Absolute Body Workouts That Are Also Good Ab Exercises

Rather than the everyday ab exercise routines that we see typically with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc, you can find better choices for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work the whole body while additionally working the abs.

I'm going to show you an example today of one of my favorite ab workouts that doesn't consist of any direct ab exercises at all. It's in a tri-set format (just like a super-set but alternating between 3 workouts).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows

1b. Front Squats using Barbell

1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

A very good rep system to use with this might be 3-4 sets of eight reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, similar to 5 sets of five reps of every workout. Mountain climbers may be executed for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) as an alternative to "reps".

Renegade dumbbell rows are carried out starting with a pushup position with the hands on two dumbbells. You then row a single dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the opposite arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and exchange the rowing arm while stabilizing with the other arm. This stabilizing effect throughout the rows produces incredible work for your whole midsection core area. Trust me, you would really feel it in the abs!

Front squats are executed much like back squats, however with the barbell in front of your very own body on the front of your shoulders as opposed to resting on the upper back just like in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing the arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your own shoulders while holding your elbows out in front of the body. This takes a bit of practice initially, thus you'll want to seek a professional trainer at your fitness center to help you with the form. Front squats need extreme stabilization power from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body as opposed to the back. Despite the fact that this is principally a leg exercise, you would really feel this one in the abs big time!

Mountain climbers are carried out by starting in a pushup pose and then shuffling your feet in and out making sure that your knees are moving in underneath your chest and then back out to the starting position. It sort of resembles going up a mountain but flat on the floor. If you would like an intermediate form, you may also shuffle your arms 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This actually makes it a full body exercise and MUCH tougher compared with typical mountain climbers.

After ending each workout, rest for about 30 seconds before beginning the next exercise. Take a break for approximately 1-2 minutes after completing each "tri-set" before repeating.

This gives you the most effective ab workouts you've ever had without even working on any direct ab exercises. You'll see what I mean as soon as you try it!