Most of us know that when it comes to how to get a six pack, we need to get to a low enough body fat percentage for them to start peeking through. The same is true for any muscle. But in addition to that, by training our abs in the right way, just like any other muscle, they will respond with growth. And as a result, your six pack abs will be even more visible and better looking as you start chipping away at the fat covering them. But… How to train abs properly? Well, in this video, I’ll cover 3 common ab workout mistakes – relating to the way that you train your abs – that you need to fix. Doing this will help you actually target and grow your 6 pack abs much more effectively.
The first mistake you’re making with your ab training is letting your hip flexors takeover the movement. Which is obviously detrimental for our overall six pack abs development as well, but can also create a problematic imbalance between our hip flexors and abs strength that can potentially lead to back issues and pain down the road. One way to address this is by simply changing your focus during your abs exercises. Ignore what your legs or upper body are doing during the movement, and instead focus on your pelvis. For bottom up abs exercises like leg raises or reverse crunches, simply focus on curling your pelvis towards your belly button. And for top down abs exercises like cable crunches or sit-ups, simply focus on bringing the rib cage forward and down towards the pelvis.
Going beyond this though, another solution is to tweak your current abs training to help take the hip flexors out of the equation. For example, during sit-ups, one solution is to perform what’s called the Janda sit-up. In addition to this though, during moves like the reverse crunch, most people are unaware that the range of motion of the abs during this movement is actually quite short. So stopping this short on the way down is a very easy way to again shift more tension to the abs and minimize the involvement of the hip flexors.
The next mistake you’re making when it comes to how to get a six pack is failing to initiate and maintain what’s called a posterior pelvic tilt during your abs exercises. This subtle movement of tilting the pelvis by contracting the glutes and abs is another key function of the abs, and has been shown to not only significantly boost activation but also helps to further prevent the hip flexors from taking over during our abs exercises. So, realize the importance of this and apply this subtle tweak to all of your abs exercises. For example during the reverse crunch, initiate the posterior pelvic tilt by contracting your glutes and abs before you go to perform each rep and maintain that position as you go through each rep. The same applies for moves like hanging leg raises, sit-ups, ab roll-outs, and even planks. Make this change and you’ll not only instantly feel a much greater contraction in your abs, but also less involvement of other muscle groups like the hip flexors and lower back that we want to keep out of the movement. In turn, helping you build that 6 pack abs!
The last of the ab workout mistakes is treating your abs like some kind of special muscle. What you want to do is, when you do add direct abs work, approach it like any other muscle group. A lot of people will make the mistake of training their abs several times a week with high rep ranges, short rest periods, and will leave them for the end of their workouts when they’re already pretty fatigued. Instead, treat them like your other muscle groups. Provide them with adequate attention and volume but also with adequate rest, and as they get stronger overtime, overload your abs exercises with additional weight or difficulty instead of simply sticking to the same routine over and over again. By training them in this fashion, they’ll respond with growth the exact same way that any of your other muscles would.
All in all though, realize that while ab training does help to build your six pack, you need to combine this with a proper nutrition plan designed to then reveal your hard work and to get your abs more visible. Focusing all your efforts on training while remaining oblivious to the importance of your nutrition will get you nowhere. But for a step-by-step program that shows you exactly both how to train (e.g. how to train abs properly) and how to eat week after week so that you can not only build muscle but then also strip off the fat covering it to reveal that hard earned muscle, just like several of our members have done with their Built With Science programs, then simply take the analysis quiz to discover which science-based program would be best for you and where your body is currently at below:
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Congrats on 3 MILLION!
Just realized this was one minute ago
Watched ur vids when u had less than 100k, your growth has been craaazy congrats on 3m!
Way to go, Jeremy!
I’ve started using my lower abs in the past few months rather than my hip flexors and my abs are starting to show more now without lowering my bf%
What did you change to active your lower abs better?
@Caitlin from the video- posterior pelvic tilt. I did leg raises (laying down) and kept my lower back on the ground and raised my legs by using my abs and not my legs (/hip flexors)
@MeechTree but if you have 30% bf and train abs everyday, will u still have abs?
@shuttle skills unlikely, 30% is a lot of body fat. Think about around 20% or lower and you’ll be able to notice a 6 pack if you have strong abs
@MeechTree Yeah but more people are over 20% bf so if they are looking for abs, i would say core workouts are acting like microphone stand to a microphone, they will help u but it is just an extra
Congrats on 3 mil! You’ve come a long way. I started my fitness journey watching your videos back in the day.
Thank you for all the kind comments and support for reaching 3M! Much appreciated. I owe it all to your continued support, loyalty, and word of mouth. I’m currently working on a 3 million “update” video that’ll be up next week, in the meantime, hope you enjoy this one 🙂
Hi Jeremy, I had a video request. So my exercise habits has been pretty bad during the COVID times and going to the Gym has been totally out of the question. I was doing jump rope outside or run quick. But now its cold and its going to snow. I live in top floor so jumping around is difficult. I wanted to know what good exercises for cardio/heartrate do you recommend are teh best. I have been doing mostly mountain climbers. doing burpees or jumping is going to be a lot noises to the people living below.
i have a lot of fat i can only do 1 push up 5 sit ups without the help of my leg and im 46.8 kg and im 12 years plz help
you are ma inspiration man!!!!!
hi Jeremy nice video but I gotta ask: what if you’re capable of maintaining posterior pelvic tilt but for some reason you’re still not strong enough to bring your knees close to your chest properly during a reverse crunch on the ground? I can keep my low back on the floor but I can’t even do the curl movement, feel my lower abs during said movement, or even keep my knees together when it happens. Stomach is somewhere only within the 25-30% body fat range but it’s as if my gut is in the way. And the idea of holding/anchoring onto something feels like cheating or not initiating full contraction on the lower abs. What should I do?
Jeremy u r so actual about ur research that even a non gymer will get ur point ❣️❣️❣️❣️
I never knew that i have been doing it for my lower back for a year now?!
In my powerlifting days, I remember the internet saying that the abs and arms were worked enough during the big 3 and other compound movements. This may be true, but when I wanted my body to look better, those two things sure didn’t look very good when I dieted down. For most people, it’s necessary to treat abs and arms as something to focus on if they want them to look better. Very clutch advice, Jeremy. Also, once I started adding in posterior pelvic tilt to my ab flexion exercises, it changed everythingggggg!
what are “the big 3 movements” ?
@CoolPigeon bench press, deadlift, squat
Yup everybody talks about how abs are made in the “kitchen”, but for at least my genetics I simply wish that was true.
@HecticBeatzz it is true. Unless you eat healthy, (unless you have super high metabolism) you wont have visible abs.
@Tommy Mack I think he meant eating low calories isn’t enough on its own, you also need to train the abs directly. Also it doesn’t have much to do with eating healthy, it’s mostly about calories. You can eat a low number of calories from garbage food.
When I tight my belly I hv abs but when I stand normally there is belly fat what do I do?!
Simple burn the fat and work out tour core more so your abs grow and be more defined
This isn’t big advice but having good posture when standing and sitting also helps with your abs or at least help you “tighten” your stomach so you don’t show too much belly fat.
That Posterior pelvic tilt tip is GOLD ✨ Will definitely use!
Be careful! I have seen Jeff Cavaliere walking around your gym with tank gasoline and a box of matches.
As a Personal Trainer myself, i always tell my clients to NEVER PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD. This is very important. As your ability to do a sit up decreases a person tends to pull their head. i have them extend arms up aim at a section of the ceiling or place hands on the side of the head over the ears (Area).
The only one YouTube channel I recommend to my friends.
Congratulations from India for 3 million