Abdominal Exercises Using Weights

Weighted ab training has emerged as a healthy alternative to the old standby of performing a thousand sit-ups with nothing more than body weight resistance. While many people may assume that weight ab training is nothing more than slapping a dumbbell across your chest while grinding out endless sit-ups and crunches, there are many more effective exercises.

  1. Why Add Resistance?

    • The primary reason for adding resistance to your standard ab routine is the same reason you add resistance to any other muscle group on the body -- to increase the challenge and force adaptations through progressive overload. The abs are a muscle group like any other, and the best way to gain in strength and muscle tone is to add resistance.

    Traditional Weighted Exercises

    • By using a weight plate, dumbbell or medicine ball, many exercises can be made more challenging and effective. This works best with ab exercises like sit-ups, crunches, decline sit-ups and straight-leg sit-ups. It can, however, also work for exercises like knee and leg raises, by either adding ankle weights or holding a medicine ball between the feet.

      When adding weight, aim for fewer target reps. Six to twelve reps per set will keep you in the hypertrophy zone for quality muscle development. Choose a weight that is challenging but still allows you to work through a full range of motion for all of your desired repetitions. Aim to increase repetitions or weight each week to ensure continued progress.

    Nontraditional Weighted Exercises

    • Adding resistance also opens the possibility of challenging your abs in new and innovative ways. Use the cable machine to take your abdominal workouts to the next level. By using the cables to create new pushing, pulling and twisting motor patterns, the abs are forced to contract and stabilize the body in new ways, further accelerating their development.