The app for ab workouts that get harder as your abs get stronger

What you need from an ab workout app

• Abs that get loaded, not just repeated

  Doing 100 more crunches every week stops working. Cable crunches and woodchops here go up one step on the stack when every set reaches the top of the range, like any other lift.

  

• Bodyweight moves that progress by reps

  Hanging knee raises, reverse crunches and dead bugs move up by reps until you choose to add weight. The target is always the next rep you've earned.

• Planks and holds timed for you

  Timed holds keep the duration your routine sets, with a target time and a stopwatch on screen. No counting seconds in your head mid-plank.

• Short sessions that sit beside your split

  Add ab work to the end of two training days, or as a 10-minute session on its own. The weekly muscle map shows your abs' sets next to everything else you trained.

  

• Demos for every move

  Every exercise opens to an illustration, the muscles it works and your history on it. The ab exercises at the gym guide covers machines, cables and stations.

  

Ab sessions, set by set

Gym: abs after an upper day

Two years of lifting, adding two short ab sessions a week. Cables and a pull-up bar are free.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Cable Crunch	70 lb, 12 / 12 / 12 / 12, 1 left	75 lb × 8–12	Every set reached the top of 8–12. One step on the stack, reps back to 8.
Hanging Knee Raise	Bodyweight, 15 / 13 / 12, 1 left	Bodyweight × 13	The weakest set hit today's target of 12. Bodyweight moves progress by reps, so aim for 13.
Cable Woodchop	30 lb, 15 / 15 / 15 per side, 1 left	35 lb × 10–15	Top of 10–15 on every set. Next pin, reps back to 10.

Ten minutes, three exercises, and next session already set.

Home: a floor and one dumbbell

New to direct ab work, training at home twice a week. Two sets per exercise is enough to start.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Crunch	Bodyweight, 18 / 15, 2 left	Bodyweight × 16	The weakest set hit today's target of 15. One more rep next time.
Reverse Crunch	Bodyweight, 12 / 10, 2 left	Bodyweight × 11	The last set hit the target of 10. Aim for 11.
Dumbbell Woodchop	15 lb, 15 / 15 per side, 2 left	20 lb × 10–15	Top of the range on both sets. Next dumbbell up, reps back to 10.

Even with one dumbbell, every exercise has a clear next step.

Core for heavy squats and deadlifts

A lifter whose lower back complains during crunches and who wants a trunk that holds under a heavy bar.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Pallof Press	25 lb, 12 / 12 / 12 per side, 2 left	30 lb × 8–12	Top of 8–12 on every set. One step on the stack, reps back to 8.
Barbell Rollout	Empty 45 lb bar, 8 / 7 / 6, 2 left	45 lb × 7	The last set missed the target of 7, so weight and target both stay. Roll farther before adding reps.
Dead Bug	Bodyweight, 10 / 9 per side, 2 left	Bodyweight × 10	The weakest set hit the target of 9. Aim for the top of 6–10.

No crunching, still progressive. Each move has its own next target.

Ab plans that open in RIRLift

• The best workout for abs, for your situation

  Full gym, abs you can load and see

  Two short gym sessions with cable crunches, knee raises and rollouts you can load. The first example above runs this plan.

  2× a week · 19 sets a week · ~25 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for abs, for your situation

  At home with a dumbbell, new to ab training

  One home session with a floor and one dumbbell, for anyone new to ab work.

  2× a week · 12 sets a week · ~10 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for abs, for your situation

  Core strength for heavy lifts, crunching bothers your back

  Rollouts, Pallof presses and dead bugs for a stronger trunk under heavy lifts, with no crunching.

  2× a week · 16 sets a week · ~20 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Add abs to days you already train

  Put the ab routine after two of your existing sessions, or run it on its own. Up to 4 active routines are free, so it fits next to most splits.

• Superset abs with your last exercise

  Pair cable crunches with a curl or calf raise as a superset. Rest comes after the pair, so ab work adds a few minutes, not twenty.

• Set a target hold for planks

  Swap in a plank or side plank and set the hold time. The stopwatch runs against that target, and the next hold keeps the same duration.

• Choose your equipment

  No cable station? Tell the app what you have and swaps stay inside it, with the weight each replacement would start at.

When a different app fits better

• You want follow-along ab videos or a 30-day challenge. A class app fits better.

Questions

Read next

• The best workout for abs, for your situation

  The three ab plans in full, with a demo for every exercise.

• Cable crunch: how to do it standing or kneeling, and how heavy to go

  The loaded ab exercise the gym plan is built on.

• Ab exercises at the gym: machines, cables and stations

  More exercises to rotate into your ab days.

• Ab exercises at home, with or without equipment

  Options for training abs without a gym.

• What is a superset? Types, benefits, and how to log one

  How to pair ab work with another exercise to save time.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The workout app for home that plans around what you own

  Bare floor, a pull-up bar, bands or one kettlebell: a plan for your gear that gets harder as you do.

• The workout app for the gym you actually train at

  Knows your gym's machines, swaps a taken one with a weight ready, and fits a lunch break.

• The booty workout app that makes your glutes work harder each week

  Glute plans for the gym or home, with hip thrust and split squat weights that rise when you're ready.

Every lifter and goal