Upper Abs Workout: The 15 Best Upper Abs Exercises For A 6-Pack

If your current abs workout isn’t getting you the results you want or you’re tired of doing the same moves on repeat, then it’s time to level up your abs exercises. And by “up, I meant specifically working your upper abs. Sure it’s important to keep your entire core strong by doing a wide variety of exercises, but your upper abs, or rectus abdominis, offer big rewards.

“Training your upper abs (the six pack muscles) is important because it’s an essential portion of your core that is in charge of bending and straightening the torso,” says Danyele Wilson, CPT, a certified personal trainer and EvolveYou trainer. “From a performance standpoint, training your upper abs and obliques will help you develop a strong and stable core which keeps your spine neutral during big lifts, and allows you to transfer power between the lower and upper half more efficiently.”

Meet the experts: Tatiana Firpo, CPT, is a certified personal trainer and director of training for Fit Hit. Danyele Wilson, CPT, is a certified personal trainer and EvolveYou trainer.

You can’t truly isolate your upper abs from your lower abs (when you engage your core, you’ll naturally work both!), but exercises that bring the chest to the pelvis or rib cage down to the hips are going to especially engage the upper abs, says Wilson. “[Upper abs] are actually the most frequently targeted muscles when training core due to the large surface area.”

Though the exercises in this upper abs workout do work your entire core (it’s all connected!), they’ll especially fire up that top half of your rectus abdominis and help achieve that six pack goal, if that’s on your list.

Time: 20–25 minutes | Equipment: mat, light weight (optional) | Good for: upper abs (rectus abdominis)

Instructions: Complete three or four rounds of the following four circuits. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, then immediately continue to the next exercise in the circuit. Once you’ve completed the circuit, rest for 15 to 30 seconds, then repeat two or three more times. At the end of each circuit, rest for 60 seconds and proceed to the next circuit. Repeat until finished.