The Best Exercises for Six-Pack Abs

It’s nearly the end of June now, which means all that hard work you’ve been doing in the gym since Christmas is about to pay dividends. However, if you’ve been spending a bit less time in the gym and a few more days in the pub, there is no reason to fear. You can still get in shape in time for the summer with this quick-fire ab workout. Pair these exercises with a good diet and you’ll have that washboard stomach in no time at all.

Swiss Ball Sit-Ups 

Make sure you do not overextend on this movement by laying over the ball too far. Keep your hands either by the side of your head or placed on your chest along with your chin pointing away from your chest at all times. Curl up slowly and picture you are doing a bicep curl, but using your abdominals instead.

Wood Chops 

These can be done with a medicine ball, dumbbell or on a cable machine, which is my personal favourite. Stand away from the machine and picture you are about to cut a tree down. Make sure your knees are bent and your arms are in line with your shoulders. Rotate from the waist making sure your hips and feet do not move. You should feel this movement through the abdominals and the internal and external obliques, if not, lower the weight. 

Hanging Leg Raises 

Grab a pull up bar with an overhand grip, making sure your arms are completely straight and your feet are off the ground. Keep your knees bent and slowly curl your legs towards your stomach then lower them. It is easy to use momentum from your hips to swing your legs upwards so be aware of this. To make this harder, you can fully straighten your legs in front of you and lower them again, making sure it is the abdominals doing the work, not momentum.