Even though you work your abs hard and perform solid, effective exercises, sometimes your development will hit a plateau. But as Arnold Schwarzenegger explains in "The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding," strong abs are essential for performing any athletic act. If you're adventurous and can toss-out your preconceived notions of what an ab exercise should look like, you can restart your abdominal progress.
Press Sit-Up
The press sit-up is a bench press and decline sit-up in one. It's easiest to perform with a partner, who can hand the barbell to you. To perform a press sit-up, lie back on a decline bench and lower the barbell to your chest. Press it up, and as you do, sit up, so that at the top of the movement you're holding the barbell overhead. Lie back in a controlled manner and bring the barbell back to your chest. Perform sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Plate Twist
The plate twist is a variation on an exercise you've probably seen people performing on a fitness ball. The difference is, the plate twist is even less stable, so that it engages all your core muscles. Hold a plate and sit up until your torso is at about a 45 degree angle with the ground. Cross your ankles and lift your legs with your knees bent, so that you're balancing only on your butt. Hold the plate a few inches from your chest, and twist to either side, trying to touch the plate to each side as you go. After a few plate twist reps, you'll find that it's very difficult to maintain stability, but this will get better as you progress. The fact that both your legs and torso are raised means that you're utilizing both your lower and upper abdominals, and by twisting you're hitting your obliques. You must twist to each side to complete one rep. Perform sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Barbell Rollout
To perform a barbell rollout, you must already possess strong abdominals and a strong back. It's a difficult maneuver, but one that will test and build your lower abdominal strength like no other exercise. Besides strength, barbell rollouts requires good hamstring flexibility. Place an Olympic barbell with a plate on either side on the ground. Bend at the waist and grab it with your hands approximately shoulder-width apart. Roll forward, keeping the barbell directly under your shoulders. Once your torso is straight, crunch your abs and roll back up to a standing position. Perform barbell rollouts in sets of eight to 12 reps.
Windshield Wipers
Windshield wipers will strengthen all of your abdominals, but especially your obliques. Lie on your back on an exercise mat. Keeping your legs straight, lift them until they are perpendicular to the ground. Place your arms straight out to your sides, palms down, to stabilize yourself. Rock your legs from side to side, getting as close to the ground as you can, but not touching. A more difficult variation of the windshield wiper is to hold onto a pull-up bar and raise your body parallel to the ground, then lift your legs and rotate back and forth. Perform sets of 10 or more reps.
Turkish Get-Up
The Turkish get-up is probably one of the most unusual abdominal exercises out there, but it will build practical strength. Lie on the ground and hold a dumbbell straight up over yourself in your left hand. Place your right hand and the sole of your left foot on the ground. Keeping the dumbbell in your left hand straight in the air, roll up to a kneeling position on your right hand and your right knee. Stand the rest of the way up, still holding the weight over your head. Set the weight on the ground and perform the exercise while holding the weight in your right hand. Be very careful to concentrate on keeping the dumbbell straight up, because if it drifts you can lose control of it. A kettlebell makes it much easier to balance the weight. Perform as many reps of the Turkish get-up as you safely can.
References
- "The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding"; Arnold Schwarzenegger; 1998
- Dragon Door: The Turkish Get-Up for Total Body Power
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