6 Great Ways to Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches

Jeff Cavaliere explains 6 great ways to get amazing six pack abs without crunches. Add these techniques and exercises into your training.

6 Great Ways to Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches

“It is not only possible to get a gut busting ab workout without crunches but it is necessary.  In this video, I’m going to show you 6 ab exercises that will fire up your core in ways you never imagined by training your abs like an athlete.  In order to effectively hit your abs you need to stop focusing on the ability of your abdominals to simply flex your spine and more on their ability to prevent motion as well.”

Source: Photos Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

“Here, I’m taking WWE superstars Sheamus and Cesaro through an intense series of six ab exercises that will challenge the muscles ability to prevent rotation, produce power rotation and prevent over extension of the spine.  No crunches, no planks and no basic ab exercises are performed in this workout.”

Captain’s Chair

“The first ab exercise we cover is the leg lift performed in the captains’ chair.  The key to this move is that we are able to support our upper body through our forearms rather than our shoulders while hanging from a bar.  Particularly for those that have shoulder issues like a torn labrum, being able to take the hang out of the move without sacrificing the effectiveness of the movement on the abs is key.”

Gymnast Abs

“Next, we perform a rotational variation on this exercise called the gymnast abs.  Here instead of curling your lower pelvis up towards your shoulders you lift your hips into a posterior tilt.  This is incredibly challenging and takes advantage of relative motion to produce an insanely effective exercise for your abs workouts.”

Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches – Battle Ropes

“We move onto the battle ropes.  People often think of battle rope workouts as something you do for conditioning or to burn fat.  That doesn’t have to be their limits however.  The battle ropes present a great way to train your core and obliques with alternating rotational slams.  Even better, you should change the posture from which you perform the exercise to make this an even more difficult ab movement.  Start by kneeling and slamming the ropes side to side and progress to a sitting position.  When you gain the ability to, alternate between sitting and kneeling positions throughout the set.”

Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches – Rotation Trunk Exercise

“Next, we control rotation of the trunk with an oblique and rectus abdominis movement that is easy to perform but tough if you crank up the resistance of the band you use to perform it.  The goal is to keep your arms out straight and directly in front of your chest.  Step out to one side, increasing the resistance on the band and the amount of work the abs have to do to prevent your body from twisting.  When you get strong enough abs, you can jump out to position which will provide a more dynamically challenging movement to have to control.”

Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches – Plank Punch

“Finally, the plank punch out is a much more difficult variation of the common plank.  Planks alone are often not enough to help you to develop a good looking, strong set of abs.  Instead, you need to ramp up the difficulty level by decreasing your base of support and including things like a band and three points of contact to make the abs work much harder.  You will see the instant difference the second you try these.”

Video – Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches

Learn More

How to Increase Chest Size and Strength

Best Way to Train the Chest for Hypertrophy (Muscle Mass)

3 Hacks for a Bigger Chest

Upper Chest Exercises Ranked (Best to Worst)

9 Best Dumbbell Chest Exercises

Muscles of the Abs and Core

The core is a group of muscles in our abdomen. The core muscles are important for many reasons: they help us maintain good posture, they help us breathe deeply and efficiently, and they give us strength and stability.

If you want to improve the health of your entire body, it’s important to strengthen these muscles through exercise.

Your core is a complex series of muscles, extending far beyond your abs

It’s made up of the diaphragm, pelvic floor and transversus abdominis (the deepest layer of your abdominal wall). The core is responsible for stabilizing your spine and pelvis so that you can perform activities without risk to your back.

The upper part of your core includes four muscle groups: rectus abdominis (your “six-pack”), external oblique, internal oblique and erector spinae (also known as sacrospinalis).

What does the diaphragm do?

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities. It’s involved in respiration, which is the process of taking in oxygen through your mouth or nose and then exhaling out carbon dioxide. The diaphragm is a major muscle of inspiration, meaning it helps to control the volume of air in your lungs while you breathe. This means that when you inhale deeply, you’re using your diaphragm!

It also works with your other core muscles during exhalation (or when you breathe out), thanks to its attachments on other muscles such as the psoas major and quadratus lumborum (QL). In this case, those attachments allow for an upward motion that moves the ribcage down towards the pelvis as well as flattening out any kinks between adjacent vertebrae so they can fit nicely together.

What does the pelvic floor do?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that supports the pelvic organs and stretches from the pubic bone to the tailbone. It helps with urination, bowel movements and childbirth.

What does the transversus abdominis do?

The transversus abdominis is a deep muscle that wraps around your torso and attaches to your lower ribs. It helps to compress and support the abdominal cavity, which in turn stabilises the spine and core.

It also helps you draw up your belly button towards your spine, creating an hourglass figure by flattening out the front of your abdomen. This is sometimes referred to as “bracing”.

What does the multifidus do?

The multifidus muscle is a long, thin muscle running along the back of your spine, from the lower neck to just above your hips. It controls posture and helps you bend forward, backward and side to side, as well as rotate your torso.

This muscle works with other muscles in the core (abdominal region) to keep your spine stable while allowing for movement.

What are the three layers of your abdominal muscles and what do they do?

• The three layers of your abdominal muscles are the external obliques, internal obliques and rectus abdominis.
• The external obliques are responsible for twisting and rotation.
• The internal obliques are responsible for flexion and lateral flexion.

Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches – The internal obliques

The internal obliques are located on the side of your abdomen. They are responsible for side bending, rotating your body and twisting your trunk.

These muscles also flex the trunk, which is a movement that takes place when you bend forward at the waist or arch back when you are lying on your stomach.

Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches – The external obliques

The external obliques are the muscles on the sides of your abdomen. They are located beneath and slightly behind the internal obliques. The external obliques help to rotate and flex the trunk, as well as bend it sideways.

Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches – The rectus abdominis or “six-pack” muscle

The rectus abdominis is the most well-known muscle in the core, and it’s responsible for giving you a six-pack. It runs from your sternum to your pubic bone and helps with flexing your trunk forward, bending at the waist and side bending to either side.

This muscle can be targeted using a variety of core exercises including crunches (sit ups) or weighted movements like planks.

Conclusion – Get Amazing Six Pack Abs without Crunches

The core muscles are an essential part of your body’s ability to function properly. They allow us to bend, twist and turn our bodies in a variety of positions, but they also play an important role in stabilizing our spine and back.

Your core muscles help you stand upright without falling over while also acting as a reservoir for energy during exercise or everyday movements such as lifting objects off the floor.

Use the exercises above to build a powerful and strong core.