Abs Workout

Athletes OF ALL sport from baseball to football to hockey—base their physical training on improving the strength of their core using compound movements. That's great for pro athletes, but what about guys who just want to get a ripped six-pack?

First off, let's acknowledge a hard truth: Not all abs are created equal. Some guys need to work their belly to exhaustion before they can carve out abs, while other dudes seem to get theirs to pop without a single situp.

Regardless of where you fit on the fitness spectrum, effectively training the core comes down to the three planes of motion: frontal, sagittal, and transverse. Doing abs workout in a circuit style keeps the intensity high and will likely lead to more fat loss.

* Ab wheel rollout
Kneel on the floor and hold an ab wheel beneath your shoulders. Brace your abs and roll the wheel forward until you feel you’re about to lose tension in your core and your hips might sag. Roll yourself back to start. Do as many reps as you can with perfect form and end the set when you think you might break form.

* Arms-high partial situp
Lie on your back, knees bent at 90 degrees, and raise your arms straight overhead, keeping them pointing up throughout the exercise. Sit up halfway, then steadily return to the floor. That's one rep.

* Barbell rollout
Load the bar with 10-pound plates and kneel on the floor behind it. Your shoulders should be over the bar. Brace your abs and roll the bar forward, reaching in front of you until you feel your hips are about to sag. Roll yourself back.

* Situp and throw
Hold a medicine ball with both hands in front of your chest and sit on the floor. Anchor your feet under something sturdy for support, and lie back on the floor a few feet away from a brick or concrete wall. Explosively sit up and throw the ball into the wall and then catch it on the rebound. If you have a partner, you can throw the ball to him/her instead.