In a new video on the Athlean-X channel, strength coach Jeff Cavaliere shares some simple and immediately applicable tips on how to make your workouts more effective when training your abs.
First of all, be honest with yourself and admit that your goal is driven, at least in part, by aesthetics and fitness. And that means doing workouts specifically dedicated to training the abs and obliques, rather than simply performing heavy lifts and other exercises where the core is relegated to a stabilizing role. “Just doing the auxiliary work through the big lifts isn’t enough to get your abs into the peak shape you want,” he says.
Likewise, don’t do your abdominal exercises at the end of a lifting workout, as you’ll be too fatigued. “The quality of the contraction is more important to abdominal training than anything else you do in the gym,” says Cavaliere, who recommends doing your abdominal work in their own separate time.
He also warns that in a set of abdominal exercises, it’s easy to let other muscles step in and do more work, like the hip flexors. It’s important to focus on performing each movement with good form to ensure pressure stays on your abs. As Cavaliere says: “Stop counting reps and make your reps count.”
Another way to get the most out of your ab workouts is to limit the amount of time you spend resting between sets, keeping it to no more than 30 seconds to increase the amount of strain and fatigue you’re putting on those muscles. And don’t forget to end that workout with an abdominal stretch.
And finally, Cavaliere wants to remind you that nutrition is just as important as exercise when it comes to achieving muscle definition here. “Whether you see your abs or not, it’s really a body fat accumulation issue,” he says. “The best way to get rid of body fat is to be in a caloric deficit, so make sure you eat right.”
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