The 10 Best Abs Workouts for Beginners

These abs workouts for beginners will strengthen your core and increase stability — all while scoring you a six pack.

Just because you’re new to working out (and your abdominals are hiding behind a layer of fat) doesn’t mean your abs workouts need to be relegated to a middle school regimen of situps. For one thing, crunches aren’t really doing anything for your six-pack. Abs-only routines aren’t a great idea, either—you can’t just spot-train your way to glorious washboard abs. So: If thousands of crunches aren’t the answer, then how the hell do you get a six-pack?

“For starters, sustaining a caloric deficit, training the whole body consistently with challenging intensities, eliminating booze, and sleeping more will have a bigger impact on the summer six-pack,” says Lucas Dunham, a performance specialist at EXOS. “Core exercises, however, can be catalysts for more frequent, intense training sessions.”

And when it comes to core exercises, it’s best to aim for compound exercises, which force your core to work in tandem with other large muscle groups.

The following 10 exercises are a mix of both abs-focused exercises (like the classic plank) and compound exercises that also work your abs (like the farmer’s carry). As long as you focus on engaging your abs throughout the move, you’ll feel that deep abdominal burn on your way to a concrete core. And once you become more experienced, you can put the finishing touches on your physique by focusing on the abdominal V, shredded obliques, and a carved serratus. Choose five moves, then mix and match to create abs workouts that’ll have your core quivering in no time. Try 1-3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Here are the 10 best abs exercises for beginners.

1. High-tension plank

Why it’s effective: The plank is one of the most common core exercises, ever, but most guys get it wrong. Creating tension in your abs primes your body to maximally contract all of its muscles. “This is a very useful ability when sprinting, jumping, and lifting weights,” Dunham says.

How to do it: Get onto all fours and prop yourself up on your forearms. “Turn your palms up toward the sky, keeping your thumbs on the ground, and form a straight line from your head to your heels,” Dunham says. Squeeze your glutes and quads, which will draw your knees up and prevent sagging. “Brace your core as if you were expecting a kick to the stomach, and press your forearms into the ground,” he adds. Once you feel everything tighten, squeeze even harder and take big, deliberate breaths as you plank. To increase the challenge, squeeze harder and exhale more air with each breath as you hold the position.

When to do it: “Utilize the high-tension plank at the end of your daily warmup, or between sets of compound strength movements like squats, rows, presses, and deadlifts,” Dunham says. Perform 3-4 sets of 10-second holds in your warmup, or one 10-second hold between heavy strength exercises.

2. Deadbug

Why it’s effective: “The core plays a big role in helping you move your limbs while stabilizing your spine—an incredibly important prerequisite for most strength-training exercises,” Dunham says. The deadbug protects your lower back mid-movement and keeps you from wasting any energy.

How to do it: Lie on your back, with your hips and knees bent to 90°. Raise both arms toward the ceiling. Pull your lower back to the floor to eliminate the gap. Start by pressing one leg out, and tapping the heel to the floor. “As you extend one leg, exhale as much as you can, keeping your lower back glued to the floor,” Dunham says. When you can’t exhale any more, pull your knee back to the starting position. Make this more difficult by holding weight in your hands, or by lowering opposite arm and leg.

When to do it: Add deadbug variations to your daily warmup, and really master the movement, he suggests. Perform 2-3 sets of four reps each side at the beginning of every workout.

3. Bear crawl

Why it’s effective: “As toddlers, crawling taught us how to have integrity in the shoulders and hips, and how to really use the core when we move,” Dunham says; it can have the same benefit in adulthood, too. “Bear crawls are great for conditioning, finishers, and warmups.”

How to do it: Get down on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under hips. Pick your knees up an inch or two off the ground—you’re not sticking your butt in the air, so stay low. Keep your chest pushed away from the floor, as if to avoid something sharp from poking you in the sternum. Raise your head so you’re just looking in front of you, and start to move forward, using opposite arms and legs. “Try to float with each step, and breathe comfortably,” Dunham says. Ramp up the intensity by moving in multiple directions, and increasing your speed.

When to do it: Add bear crawls into your warmups on upper-body days, Dunham suggests. About two sets of 30 seconds will be enough to create torso and shoulder awareness, while 3-5 sets will work your conditioning. “The bear crawl is great as a finisher because it’s almost impossible to do it without using your core, even when fatigued,” Dunham says.

4. Slow-motion mountain climbers

Why it’s effective: “Controlled hip flexion with a neutral torso is a great way to target deep core musculature, as well as boost runs, lifts, and jumps,” Dunham says. Slowing down the speed of mountain climbers will intensify its challenge on your core.

How to do it: Hold a pushup position with your feet on sliding discs. “Squeeze your glutes hard to lock in your hips and lower back,” Dunham says. “Create tension through your legs by pulling your belly button up toward your chin, and your knees up to your chest,” he adds. Slowly pull one knee toward your chest, without letting your torso or hips drop, then slowly extend that leg back to a pushup position. Repeat on the other leg. Each rep should be a 3:3 tempo—three seconds in, three seconds out. “Sync your breath with the movement: A slow exhale as you pull the knee in, then an inhale to reset in the pushup position,” he says.

When to do it: “This core exercise is a great active recovery in a circuit-style conditioning workout,” Dunham says. “Pair this exercise with a sprint, or something fast-paced, as it’ll allow your heart rate to come down, while still providing a tough stimulus for the core.”

5. Loaded carries

Why it’s effective: Loaded carries are great at improving your postural integrity (i.e. straight spine, strong core), and they’re extremely practical outside of the gym, Dunham says: “Loaded carries are good for conditioning, or as an abs move that trains your core to brace when performing high-intensity movements.”

How to do it: Pick up two kettlebells or two dumbbells as if you were performing a heavy deadlift: Hinge at the hips, bend at the knees, and brace your core to protect your back. “Once in the top position, walk slowly and fight the urge to rush, shrug, slouch, or lean forward,” Dunham says. You can do the exercise with two weights (called a “farmer’s walk” or “farmer’s carry”), or it can be loaded unilaterally (often called a “suitcase” carry).

When to do it: “For the best results, perform heavy loaded carries two times a week as a finisher or in your main strength work,” Dunham says. Pick a load heavy enough that you can’t carry it for a minute. Carry the weight for 3-5 sets, with 1-2 minutes rest in between sets. Perform light carries daily as a quick warmup.

6. Reverse crunch

Why it’s effective: Doing lots of exercises like crunches and situps after sitting all day long can result in poor posture, tight hip flexors, and lower-back issues, Dunham says. But flexion is still an important part of movement, and reverse crunches offer a more optimal result.

How to do it: Lie on your back with something stable and heavy like a bench at arm’s length behind your head. Position yourself so that when you hold on to it, your arms are completely outstretched. Bend your knees and plant your feet. Press your lower back into the floor. “Exhale, and, as you breathe out, slowly start to pull your knees in toward your chest, curling your pelvis off the floor,” Dunham says. “Your breath should dictate the speed of the exercise.” As you inhale, slowly roll back to the starting position.

When to do it: “The reverse crunch is an effective way to reset your hips before a lower-body training session,” Dunham says. “Additionally, the drill trains the lower abs to take some of the burden off your hip flexors.”

7. Hollow-body hold

Why it works: Hollow-body holds are excellent for carving your physique and forging back strength, Dunham says. They can also help you get better at pullups.

How to do it: Lie on your back with your arms and legs extended. “Brace the front of your core like a shield, and try to pull your belly button up to your chin,” Dunham says. “Lift your arms and legs off the ground, then pull your toes toward your shins and your kneecaps toward your hips.” Keep this tension.

When to do it: Do hollow-body holds on days you train back or upper body (i.e. when you do pulling movements), Dunham says. Perform 3-4 hollow-body holds for 10 seconds at the beginning of your session to prime your core.

9. Abs rollout

Why it works: Kneeling rollouts are essentially tougher versions of hollow-body holds. Rollouts are a challenging way to improve the quality of your pullup, too.

How to do it: Get down on your hands and knees. Hold an ab wheel or barbell with plates, or place sliders under your hands. Push your chest up away from the floor until you’re slightly rounded in the upper back. Pull in your belly button and squeeze your glutes. Slowly start to lower yourself by moving your hands forward. Keep your elbows slightly bent, and shoulders down away from your ears. Only roll out as far forward as you can while maintaining tension on your abs. (If you go too far, your hips will drop and lower back will absorb the tension from your abs.) Slowly pull your hands back to you to reset, maintaining a squeeze in the hips.

When: Add this as a warm-up before pullups, or use instead of pullups if you’re still developing the strength to get one. Keep the volume pretty low, about 2-3 sets of five reps, 1-2 days per week.

10. Hanging knee raise

Why it’s effective: Rock climbers have incredibly strong cores. Your ability to control your legs and torso when hanging is a great way to get your core stronger quickly.

How to do it: Hang from a bar. Use an overhand grip. Squeeze a rolled towel or a pad between your knees hard. Slowly start to curl your knees up. Breathe out fully when you bring your knees up. Slowly lower your legs, using your core to control the downward movement.

When to do it: Perform 1-2 sets of each as a general warm-up, and implement daily for best results. For the hanging crunch, perform sets of 5-6 slow reps. For the heel hooks, try to get 1-2 sets of four controlled reps per side.