The Best Advanced Ab Exercises

If you’ve been training for at least a few years, or even decades, you’ve most likely tried everything and know what works best for you to see results. Training routines can get stale and you can find it harder to challenge yourself and stay motivated. If you’re looking to add some new exercises to your training plan then give some of these great ab exercises a go. They’ll work all of your core and will be challenging, whatever your level!

Spiderman Plank

These will tighten your core and place an emphasis on the obliques. Start in a normal plank position with your forearms on the ground and your body perfectly straight. Bring your right knee forward towards your right elbow, then return to the plank position and do it again with the other side.

L-Sit

These are usually done with a pair of parallettes but if you don’t have any you can also use vertical bars, a dipping station or just on the floor. Lift and hold yourself up with your arms extended. Extend your legs straight out in front of you as straight as possible so you form an L-shape. If you can, hold it for a few seconds and lower your arms and legs back into the starting position.

Plank Kick Through

Another plank progression for the experts. Start in in a high plank position. In one sweeping motion, rotate your body to the left and kick your right leg through. Using your left arm, touch your hand to your toe. Bring your hand and foot back to high plank position and repeat on the opposite side.

Wall Plank

This one is a bit like a normal plank but harder! Get into an elevated plank close to a wall and keep moving back with your feet going up the wall until you form a flat, horizontal line from heels to head. You’ll feel your core work overtime to stabilise your body as you hold the position as long as you can!

Hanging Leg Raise (strict- toes to bar)

These are a progression for normal hanging leg raises. Whilst hanging from a pull-up bar, bend at the hips, not the waist, and lift your toes to the bar. Keep your arms as straight as possible and keep your legs together as they move to the top and back down again in a controlled movement.

Inverted V Plank

Start in a low plank position with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Lift knees and push the hips up toward the ceiling into an inverted V shape. Bend knees and pull heels high whilst keeping the neck and head aligned with the spine. Hold here for a few seconds before lowering back into a low plank position to finish the move.