise is a combination of the pull-up and the knee lift. The starting position is the same as the pull-up in the overhand grip. Now pull yourself up until your chin is level with the bar. Then slowly pull your knees up and release them again slowly and in a controlled manner.

Exercise 16 - Pushup Rocket
The so-called Pushup Rocket is nothing more than an explosively executed pushup, in which the upper body is catapulted upwards as quickly as possible, so that during this phase you can clap your hands.

Exercise 17 - Reverse Crunch with training band
Loop the exercise band around your feet and grasp the two free ends with your hands. In the starting position, tighten your legs and hold your hands in front of your chest. From this position, extend your arms and legs until maximum extension is reached. Once this point is reached, return to the starting position.

Exercise 18 - Rollout with the exercise ball
This exercise works the same way as the Barbell Rollout, except that an exercise ball is used instead of the dumbbell. Here, too, the instability provides an additional training load.

Exercise 19 - Knee stretches with the medicine ball
Sit longways on a bench and clamp a medicine ball between your feet. Then lean back slightly and pull your knees toward your chest. From this position, extend your legs and hold the tension for two to three seconds.

Exercise 20 - Side Plank
In the Side Plank, the training focus is on the lateral abdominal muscles. Lean sideways on your forearm and position your legs over each other. Then lift your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line. Hold this position as long as you can.

Exercise 21 - The Sprinter
To perform the sprinter, you will need foot slings that you can attach to a power rack, for example. Place your feet in the slings and assume the basic push-up position. Then pull your knees up alternately so that it looks like you are sprinting.

Exercise 22 - Sit Up and Throw
This is another combination exercise that trains your motor skills at the same time. Strictly speaking, you perform a normal sit up, but you hold a ball in front of your chest, which you throw against a wall at the apex of the movement. Now you try to catch the ball again and then return to the starting position.

Exercise 23 - Star Plank
The Star Plank differs from the Standard Plank in that you extend your arms and legs so that you more or less mimic the shape of a star. Hold the position as long as you can and tighten your abdominal muscles.

Exercise 24 - Sit ups with the barbell
If you like your sit ups a little more challenging, you should try the following exercise for the abs. Take a barbell with a comparatively light weight and lie on the floor as if you were going to do a set of bench presses. While you lift the weight, keep your legs straight on the floor and straighten your upper body. The exercise is easier if you tuck your legs under a dumbbell or bench.

Exercise 25 - Suitcase Deadlift
The Suitcase Deadlift mimics picking up a heavy suitcase on one side, so that your lateral abdominal muscles in particular are put under a lot of strain. To do this, stand next to a barbell loaded with an appropriate training weight and perform one repetition with one arm. The movement is the same as in the classic deadlift, except that your abdominal muscles on the opposite side of the body have to resist hard.

Exercise 26 - Swiss Ball Plank Circle
In the Swiss Ball Plank Circle, you get into the push-up position on an exercise ball. Now lean on one forearm, tighten your abdominal muscles and start moving the ball in a circle with your elbows.

Exercise 27 - Swiss Ball V-Up
In the course of this exercise, you lie flat on your back and clamp an exercise ball between your legs. Now fold your arms and legs outstretched like a jackknife and grasp the ball with your hands. With the ball between your outstretched arms, return to the starting position and repeat the whole sequence the other way around.

Exercise 28 - Medicine Ball V-Up
This exercise corresponds to the Swiss Ball V-Up in terms of execution.

Exercise 29 - Sit ups with extra weight
To make sit ups a little more challenging for your abs, you can use weight plates as additional weights. Hold them at about the same height as your chest and perform the exercise normally.

Exercise 30 - Woodchops in kneeling
Kneel sideways with one leg in front of the pulley, which should be locked at a height of about 1.5 meters. Now grasp the handle with both hands and pull the rope diagonally downward. Once you have completed a full set, switch sides.