Today, you’ll discover the substitution list of approved ab exercises for ripped abs AND 1 exercise you should never do.
Print this exercise substitution list and email it to your friends. Heck, you could even post it in your gym.
HERE WE GO – starting with the 1 exercise you should NEVER do…
Now, yesterday I told you how I watched a trainer put his client through a BACK WRECK exercise, and this is what it was like:
The exercise consisted of weighted stability ball crunches, but there were no normal crunches on the ball that you see people do. No way.
You see, the client not only made a full movement to sit up, but continued, violently, in a full-body flexion movement that ended with her almost putting her head between her knees.
But doing any type of spinal flexion can be detrimental to your lower back because it will compress the discs in your spine.
In fact, Dr. Stuart McGill, the world’s leading expert on lower back injuries and abdominal training, said in a recent New York Times article, “…there are no crunches, they place devastating loads on the discs.”
The spinal discs are the same discs that herniate in a low back injury. And movements like crunches essentially CRUSH the discs between the bones of the spine, causing excruciating pain and nerve damage.
So STOP doing crunches and crunches!
Fortunately, you can still get ripped abs and a flat, sexy stomach by using back-friendly ab exercises.
So let’s run through a huge list of ab exercise substitutions:
1) Replace abs with:
Stability Ball Boards, Mountaineers, and Blades
2) Replace crossover crunches (i.e. twisting or oblique crunches) with:
Side planks and crossed mountaineers
3) Replace abs with:
Stability Ball Jackknives, Stability Ball Planks, Stability Ball Pikes, Stability Ball Toss, and Hanging Knee Raises
Now let’s take a look at how we can make some of these back ab exercises even harder on your abs:
1) How to increase the difficulty of the Iron
First of all, before moving on from the table, you must master it.
Dr. McGill says that we should all be able to do a plank for 2 minutes straight.
Now I’ll be honest, I allowed myself to do this exercise last summer and, unsurprisingly, it was probably one of the reasons I had back pain.
At one point, I could only do a strict plank for 75 seconds, but I’m back up for 135 seconds, and now my back pain is gone.
You can also do pushups, as they will help you prepare for pushups if you are a beginner.
Eventually, you’ll move on to the Stability Ball Plank, which is 30% harder on your abs than regular planks.
2) Harder Versions of Side Plank
Advanced versions include Side Plank with Leg Raise and Side Plank with DB Lateral Raise (allowing you to train your shoulders at the same time). Dr. McGill adds that we should be able to do side planks for 90 seconds straight.
3) Substitutions of mountaineers
You can use the Spiderman Climb exercise as a replacement, and it’s great for lower body and hip mobility.
A tougher version of the mountain climbers is the Cross-Body Mountain Climber, and you can also do mountain climbers with hands on the ball or hands on the ground and feet on the ball.
One of my favorite advanced versions is “Hands on the Floor, Feet on the Ball Cross-body Mountain Climber” or even “EXTREME X-Body Mountain Climber”.
stability ball NOTE
If you don’t have a ball, you need to get one. They’re cheap, and I’m not asking you to perform dangerous circus tricks on them!
But if you don’t have a ball, you can replace the Stability Ball Plank with the Mountain Climber exercise, but it won’t be that difficult.
4) How to increase the difficulty of the Stability Ball Jackknife
You will eventually progress to the Stability Ball Pike. And another way to do this exercise is using the TRX straps. That is one of the exercises that improves the TRX. Very effective move. But even with the ball you can intensify your training using this exercise.
5) Stability Ball Pike
This is another exercise enhanced by using the TRX, as well as a cool toy I bought called the Power Wheel. The key to the exercise is to lift your hips as high as possible, and again, using the Power Wheel or TRX allows you to do it better.
6) Alternatives to Stability Ball Deployment
If you are new to this exercise, you can use a modified Roll-out which is easier.
Also, you can substitute the ball for an ab wheel or you can even use the TRX in a similar type of movement. It works because you are fighting against the extension of your torso.
Stretch your abs as you come out and contract them to return to the starting position. This move will leave your abs pretty sore if it’s a new exercise for you!
7) Additional Advanced Abdominal Exercises
Once you’ve mastered all of these Stability Ball exercises, you can move on to the traditional advanced ab exercises of Hanging Knee Ups and Hanging Leg Raises.
However, you should only do these exercises if you can completely ELIMINATE the urge from the exercise. DO NOT sway your hips or rock from side to side.
8) Push-ups that work your abs
You should also understand that MANY traditional exercises work your abs and slight variations of traditional movements can work your abs very hard.
For example, some of the best pushups for abs include:
* Elevated push-ups
* T-push-ups
* Spiderman push-ups
* Decline Spiderman push-ups
Of course, you’ll get all of this in home workouts for ripped abs.
9) Pulling Exercises That Work Your Abs
In the past, I’ve trained a fit woman who had never been asked to do a chin-up by her previous trainers. So I asked him to do 2-3 sets of 3-5 reps.
He came back for the next session and couldn’t believe how sore his abs were from this exercise. So again, you’ll get a lot of ab work from traditional moves. Besides pull-ups, these are my favorite “full-body pull-up ab exercises.”
* Rank Renegade DB
* pull-ups
* Chin-ups/Pullups with kneeups
* Spiderman suspenders
Use them to make your workouts more efficient.
10) Shoulder/Arm Exercises
YES, you can use shoulder and arm exercises to work your abs. Every time you do a standing exercise, you’ll need to brace your abs HARD to maintain a rigid core. That works your abs just as hard as planks and side planks.
Also, in the triceps extension exercise, you stretch your abs as you lower the weight and contract your abs as you contract your triceps to return the dumbbells or bar to the starting position. I’ve had super sore abs just from doing triceps!
So here are my favorite upper body exercises for the abs:
* 1-arm press
* 1-arm curl
* DB Triceps Extension
I hope you enjoyed that huge list of ab exercise substitutions!
Just say NO to abs!