If you want muscular abs fast, you must be willing to make sacrifices and be disciplined. Your best bet is to do resisted exercises and work your abdomen from multiple angles and with multiple movement patterns. This will ensure that you maximize muscle recruitment. The other part of this plan is to melt away any fat that is on your stomach. If you fail to do this, your muscular abs will never be seen.
Step 1
Jog lightly for five minutes, then perform interval training. Run as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then jog for 60 seconds. Alternate back and forth for 20 minutes and finish with a light five-minute jog to cool down. Interval training causes a high caloric expenditure, according to MayoClinic.com. As an added benefit, you have to forcefully contract your abs to generate power while running.
Step 2
Fasten ankle weights to your lower legs to do hanging leg-hip raises on a pull-up bar. Grasp the bar with a shoulder-width, overhand grip and let your legs hang straight down. Keep your upper body still as you lift your legs, bend your knees and tuck them into your chest. Squeeze your abs forcefully for a second, lower your legs and repeat.
Step 3
Execute a set of side bends with a dumbbell. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the weight in your left hand. Place your right hand on your hip and bend laterally to your left side as you lower the weight down. Bend back up to your starting position, repeat another set and switch sides.
Step 4
Grab a heavy medicine ball to do seated trunk rotations. Sit on the floor with your knees slightly bent and heels on the floor. Hold the medicine ball in front of your chest and lean back slightly. Rotate your torso to your right side as far as possible, then rotate to your left side. Alternate back and forth in a steady motion.
Step 5
Lie face-up on a stability ball to do a pullover to crunch. Position your body so your lower back is contacting the ball and your shoulders and head are slightly lifted. Hold a dumbbell by the ends and extend your arms straight behind your head. Move the weight to your chest and lift your torso forward. Squeeze your abs forcefully, slowly return to the starting point and repeat.
Step 6
Perform an abdominal hold with ankle weights fastened to your lower legs. Sit on a sturdy chair and grasp the front edge with your hands close to your hips. Keep your knees bent as you lift your body into the air. Your feet should be about 6 inches from the floor at this point. Hold as long as possible and slowly lower yourself back down.
Tips and Warnings
- Aim for 12 to 15 reps of each exercise except abdominal holds. Perform four or five sets of each exercise and work out three days a week on the off days of your interval training.
Things You'll Need
- Ankle weights
- Pull-up bar
- Dumbbell
- Medicine ball
- Stability ball
- Chair
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