EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Abs and Core Strengthening Exercises

Target your abs, obliques, and lower back support muscles with core exercises that build stability, enhance strength, and improve athletic performance.

Best Abs and Core Exercises

Recommended by Nurudeen Tijani (Bodybuilder and Pain Relief Fitness Coach)

I’ve been lifting weights for over 10 years, and I’ve personally performed every exercise below to build strength and transform my body. You can see my results. The recommended abs and core exercises below work—and you can find full instructions and video demonstrations in the JEFIT Exercise Library.

Plank: A core stability exercise where you hold your body in a straight line, supported by your forearms and toes, engaging your entire core.
Hanging Leg Raises: An advanced core exercise performed by hanging from a bar and lifting your legs toward your torso to work the lower abs and hip flexors.
Russian Twists: A rotational exercise done in a seated position, where you twist your torso from side to side, often holding a weight, targeting the obliques.
Bicycle Crunches: A dynamic crunch variation where you bring one knee and the opposite elbow together while extending the other leg, effectively working the upper and lower abs as well as the obliques.
Mountain Climbers: A fast-paced, full-body exercise where you alternate bringing your knees to your chest from a plank position, challenging both your abs and cardiovascular endurance.
Cable Woodchoppers: A rotational exercise using a cable machine, where you pull the cable diagonally across your body, focusing on core strength and oblique activation.
Ab Wheel Rollouts: Using an ab wheel, you roll forward and back from your knees or toes, engaging your core and lats to control the movement.
Weighted Decline Sit-Ups: Performed on a decline bench with a weight, this movement targets the upper abs by adding resistance to a traditional sit-up.
Side Planks: A stability exercise where you hold your body on one side, supported by one forearm and feet, targeting the obliques.
Dead Bug: A core stability exercise where you lie on your back and extend one arm and the opposite leg simultaneously, engaging the entire core.
Reverse Crunches: A movement focusing on the lower abs, where you lie on your back and lift your hips off the ground as you bring your knees toward your chest. This is my favorite ab exercise.
V-Ups: An advanced ab exercise where you lie on your back and simultaneously lift your legs and torso to form a “V” shape, targeting the upper and lower abs. This is another personal favorite.
L-Sit: A static hold exercise performed on the floor or with parallel bars, where you lift your legs straight out in front of you, requiring strong core and hip flexor engagement.
Flutter Kicks: A core exercise where you lie on your back and alternate kicking your legs up and down, working the lower abs and hip flexors.
Hollow Body Hold: A core stability hold where you lie on your back, lifting your arms and legs off the ground while keeping your back pressed down, engaging the entire core.

Helpful Tip: Do you feel shoulder, elbow, back, hip, or knee pain when doing ab or core exercises?

Discover TitaniumPhysique — a self-treatment program athletes use to eliminate weight training injuries, with a 98% user satisfaction rate.

Disclaimer: (1) Fitness results vary by individual effort, as such, individual results may vary; (2) We use Microsoft Clarity on our website to ensure you have the best possible browsing experience. Our privacy policy has more details.