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Exercises

Ab exercises for men: weighted crunches, leg raises, rollouts and rotation

Published October 29, 2026

The best ab exercises for men are the cable crunch and decline crunch for building thicker abs with load, the hanging leg raise and reverse crunch for curling the pelvis up, the ab wheel rollout and plank for resisting a sagging lower back, and the cable woodchop and side plank for the obliques. Pick three, one from each group, do 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps stopping 1 to 2 reps short of failure, two or three times a week after your main lifts. Train abs like any other muscle and add weight over time; a visible six-pack also depends on losing enough overall fat to see it.

  1. Cable Crunch Abs
  2. Hanging Leg Raise Abs
  3. Ab Wheel Rollout Abs
  4. Decline Crunch Abs
  5. Reverse Crunch Abs
  6. Cable Woodchop Abs
  7. Plank Abs
  8. Side Plank Abs

Weighted crunches that build thicker abs

Ab muscle grows from hard sets with load, the same as your chest or arms. These three let you add weight in small steps, so you can keep the reps in the 8 to 15 range instead of doing sets of 50.

Upper abs, weighted crunch

Cable Crunch

Abs

It is the easiest ab exercise to load like a normal lift: move the pin down one plate and the same 12 reps get harder. That makes it the main builder for men who want abs that show more than a flat stomach.

How to do it

  1. Attach a rope to a high pulley, turn your back to the stack and hold the ends behind your head.
  2. Step forward so the weight lifts, then brace your hips in place and curl your ribs down toward your pelvis.
  3. Pause when your trunk is fully curled, then let the rope pull you back up slowly.

Cues

  • Ribs to pelvis
  • Hips still
  • Round, don't hinge

Common mistakes

  • Hinging at the hips so the body weight pulls the stack down.
  • Pulling the rope with the arms instead of keeping the hands at the head.

Swap for: Machine Crunch, Decline Crunch

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Abs, weighted sit-up on a decline

Decline Crunch

Abs

The decline puts your abs under load from a stretched position, and holding a plate on your chest turns it into a real strength set. Most gyms have the bench, so it works when the cable station is busy.

How to do it

  1. Hook your feet under the pads of a decline bench and lie back with your fingertips lightly behind your head.
  2. Curl up, chin tucked, until your trunk is upright.
  3. Lower slowly, one segment of the back at a time.

Cues

  • Curl up
  • Slow down
  • Plate at chest when easy

Common mistakes

  • Throwing the arms forward to sit up.
  • Dropping back fast and bouncing off the bench.

Swap for: Plate Sit-Up, Cable Crunch

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Abs, seated machine crunch

Machine Crunch

Abs

The machine fixes your path, so you can push close to failure without your neck or hip flexors taking over. That makes it the ab exercise you can take to 0 to 1 reps in reserve with the cleanest reps.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat height so the machine's pivot sits near your belly button and your feet hook under the pads or rest on the footplate.
  2. Hold the handles or place your arms on the pads with your elbows pointing forward, and sit tall with your back on the pad.
  3. Breathe out and curl your chest down toward your hips by rounding your spine, keeping your hips on the seat.
  4. Hold the squeeze for a second when your ribs are closest to your pelvis.
  5. Uncurl slowly back to upright and let the weight touch down lightly before the next rep.

Cues

  • Ribs to hips
  • Arms just hold on
  • Slow on the way back

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with your arms: if your shoulders and arms burn first, lower the weight and let your hands rest on the handles.
  • Hinging at the hips instead of curling: keep your lower back on the pad and think about shortening the distance from your ribs to your pelvis.
  • Bouncing the stack between reps: pause briefly at the top so the abs start every rep from a stop.

Swap for: Cable Crunch, Decline Crunch, Crunch

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Leg raises that curl your pelvis up

Lifting your legs only trains the abs once your pelvis tilts up at the top. The reverse crunch teaches that tilt on the floor, and the hanging leg raise is the harder version once you can hang from a bar.

Lower abs and hip flexors, hanging raise

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

Straight legs from a hang is one of the hardest ab exercises you can do with no weight at all, and it trains grip at the same time. Use it once knee raises with a pelvic tilt feel easy.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar, legs long and pressed together.
  2. Lift your legs, keeping your knees straight, until your feet reach at least hip height.
  3. Tilt your pelvis up at the top, then lower under control.

Cues

  • Legs locked
  • Pelvis tilts
  • No kip

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees as you tire: switch to knee raises for the rest of the set.
  • Using a swing to get the legs up.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Lying Knee Raise

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Lower abs, pelvis curls toward ribs

Reverse Crunch

Abs

It trains the same bottom-up curl as a hanging raise, with your back on the floor, so you can learn to roll the pelvis before you need to hold your own weight on a bar.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, hands by your sides, knees bent and feet lifted.
  2. Pull your knees toward your chest and keep going until your hips peel off the floor.
  3. Lower your hips one vertebra at a time, then let your feet drift back to just above the floor.

Cues

  • Hips peel up
  • Slow way down
  • No swinging

Common mistakes

  • Throwing the legs back for momentum: the hips should curl up, not get flung.
  • Stopping when the knees reach the chest: the rep counts once the hips lift.

Swap for: Lying Knee Raise, Hanging Knee Raise

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Rollouts and planks that stop your back from arching

Your abs also work by holding your ribs and pelvis together while something tries to pull them apart. The rollout is the hardest of these, the plank is the entry point, and the dead bug teaches the same position while your arms and legs move.

Abs, anti-extension rollout

Ab Wheel Rollout

Abs

Few exercises load the abs as hard while they lengthen. Short rollouts to a wall are hard for most men at first, and full rollouts from the knees are a goal worth months of training.

How to do it

  1. Kneel with the wheel under your shoulders and your arms straight.
  2. Brace and roll forward, letting your hips follow, until just before your back starts to sag.
  3. Pull the wheel back to your knees using your abs, not your hips.

Cues

  • Tuck the pelvis
  • Roll only as far as you own
  • Arms straight

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back cave at the far end.
  • Sitting the hips back first on the return instead of pulling with the abs.

Swap for: Stability Ball Body Saw, Plank

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Abs, front hold

Plank

Abs

It teaches you to brace with your ribs down and your glutes tight, the same brace you use under a heavy squat. Keep holds to 20 to 45 hard seconds and move on to rollouts when that is easy.

How to do it

  1. Set your forearms under your shoulders and your feet behind you, body in a straight line.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and pull your ribs down toward your hips.
  3. Hold, breathing normally, without letting your hips sag or rise.
  4. For the harder version, reach one arm forward and lift the opposite foot, hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Glutes tight
  • Straight line

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging toward the floor: that hangs on your lower back.
  • Holding for minutes at an easy level: make it harder instead.

Swap for: Long Lever Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

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Deep abs, limbs move while the back stays flat

Dead Bug

Abs

It is the gentlest way to learn to keep your lower back pressed down while your arms and legs move. A good choice on days your back feels stiff after deadlifts.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, arms pointing up and knees bent at right angles over your hips.
  2. Press your lower back into the floor.
  3. Reach one arm overhead and the opposite leg out long, both hovering above the floor.
  4. Bring them back and repeat with the other pair.

Cues

  • Back glued down
  • Breathe out as you reach
  • Opposite arm and leg

Common mistakes

  • Letting the back arch when the leg goes long: reach less far.
  • Going fast: each rep should take about three seconds.

Swap for: Plank, Alternating Leg Raise

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Rotation and side work for the obliques

The obliques turn and side-bend your trunk and stop it from twisting. One of these per session is enough on top of the crunches and leg raises.

Obliques, loaded rotation

Cable Woodchop

Abs

It trains the trunk to turn against a cable, the way you rotate in a golf swing, a throw or a punch, and the stack lets you add load in small steps.

How to do it

  1. Set a cable high, stand side-on and grip the handle two-handed above the near shoulder.
  2. Chop it on a diagonal to the far hip, turning your chest as your back heel lifts and spins.
  3. Let it return along the same line under control. Finish one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Turn the chest
  • Arms long
  • Pivot the back foot

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms rather than turning the trunk.
  • Going so heavy the stack drags you back on the return.

Swap for: Dumbbell Woodchop, Pallof Press

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Obliques, seated rotation

Russian Twist

Abs

It needs nothing but the floor, and holding a plate or dumbbell makes it hard enough for a man who has been training for years. Turn your ribs, not just your arms.

How to do it

  1. Sit with knees bent and heels on the floor, then lean back until your trunk is at an angle.
  2. Clasp your hands together at chest height.
  3. Turn your shoulders to one side, come back through the middle and turn to the other.

Cues

  • Turn the ribs
  • Chest tall
  • Slow

Common mistakes

  • Swinging only the arms while the chest faces forward.
  • Rounding your back to get lower.

Swap for: Dumbbell Woodchop, Windshield Wipers

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Obliques, side hold

Side Plank

Abs

It trains the side of your trunk to hold you straight, which carries over to one-arm carries and pressing. Start on your knees if a full hold breaks before 20 seconds.

How to do it

  1. Lie on one side with your elbow under your shoulder and your legs stacked.
  2. Lift your hips until your body is straight from head to feet.
  3. Hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Hips high
  • Stacked feet
  • Elbow under shoulder

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop toward the floor as the hold goes on.
  • Rolling the chest forward or back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Copenhagen Plank

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Obliques and deep abs, anti-rotation

Pallof Press

Abs

The cable pulls you sideways and your job is to not move. It is the anti-rotation lift that strength coaches add for men who already squat and deadlift heavy.

How to do it

  1. Set a cable at chest height, stand side-on to it and grip the handle two-handed at your chest.
  2. Step away until the cable pulls, feet hip-width.
  3. Press the handle straight out, hold for two seconds without turning, then bring it back.

Cues

  • Hands on the midline
  • Don't turn
  • Hold it out

Common mistakes

  • Standing too close, so the cable barely pulls.
  • Letting the arms drift toward the stack.

Swap for: Cable Woodchop, Landmine Twist

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Abs at the end of your gym sessions, twice a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentAdjustable Cable, Pull-Up Bar, Decline Bench, Ab Wheel

You already lift three or four times a week and want your abs to grow like the rest of you, without a separate ab day.

Three exercises at the end of two sessions gives about 10 hard sets a week, covering a weighted crunch, a leg raise and one rotation or anti-rotation move. Abs recover fast, so two short blocks do more than one long one.

Session A: Crunch and rotate
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Cable Crunch 3 × 10–15 1 75 s
Hanging Leg Raise 3 × 6–12 2 90 s
Cable WoodchopPer side. 2 × 10–12 2 1 min

Open Session A: Crunch and rotate in the session builder

Session B: Load and brace
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Decline Crunch 3 × 8–12 1 75 s
Ab Wheel Rollout 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Pallof PressPer side. 2 × 10–12 2 1 min

Open Session B: Load and brace in the session builder

How to run it
Add Session A after one upper or lower day and Session B after another, with at least a day between them. Keep them under 15 minutes.
How to progress
Use double progression: when every set of the cable crunch or woodchop reaches 15 reps at 1 rep in reserve, add one plate. For hanging leg raises, add reps until you get 12, then slow the lowering to 3 seconds.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

At home with a floor and one dumbbell

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You train at home or want abs on days you don't make it to the gym, and you have a mat and a single dumbbell or plate.

Without a cable stack the load comes from leverage and holding a weight, so the plan runs three short sessions for about 15 sets a week. Each session has a curl, a hold and a rotation so every part of the trunk gets work.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Reverse Crunch 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
PlankSeconds per hold. 2 × 20–45 2 1 min

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dead BugPer side. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Russian TwistHold a dumbbell once 16 is easy. 3 × 10–16 2 1 min

Open Day 2 in the session builder

Day 3
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Reverse Crunch 2 × 10–15 1 1 min
Side PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 20–40 2 45 s

Open Day 3 in the session builder

How to run it
Leave a day between ab sessions, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and fit each 12 to 15 minute session in before or after anything else you do that day.
How to progress
Add reps first, then hold the dumbbell for the Russian twist and lengthen the plank and side plank by 5 seconds at a time. When a hold passes 45 seconds, make it harder rather than longer: feet closer together, or one arm reaching forward.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Advanced lifter, abs as their own session

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentAb Crunch Machine, Pull-Up Bar, Ab Wheel, Adjustable Cable

You have trained for years, planks and bodyweight crunches feel like nothing, and you want an ab session that is as hard as an arm day.

One focused session of 12 to 14 sets lets you push each ab exercise close to failure while fresh, which bodyweight finishers never do. A second, shorter dose on another day keeps the weekly total near 18 sets.

Day 1: Ab focus
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Machine Crunch 4 × 8–12 0 90 s
Hanging Leg Raise 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Ab Wheel Rollout 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Cable WoodchopPer side. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min

Open Day 1: Ab focus in the session builder

Day 2: Short top-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Cable Crunch 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Side PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 30–60 1 45 s

Open Day 2: Short top-up in the session builder

How to run it
Do Day 1 on a day without heavy squats or deadlifts, so your trunk is fresh. Tack Day 2 onto the end of any other session.
How to progress
Take the machine crunch and cable crunch to 0 to 1 reps in reserve and add weight as soon as you hit the top of the range. For the ab wheel, move from kneeling to longer reach, then to rollouts from your toes.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is the number one exercise for abs?

For men who want abs that show, the cable crunch, because you can add weight to it like any other lift. If you have no gym, the hanging leg raise is the hardest bodyweight option.

What are the 5 best core exercises?

The cable crunch, hanging leg raise, ab wheel rollout, Pallof press and side plank. Between them they train flexion, the bottom-up curl, anti-extension, anti-rotation and side bending.

Will 100 sit-ups a day get you abs?

No. Once you can do 100, each rep is too easy to build much muscle, and sit-ups do nothing about the fat covering your abs. Fewer, harder reps with weight build more, and fat loss comes from your overall diet and activity.

What exercise burns the most belly fat in men?

No exercise burns fat from one spot. Belly fat comes off with overall fat loss, from eating a bit less than you burn and staying active. Heavy compound lifts and these ab exercises build the muscle that shows when it does.

How often should men train abs?

Two or three times a week, 6 to 15 hard sets in total. Abs recover quickly, but daily ab work rarely adds anything if each set is already close to failure.

Should I train abs with weights?

Yes. Abs are muscle like any other, and adding weight is what keeps them growing once bodyweight reps get easy. Keep most weighted sets between 8 and 15 reps.