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Exercises

Ab and core exercises with dumbbells

Published October 19, 2026

The best ab exercises with dumbbells are the woodchop for rotation, the suitcase crunch and side bend for weighted crunching and bending, the weighted side plank and hip dip for the obliques, the renegade row for anti-rotation, and the suitcase, farmer's and overhead carries for bracing under load. A dumbbell lets you add weight once bodyweight moves get easy: do 2 to 4 sets of three or four of these, two or three times a week, stopping 1 to 2 reps short of failure, and go heavier when you reach the top of the rep range.

  1. Dumbbell Woodchop Abs
  2. Dumbbell Suitcase Crunch Abs
  3. Dumbbell Side Bend Abs
  4. Dumbbell Side Plank Abs
  5. Renegade Row Lats, Upper Back
  6. Dumbbell Suitcase Carry Abs, Quads
  7. Farmer's Walk Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Weighted crunches and side bends

These move the spine, so the dumbbell loads the abs the way a weight loads a curl. The suitcase crunch trains the front of the abs; the side bend trains the obliques by bending sideways against the weight.

Front abs, the weighted toe reach

Dumbbell Suitcase Crunch

Abs

With your legs held straight up, you curl your shoulders off the floor and reach a dumbbell toward your feet. The weight sits at the end of long arms, so even a light one makes the abs work hard.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up and raise both legs straight toward the ceiling, holding one dumbbell in both hands with your arms extended over your chest.
  2. Curl your head and shoulders off the floor and reach the dumbbell up toward your feet.
  3. Lower your shoulders slowly without letting your legs drop, and repeat.

Cues

  • Fold to the middle
  • Weight over knees
  • Slow unfold

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the dumbbell behind you between reps.
  • Arching the lower back as you stretch out: keep the weight and legs higher if it lifts.

Swap for: Crunch, Jackknife

Build a session with Dumbbell Suitcase Crunch

Obliques, side bending

Dumbbell Side Bend

Abs

Bending sideways with a weight in one hand is a simple way to load the obliques through a full range. Do both sides; it trains the side opposite the weight most.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with a dumbbell hanging in one hand and your free hand on your hip.
  2. Let the weight slide down the outside of your leg as you bend to that side.
  3. Pull yourself back to upright with the opposite side of your waist and a little past it.
  4. Finish the set, then switch hands.

Cues

  • Bend, don't twist
  • Slide the leg
  • Pull back up

Common mistakes

  • Leaning forward or back instead of straight to the side.
  • Loading both hands at once, which cancels the load out.

Swap for: Plate Side Bend, Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip

Build a session with Dumbbell Side Bend

Rotation and anti-rotation

Your trunk turns in sports and resists turning when you carry or push one-sided. The woodchop trains the turn; the renegade row trains holding still while one arm pulls.

Obliques, the dumbbell chop

Dumbbell Woodchop

Abs

The chop is the most direct dumbbell move for the obliques: you swing one weight on a diagonal and your trunk has to start and stop it. Doing it kneeling keeps your legs from helping.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on one knee and hold a dumbbell by both ends next to the shoulder on the side of your down knee.
  2. Pull it diagonally across your body and down past the opposite hip, turning your chest as it goes.
  3. Bring it back up the same path under control.
  4. Do every rep on one side, then switch knees.

Cues

  • Turn the chest
  • Arms long
  • Control the return

Common mistakes

  • Bending the arms so the shoulders do the work.
  • Letting the hips rotate too, which takes the load off the obliques.

Swap for: Cable Woodchop, Med Ball Woodchop

Build a session with Dumbbell Woodchop

Anti-rotation, plank and row

Renegade Row

Lats, Upper Back

Rowing one dumbbell from a plank leaves your trunk on three points of contact, and it must stop you from twisting toward the lifted side. It trains your back and core at the same time.

How to do it

  1. Set up in a high plank with each hand on a dumbbell and your feet a little wider than hips.
  2. Shift your weight onto one hand and row the other dumbbell toward your hip.
  3. Lower it to the floor and repeat on the other side.

Cues

  • Hips stay square
  • Wide feet
  • Row to the hip

Common mistakes

  • Rotating the hips up on the rowing side.
  • Using dumbbells so heavy you have to twist to lift them.

Swap for: Plank Shoulder Tap, One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Build a session with Renegade Row

Weighted side planks

A dumbbell on your top hip turns a side plank that has become too easy into a harder one without making the hold any longer. The hip dip adds movement for reps.

Obliques, the weighted hold

Dumbbell Side Plank

Abs

A side plank with a dumbbell resting on your top hip loads the obliques without making the hold longer. Use it once a bodyweight side plank goes past 45 seconds.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your side, elbow under the shoulder, legs stacked, and place a dumbbell on your top hip.
  2. Lift your hips so your body forms one straight line.
  3. Hold, keep breathing, then lower and switch sides.

Cues

  • Hips up
  • Hold the weight still
  • Straight line

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag as you tire: end the hold there.
  • Starting with a dumbbell so heavy the hold lasts under 15 seconds.

Swap for: Side Plank, Copenhagen Plank

Build a session with Dumbbell Side Plank

Obliques, side plank for reps

Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip

Abs

Lowering and lifting your hips in a side plank turns the hold into reps, with the dumbbell adding load to the lift. It is easier to progress than a timed hold.

How to do it

  1. Set up in a side plank on your elbow with a dumbbell on your top hip.
  2. Lower your hips until they almost touch the floor.
  3. Drive them back up past straight, squeezing the bottom side of your waist.

Cues

  • Lift past straight
  • Slow down
  • Elbow under shoulder

Common mistakes

  • Dropping fast into the floor and bouncing up.
  • Rolling the chest toward the floor as the hips drop.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Dumbbell Side Bend

Build a session with Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip

Dumbbell carries for the whole core

Walking with weight is core training that looks like nothing is happening. Loading one hand, both hands or overhead changes which side and which direction your trunk must hold.

Anti-lateral bending, the one-sided walk

Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Abs, Quads

Carrying a heavy dumbbell in one hand makes the far side of your trunk hold you upright on every step. It is the best dumbbell move for the deep side muscles of the core.

How to do it

  1. Lift a heavy dumbbell off the floor with one hand and stand tall.
  2. Walk forward with your shoulders level and your free arm relaxed.
  3. Turn or put it down, switch hands and walk the same distance.

Cues

  • Stand like there's no weight
  • Level shoulders
  • Short steps

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the dumbbell.
  • Letting the dumbbell tap your leg on every step.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Kettlebell Windmill

Build a session with Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Bracing, the two-handed carry

Farmer's Walk

Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Two heavy dumbbells, one per side, load the whole trunk evenly and works your grip and upper back too. It lets you carry the most weight of any core move here.

How to do it

  1. Pick up two heavy dumbbells with your back flat.
  2. Stand tall with your ribs down and walk with short, quick steps.
  3. Set the weights down with a flat back when the time or distance is up.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Crush the handles
  • Quick steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the shoulders round forward.
  • Walking so slowly the dumbbells start to swing.

Swap for: Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

Build a session with Farmer's Walk

Bracing, the overhead walk

Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

Shoulders, Abs

Holding a dumbbell straight overhead while you walk asks your core to keep your ribs from flaring and your trunk from tipping. It also trains shoulder stability.

How to do it

  1. Press one dumbbell overhead and lock your elbow with the biceps near your ear.
  2. Walk forward slowly, keeping the weight stacked over your shoulder.
  3. Lower it to your shoulder, switch hands and walk back.

Cues

  • Arm locked
  • Ribs down
  • Weight over the shoulder

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to hold the weight up.
  • Letting the dumbbell drift in front of your head.

Swap for: Plate Overhead Carry, Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Build a session with Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

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. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

One dumbbell, 15 minutes

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You own a single dumbbell, maybe an adjustable one, and want an ab session you can do between other things.

One weight is enough for the four moves that need only one: the suitcase crunch for the front of the abs, the side bend for the obliques, and two one-handed carries that make each side of the trunk hold you up. That covers curling, bending and bracing. Twelve sets keeps it at 15 minutes, twice a week. Crunch and bend sets stop at 1 RIR; carries end when your grip or posture would fail within a few more steps.

One-Dumbbell Abs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
A1 Dumbbell Suitcase Crunch 3 × 8–15 1 30 s
A2 Dumbbell Side BendPer side. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySteps per hand. 3 × 20–40 1 45 s
Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead CarrySteps per hand. 3 × 20–30 2 1 min
How to run it
Do it twice a week. Superset the crunch with the side bend, then do the carries back to back.
How to progress
Add reps to the crunch and bend first. Once all sets reach the top of the range, carry farther, then use a heavier setting.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

A pair of heavy dumbbells, after your lifting session

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets12 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You train full body or upper/lower with dumbbells and want core work that adds strength, not just burn.

When you already lift, the core grows from the same thing as any other muscle: load. The farmer's walk and renegade row let you use heavy dumbbells, and the woodchop and suitcase crunch take the trunk through the turning and curling the lifts skip. Nine to ten sets twice a week is enough on top of training. Keep the renegade row at 2 RIR so the hips stay square; take the chops and crunches to 1 RIR.

Core A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Farmer's WalkSteps. Heavy. 3 × 30–40 1 90 s
Dumbbell WoodchopPer side. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min

Open Core A in the session builder

Core B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Renegade RowPer side. 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Dumbbell Suitcase Crunch 3 × 8–15 1 1 min

Open Core B in the session builder

How to run it
Add Core A and Core B to the end of two lifting days. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets.
How to progress
Go heavier on the farmer's walk whenever you finish 40 steps with good posture. Add reps to the rest before going heavier.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Light dumbbells, new to core work

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You have a pair of light dumbbells and have done little core training, so you want moves that are easy to set up and hard to do wrong.

Side planks and carries put the dumbbell where a beginner can control it: resting on the hip or hanging at your side. They teach bracing before the faster chop. The light weight is the right weight here, since side planks need only a few pounds, and the chop works with a light dumbbell as long as it moves slowly. All sets stay at 2 RIR for the first month so form leads.

Beginner Core
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Side PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 20–40 2 45 s
Dumbbell Side Plank Hip DipPer side. 2 × 8–12 2 45 s
Dumbbell WoodchopPer side, slow. 2 × 8–12 2 45 s
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySteps per hand. 2 × 20–30 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the session twice a week. Count side-plank seconds as reps and stop each hold with a few good seconds left.
How to progress
Lengthen the holds and add hip-dip reps; when the top of each range is easy, move to the after-lifting plan.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

Can you build abs with dumbbells?

Yes. Abs grow like any other muscle when you load them and take sets close to failure. Dumbbells add that load to crunches, chops, side bends and carries once bodyweight versions get too easy.

What is the no. 1 exercise for abs?

No single move does everything. With dumbbells, the woodchop and the suitcase carry come closest between them: one trains the trunk to turn, the other to stay level, and both load the deep core and obliques.

What are the big 3 core exercises?

The name usually refers to the curl-up, the side plank and the bird dog, a set chosen to train the trunk with little stress on the spine. A dumbbell version of the idea is the suitcase crunch, the weighted side plank and the renegade row.

Is 20 minutes of abs a day enough?

It is more than you need. Twenty minutes of hard sets two or three times a week covers it; daily sessions only work if they are short and leave you fresh for the next one.

Can I get a six-pack in 2 weeks?

Not unless you are already close to it. Weighted ab work builds the muscle over weeks, but seeing it depends on body fat, and that changes over months.

What weight dumbbell should I use for ab exercises?

Light for the crunch and side plank, often 5 to 15 lb, medium for chops and side bends, and as heavy as you can hold with good posture for carries. Pick a weight that leaves 1 to 2 reps in reserve at the top of the range.