Best Ab Exercises13 Picks, Ranked
Your abs are the rectus abdominis down the front of your torso, the obliques along the sides, and the deeper transversus abdominis. Together they curl your spine forward, twist it and bend it to the side, and brace your trunk so it stays still under load. A balanced ab routine reflects those jobs: something that curls the spine or lifts the legs, something that rotates, and something that resists movement, like a plank or a rollout.
- Weekly working sets
- 4–20
- The weekly range KasMaker measures abs volume against. Fewer is a light week; more is past what most lifters recover from.
- Recovery window
- ~48 hours
- The base time KasMaker's recovery map allows for abs to recover, scaled up or down by how much you did.
The list
The list mixes bodyweight moves with cable, bench and barbell options. Pick one or two from the top as staples, such as Hanging Leg Raise or Ab Roller. Then add a variant that trains another job, like Plank or Dead Bug for bracing, or a cable crunch when you want to add load. Treat your abs like any other muscle: track your sets and make each one a little harder over the weeks with more reps, more load or a tougher position.
Covers: Rectus abdominis, the external and internal obliques, and transversus abdominis.
Sit-Up
The most recognized ab exercise in the world. Simple, no equipment.
Hanging Leg Raise
Best exercise for lower abs. Bodyweight, progressable from bent knee to straight leg to toes-to-bar.
Ab Roller
Extremely high EMG activation across entire rectus abdominis and obliques. One of the few exercises shown to outperform crunches in studies.
Cable Crunch
Loadable ab isolation. Unlike bodyweight ab exercises, you can progressively overload with weight.
Plank
Isometric core stability. Foundational for beginners. Also trains transverse abdominis. Most prescribed core exercise by physios worldwide.
Decline Crunch
Weighted crunch variation using a decline bench. More challenging than floor crunches.
Air Bike
ACE study ranked bicycle crunches #1 for rectus abdominis and oblique activation. Bodyweight, no equipment. Rotation component hits obliques.
Cross-Body Crunch
Targets the obliques through rotational crunching. Bodyweight, no equipment needed. Builds the waist detail.
Dead Bug
Anti-extension core exercise. Teaches proper bracing. Physical therapy staple that's excellent for core stability.
Flat Bench Leg Pull-In
Lower ab focused movement using a bench. Knee-to-chest motion in a supported position for controlled reps.
Landmine 180's
Rotational core exercise with a barbell. Trains the obliques under load with a functional movement pattern.
Decline Reverse Crunch
Decline angle increases resistance on the lower abs. Reverse crunch motion emphasizes the lower rectus abdominis.
Cable Russian Twists
Cable rotational exercise for obliques. Constant tension through the twist provides superior oblique activation.
Other muscle groups
See how much each muscle is getting
KasMaker colors every muscle on a body map by how much you've trained it, so you can tell at a glance whether your abs got enough work this week. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
