Nasty Ab Training

At some point, you’ll need to add resistance to your ab training to build an actual six-pack. And if you’re like most (somewhat masochistic) lifters, you also probably like that burning feeling you get after a ton of reps. Ab exercises just aren’t satisfying without a strong mind-muscle connection. Drop sets for abs can help you achieve both. You’ll start with a heavier weight or percentage of your own bodyweight, then drop to something a little easier and continue until you reach near-technical failure. Here are five cruel ideas to get the juices flowing. 1 – “Lower” Ab Blast A1. Decline Bench Garhammer Crunch x 8-15 A2. Flat Garhammer Raise x AMGRAP Do three rounds of these. What does AMGRAP mean? As many GOOD reps as possible. Don’t keep cranking away with bad form. Garhammer raise variations are great for hitting the function of the lower portion of your rectus abdominis, working it hard in its active range (through posterior pelvic tilt). They were invented by sports scientist John Garhammer, PhD, and popularized by the late Charles Poliquin. Using them as a drop-set is a good way to combine a more challenging, higher load variation with an easier version. This means you’ll hit the golden rep range for building those abs, achieve a longer time under tension, and fatigue more motor units. If these are too easy, then straighten your knees more. You can also vary the incline of the bench (more incline = harder). Be sure to keep your toes pointed inwards and focus on working the active range at the top – think butt off floor. 2 – Athletic Obliques A1. Cable Chop (left): 8-12 A2. Cable Tight Chop (left): AMGRAP Rest 30 seconds A3. Cable Chop (right): 8-12 A4. Cable Tight Chop (right): AMGRAP Only rest between A2 and A3. Go straight from one set to the next. Then rest as needed before you start the whole thing all over again. Do three rounds. Cable chop variations are some of the most effective exercises for building an athletic midsection, making your abs as athletic and strong as they look. Chops help build an efficient power transfer between your lower and upper body, meaning they’re great for athletes. Adding rotation to your training is a must if you want a good set of obliques. Start with your standard cable chop setup. Keeping your elbows straight throughout, swipe the cable horizontally. Engage your core and hips in a powerful transfer of movement (think of the whip of a baseball swing). Once you’ve completed your set on one side, continue the set by “dropping” to a stronger chop position. A “tight” chop simply means your elbows are going to come in tight to your ribs. By bending your elbows and bringing the cable in you’ll be able to lift more weight, or in this case get in a few more reps. Complete a drop-set on one side before switching to the other. 3 – Leveled-Up Planks A1. Iso Row Plank (left): 10-30 seconds A2. 3-Point Plank (left): 10-30 seconds Rest 30 seconds A3. Iso Row Plank (right): 10-30 seconds A4. 3-Point Plank (right): 10-30 seconds Rest for just 30 seconds between A2 and A3, but for everything else go straight from one set to the next. Then after A4, rest as needed before you start the whole thing all over again. Do three rounds. Are you still busting out traditional planks like your life depends on it? Well, hovering a few inches off the floor on all four limbs probably isn’t going to get you where you want to be. Sure, the plank is one of the most basic of core exercises to develop muscular endurance. And while there’s a lot of evidence this can help you with low-back pain and posture, most of life doesn’t happen planted statically on your toes and elbows. Try increasing the intensity of your planks by adding load and throwing in an anti-rotation component. Resisting extension and rotation will carry over far better to just about everything, from walking to landing a right hook. It’ll also hit those obliques and QL’s (quadratus lumborum) harder too. With an iso plank row, using a wider stance will allow you to use more weight, but feel free to go narrower if you’re chasing more instability. Start with the weight, drop it, then keep holding. It’s that simple. 4 – Ab Rollouts… But Harder A1. Banded Ab Rollout: 6-10 A2. Ab Rollout: AMGRAP Do three rounds and use a band you trust! It’s hard to beat an ab wheel rollout. It’s crazy how something that looks like it belongs on a late-night shopping channel has now become a staple in many strength and conditioning programs. Rollouts require a strong eccentric “braking” action on the way down to eliminate a face plant. Then it requires a co-contraction of your abs, obliques, transverse abs and lats to execute in full. The only downside is the loss of tension and reduced difficulty at the top versus the bottom of a rollout. It’s much harder at the bottom. And while you could technically do a drop-set starting with a weighted vest, or even starting on your toes, using a resistance band helps accommodate
Origin: Nasty Ab Training