An ab workout for Apple Watch is 3 or 4 ab exercises, 2 to 3 hard sets each, logged on your wrist, often at the end of a lifting session. In RIRLift loaded exercises like cable crunches progress by weight, holds like planks are timed with a stopwatch on the Watch, and the whole session lands in Apple Health as one strength workout.
Add these three to the end of your leg day on the iPhone, or run them as their own routine. Either way the session is saved to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training.
How to progress
The cable crunch logged 80 lb for 12, 12 and 12 with 1 left: every set at the top of 8 to 12, so it goes up one step on the stack, 90 lb on a stack that moves in 10 lb steps, with the target back at 8.
Start it from the Watch. On the holds, tap Start hold, then Stop when you drop; the seconds fill the set.
How to progress
Holds keep the time your routine sets. When 45 seconds is easy on every plank, raise the plank's hold time in the routine on the iPhone. The reverse crunch keeps its rep target until the weakest set reaches it; then the next target is one rep more than that set.
EquipmentAb Wheel, Ab Crunch Machine, Decline Bench
Your gym has an ab crunch machine and an ab wheel, and you want abs as a short session of their own.
The rollout makes the abs stop your lower back from arching as your body lengthens, the crunch machine adds weight in small steps, and the decline crunch finishes them.
Start it from the Watch. The crunch machine changes weight with a pin, so the next weight is one tap away.
How to progress
The crunch machine logged 70 lb for 15, 13 and 12 with 1 left against a target of 12: the weight holds and the target rises to 13. The rollout's rep target moves the same way: each session your weakest set reaches it, the next target is one rep more than that set.
Cable and machine crunches work like any other lift: log the weight and reps, and the next weight is set from them. Planks are logged in seconds: tap Start hold on the Watch, tap Stop when you drop, and the time fills the set.
The cable lets you add weight in small steps, so you can progress a crunch the way you progress a curl. Standing also lets you bend through your whole spine against steady tension.
How to do it
Attach a rope to a high pulley, grab both ends, turn your back to the stack and step forward so the weight lifts off its rest.
Hold the rope beside your head, stand with your feet hip-width and soften your knees.
Curl your ribcage down toward your hips, rounding your upper and mid back, until your chest points at the floor.
Let your spine lengthen back to upright under control, keeping your hands fixed beside your head.
Cues
Ribs to hips
Round your back, don't bow at the hips
Hands stay glued to your head
Common mistakes
Hinging at the hips so the weight drops without your spine bending. Keep your hips still and think about shortening the distance between ribs and pelvis.
Pulling with your arms. Lock your hands in place so only your trunk moves the rope.
Swap for: Machine Crunch, Decline Crunch, Crunch
Lower abs, hanging
Hanging Leg Raise
Abs
Hanging from a bar with straight legs makes the abs lift a long lever. Bend your knees if you cannot get 8 controlled reps yet.
How to do it
Hang from the bar, legs long and pressed together.
Lift your legs, keeping your knees straight, until your feet reach at least hip height.
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
Anti-rotation, obliques and deep abs
Pallof Press
Abs
The cable tries to twist you and you stop it, which is how your obliques brace in a heavy lift. It is easy on the back and easy to load.
How to do it
Set a handle at chest height and stand side-on to the cable, far enough away that the stack lifts.
Hold the handle in both hands against your chest, feet a bit wider than your hips, knees soft.
Press the handle straight out in front of your chest without letting your torso turn toward the cable.
Hold for 2 seconds with your arms straight, then bring it back to your chest and finish all reps before switching sides.
Cues
Hands stay on your midline
Ribs down, glutes tight
Hold, don't drift
Common mistakes
Letting your hands drift toward the cable at full reach. Use a lighter load and keep your hands in line with your sternum.
Standing too close so there is no real pull. Step out until holding position takes real effort.
Swap for: Cable Woodchop, Side Plank, Dumbbell Side Plank
Bracing, the hold
Plank
Abs
A plank trains the abs to hold your trunk straight against gravity. It needs nothing but a floor.
How to do it
Set your forearms under your shoulders and your feet behind you, body in a straight line.
Squeeze your glutes and pull your ribs down toward your hips.
Hold, breathing normally, without letting your hips sag or rise.
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
Obliques, no equipment
Side Plank
Abs
Holding your body up on one side trains the obliques and the deep muscles that keep your spine from bending sideways. It needs nothing and scales easily: start from the knees.
How to do it
Lie on one side with your elbow under your shoulder and your legs stacked.
Lift your hips until your body is straight from head to feet.
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
Anti-extension, learn to brace
Dead Bug
Abs
It teaches you to keep your lower back still while your arms and legs move, which is the skill every other exercise here relies on. It is easy enough to do before heavy lifts.
How to do it
Lie on your back with your arms pointing at the ceiling and your knees bent 90 degrees above your hips.
Press your lower back gently into the floor and breathe out to set your ribs down.
Reach one arm overhead and straighten the opposite leg toward the floor, stopping just above it.
Bring both back to the start and repeat on the other side, keeping your back pinned the whole time.
Cues
Lower back stays down
Exhale as you reach
Slow and smooth
Common mistakes
Your lower back arches as your leg lowers. Shorten the reach or keep the knee bent until you can hold position.
Rushing the reps. Take about 2 seconds to reach out and 2 to come back.
Swap for: Plate Hollow Hold, Alternating Leg Raise, Plank
Bottom-up curl, no equipment
Reverse Crunch
Abs
Curling your hips off the floor targets the lower part of your abs without needing a bar to hang from. It is the floor version of the hanging knee raise.
How to do it
Lie on your back, arms flat on the floor beside you, palms down, and lift your knees to a 90-degree angle over your hips.
Breathe out and roll your hips off the floor, bringing your knees toward your chest.
Lift until your lower back peels off the floor and your tailbone points up.
Lower your hips back down slowly, one segment of your spine at a time, until your tailbone touches.
Cues
Peel your hips up
Knees stay bent
Three seconds down
Common mistakes
Swinging your legs to get your hips up. Start each rep from a still position and keep your knees at the same angle.
Pushing hard through your hands. Keep your arms relaxed so your abs lift your hips.
As the wheel rolls out your body gets longer and your abs have to stop your lower back from sagging, then pull you back in. Most people start from the knees.
How to do it
Kneel with the wheel under your shoulders and your arms straight.
Brace and roll forward, letting your hips follow, until just before your back starts to sag.
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
Rectus abdominis, loaded seated crunch
Machine Crunch
Abs
The machine lets you add weight to a crunch in small, exact steps, which body-weight crunches cannot do. That makes it easy to train the abs like any other muscle, in a set rep range close to failure, and to see progress in your log.
How to do it
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.
Hold the handles or place your arms on the pads with your elbows pointing forward, and sit tall with your back on the pad.
Breathe out and curl your chest down toward your hips by rounding your spine, keeping your hips on the seat.
Hold the squeeze for a second when your ribs are closest to your pelvis.
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
Full-range sit-up, easy to load
Decline Crunch
Abs
The decline puts your abs under tension from a stretched start, and hugging a plate is an easy way to add load. It trains a longer range than a floor crunch.
How to do it
Lock your feet under the pads of a decline bench and lie back with your hips near the bend of the bench.
Rest your fingertips lightly behind your head, or hug a plate to your chest.
Curl your head, then shoulders, then upper back off the bench and keep curling until your torso is close to upright.
Lower yourself one segment at a time until your shoulders touch the bench, without dropping.
Cues
Chin tucked, curl up
Exhale on the way up
Lower slowly
Common mistakes
Sitting up with a flat back. Round your spine on the way up so your abs, not your hip flexors, do most of the lifting.
Yanking on your head. Keep your hands light, or cross your arms over a plate.
Add the loaded plan to the end of leg day or upper day on the iPhone. The Watch runs it as part of the same session.
Raise the hold time yourself
Timed holds keep the time your routine sets. When the hold is easy on every set, raise its time in the routine on the iPhone.
Short rests
Ab sets need 60 to 90 seconds. Take 15 seconds off from the rest screen on the Watch if the session runs long.
Two or three times a week
Abs recover quickly. Run one plan two or three times a week, or alternate two of them.
Questions
Which Apple Watch workout type is an ab workout?
RIRLift picks it for you. A session with any lift in it, including cable crunches, planks or leg raises, is saved to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training.
Can the Apple Watch time a plank?
Yes. In RIRLift, tap Start hold on the Watch as you set up and Stop when you drop; the seconds fill the set.
Can I add abs to the end of my workout?
Yes. Add the exercises to the end of your routine on the iPhone and the Watch runs them in the same session.
How many ab exercises should I do?
Three or four, for 2 to 3 hard sets each, is what the plans here use.
