Top 6 Ab Exercises with Weights

Performing the right ab exercises is essential for building a strong, muscular core that's visible at higher body fat level.

Professional strongmen and powerlifters often have incredible ab definition and muscularity despite being closer to 25-30% body fat. That's due to the heavy load they use, which forces their abdominal muscles to grow at an exponential rate.

Meanwhile, people who follow a strict diet and regular exercise find it difficult to have abdominal definition at even 15% body fat. While genetic factors certainly play a role, avoiding weighted ab exercises is a major cause.

Most gym-goers treat ab training as an afterthought, adding in a few sets of crunches and leg raises at the end of their workout. They wonder why their abs are never visible even after dieting for months on end

To have a strong, ironclad core that can reveal definition in the 15-20% body fat range, you need to add weighted ab exercises to your repertoire.

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Seated Russian Twist and Other Ab Exercises with Weights

Here's a look at six such exercises:

1) Seated Russian Twist

Instructions:

• Sit on the floor in a comfortable position, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Lean back till the upper body is at 45 degrees with the floor.
• Although it can be tempting to round your shoulders forward, avoid that by keeping your back straight.
• Hold a dumbbell/kettlebell/weight plate in your hands, and hold it out in front of you with bent arms. As you progress, you can slowly straighten your arms to increase the difficulty.
• Brace your core, and raise your legs off the ground.
• Rotate towards one side with your arms held still. You will feel a strong contraction in your abs. Hold for a second.
• Repeat the motion on the other side, and return to the starting position to complete one rep.
• Perform 3-5 sets of 8-20 reps.

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2) Weighted Sit-up

Instructions:

• Lie down on the floor with a weight plate held against your chest, and secure the weight using your arms.
• You can hold your hands stretched in front of you or over your head as you advance.
• Keep you back straight and knees bent throughout the movement.
• As you reach the top of the movement, contract your abs, and hold it for for a second.
• Lower your body slowly and under control.
• Repeat for 8-12 reps, and increase the weights slowly.

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3) Barbell Landmine Anti-Rotation

Instructions:

• Start off with an empty bar to understand the movement.
• Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart.
• Place the barbell in the landmine attachment, and grasp it between your interlaced fingers.
• Brace your abs, and slowly move the barbell to one side without moving your hips.
• Return to the starting position, and rotate the barbell towards the other side.
• Get back to the starting position to complete one rep.
• Perform three sets of 8-15 reps.

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4) Weighted Hanging Leg Raise

Instructions:

• Hang from a bar while holding a dumbbell between your feet.
• Lift your legs up while bracing your core. Go up as high as you can.
• Hold the contraction for a second. Repeat.
• Perform three sets of 8-12 reps.

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5) Barbell Rollout

Instructions:

• Lie on the ground with your front facing the floor.
• Grab the barbell with an overhand grip, with your arms held at shoulder width.
• Start with your shoulders directly over the barbell. Roll the bar forward while bracing your core.
• Extend as far as you can before returning to the starting position.
• Focus on quality reps instead of quantity.

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6) Kneeling Cable Crunch

Instructions:

• Attach a rope to the cable machine. Get on your knees.
• Bend down while letting the rope slighly pull on your arms and upper body. You will feel a light stretch on the abs when in proper position.
• Perform a crunch-like movement by bracing your abs. Bring your forearms down to the knees. Your head should be pointing to the floor at the end of the crunch.
• Return to the starting position. Repeat.
• Perform three sets of 8-12 reps.

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Bonus weighted ab exercises

• Cable Wood Chop
• Side Plank Row
• Kettlebell Windmill

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Takeaway

Weighted ab exercises are key to developing a strong, conditioned core and well-developed abs. Add the aforementioned ab exercises to your exercise routine for amazing results.