My ABS Workout! - Scott Herman

I thought it was time I shared with you the current routine I am doing that’s been helping me smash my abs, and keep my 6-pack looking strong! Genetically I actually only have a 4-pack, but Superman has a 4-pack and he’s the strongest being in the universe, so that pretty much makes 4-packs the best! I have made videos in the past specifically about building Blocky Abs, so you can check out the article and video for that here on MuscularStrength.com.

For this routine, you’re going to be performing three exercises, 3 – 5 sets per exercise, and only resting 60 seconds between sets. There are also beginner exercises included, so anybody can do this routine. Let’s take a quick look at how this routine will work.

My Ab Workout

1. Leg-Lift Triple: (3 – 5 sets: 8 Middle/8 Left/8 Right reps)
   Alternate: Floor Wiper
   
   
2. Ab Pulldown: (3 – 5 sets: 15 reps)
   Alternate: Weighted Sit-Up
   
   
3. Standing Dumbbell Oblique Crunch: (3 – 5 sets: 20 reps per side)
   Alternate: Floor Side Oblique Crunch

Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Exercise #1: Leg-Lift Triple

The way you’re going to perform this movement is you’re going to be suspended in the air, hanging by your hands. Then what you’re going to do is keep your core tight, flex your glutes, and lift your legs up once in the middle, then come back down to the starting position. You’ll then lift up once to the left, go back to the starting position, and then lift them up once to the right before returning to the starting position. You shouldn’t be using much momentum or doing much swinging when doing these reps, and keep in mind that you are doing 8 reps for each version. That means 8 reps in the middle, 8 reps to the left and 8 reps to the right. Once you complete all those repetitions (a total of 24 reps), that completes one set of this exercise.

It’s really intense, and even if you can’t do all those repetitions in a row, but you still want to give this movement a try, just do as many as you can. If you can only do 3 at a time, just do 3, jump down and rest, jump back up and do 3 more, jump down and rest, and just keep doing that until you get stronger and can handle all the reps in a row.

Alternate #1: Floor Wiper

If you can’t even attempt to do leg-lift triples yet, the variation for this is going to be a floor wiper. For this, you can either hold onto something sturdy, or you can grab a barbell and hold that above you (kind of as if you were doing a bench press on the floor), and utilise the weight of the barbell to stabilise your body as you follow the same movement pattern. So, you’ll lift your legs up to the middle, then go back down, go all the way to the left, come back to the middle, then all the way to the right, and back to the middle, completing this 8 times. You should be aiming to keep your heels as close to the floor as possible throughout your repetitions for this movement, but not letting them touch the ground. Do your best to keep your legs suspended in the air as much as possible.

Exercise #2: Ab Pulldown

I recently did a video and article going over the Dumbest Mistakes when performing this movement, so if you have a hard time with proper form, take a look at that before attempting this routine. Basically for this exercise, you’re going to load up as much weight as you possibly can while focusing on getting a full contraction on every single rep. Get a nice big stretch at the top, a nice deep contraction at the bottom, and try to breath all the air out of your system as you crunch down.

You’ll also notice with this movement that you’re trying to keep your hips in once place. The only areas you should really feel this movement is your ABS. If you’re starting to feel it in your hips, it means you’re swinging too much back and forth, and you’re not performing the movement correctly. You’re going to do 15 reps as heavy as you can, and that’s going to complete 1 set.

Alternate #2: Weighted Sit-Up

If you don’t have access to a cable machine, or you have a hard time with ab pulldowns, you can swap it out for a weighted sit-up. Try to find a place where you can lock your toes in to hold them down, or have a friend stand on them, and then utilize that to keep you in place while you hold a small plate behind your head, and perform 15 weighted sit-ups.

Exercise #3: Standing Dumbbell Oblique Crunch

For this movement, you’re going to be doing 20 repetitions PER SIDE, so a total of 40 reps. What you’re going to do is grab a dumbbell, hold as much weight as you can handle for those 20 reps, and then really focus on crunching as far down as you can to the side that’s holding the dumbbell. Then as you come up, don’t stop when you’re standing straight up and down, you want to also crunch to the other side, even though the primary focus is the side that you’re holding the dumbbell on.

Once you complete 20 reps on one side, you can switch hands and do the 20 reps on the other side. Another added note here is if you want to use a wrist strap to hold the dumbbell, that’s totally fine to do. You’re not trying to work your forearms here, so if you’re having a hard time holding onto the weight (maybe it’s the end of the workout and your hands are tired), just get a wrist strap, tie it to the dumbbell, and you’re good to go.

Alternate #3: Floor Side Oblique Crunch

If you’ve never done this exercise before, it might take you a few tries to figure it out, but basically what you’re going to do is you’re going to lay on your side, laying on your forearm. Once in position you’re going to elevate your body (kind of like you do on a side plank), and from there you’re going to dip your hips as close to the floor as you possibly can. Once they basically touch the floor, you’re going to extend your hips to the ceiling as high as you can. You’re going to repeat that for 20 reps PER SIDE.

Conclusion

Obviously nutrition and body fat percentage will play a major role here. However, even if you have a thick layer of fat, you don’t want to ignore your abs because if you do, once the fat is gone your abs will not look good. So utilize a routine like this to start building blocky abs, so when the fat is gone, your well-deserved 6-pack that you’ve worked ever so hard for will be revealed. It’s that easy!