A Top Trainer Shares His Advice for Getting Visible Lower Abs

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In a new video on the Athlean-X channel, strength coach Jeff Cavaliere CSCS runs through a series of exercises that target those stubborn lower abs and can help you take your four-pack to a six-pack, using bottom-up rather than top-down movements. He explains that a classic bodyweight crunch move, like crunches, is top-down, as it focuses on moving your upper body, when what you need is to bring your lower body up to find the bottom. upper half, as this is what engages those lower abdominal muscle fibers.

Cavaliere starts with a reverse crunch variation, advising you to flatten your back. This creates a posterior pelvic tilt, which activates the lower abdominal muscles. A good way to check if you’re doing this is to try to get your hands under your lower back: if there’s enough room there, you’ve got too much forward lean.

And finally, this move is ideally done with a 90-degree bend at the knees and hips. If you want to make it a bit more challenging, increase that angle at the hips and extend your legs further. Alternatively, you can bring your knees closer to your chest. “The key is that once you’ve established the angle you’re going to use, you have to hold it there and then move your pelvis and legs together as one unit,” says Cavaliere. Again, to make sure he’s lifting his lower body enough, he can slide his hands under to touch each rep; this also prolongs the amount of time his legs are up, which increases the time under tension for the abs.

Another move Cavaliere recommends is sitting knee bends, but you want to lift your tailbone completely off the ground and make sure your knees are high. “You’re looking to create that same posterior pelvic tilt, because that’s what’s going to engage those lower abs,” he says.

Cavaliere also suggests a knee board slide, an exercise similar to mountain climbing but once again puts the body into that backbend by having you lift your knee at the top of each rep.

However, he adds, there’s a limit to the impact you can have in that area in terms of fat loss and muscle building with this approach alone, if you don’t push yourself when it comes to your nutrition as well. Because as the tried and true saying goes: abs are made in the kitchen.