Abdominal exercises with dumbbells: the best exercises

The ultimate trick to getting impressive abs? Forget the classic sit-ups, sit-ups and the like. That's right: to get six-pack abs, abs, or whatever you want to call a flat, muscular stomach, there are methods that are more effective and don't take as much time that you already had in your repertoire.

At some point, pure body weight exercises for the core area won't help you make any further progress. Then it's time to change up your exercise routine and put weights into play. Ideal for this: training with dumbbells. These little forces challenge your core hard and give your muscles a powerful new boost that allows them to grow. Here we'll show you exercises that will take your muscles to the next level.

Note: By the way, there is something true to the saying “abs are made in the kitchen.” The best way to support your training is to eat a high-protein, nutrient-dense diet.

How to make abdominal training effective and not boring?

Abdominal training is not monotonous at all, on the contrary, it offers a huge variety of exercises. In addition to basic bodyweight exercises, there are plenty of basic and specialized exercises that will really make your stomach sweat.

The great thing about it: With dumbbell exercises, bodyweight training and similar methods, you not only provide a breath of fresh air into your workout, but also provide effective training pulses. Our dumbbell routines work your muscles right – challenging but not overwhelming. This means you're on your way to a firm, defined stomach.

Abdominal muscle training with dumbbells: This is how it's done

Best trick to get visible abs fast? Train your stomach while standing! The secret behind it? If you are in an upright position during training, your muscles must do the stabilizing work and therefore be effectively challenged. Prove That studies. Dumbbell training is a particularly challenging and time-saving way to challenge your body and push it to its limits. In our workout, we will show you 4 difficult dumbbell exercises. In order to reach your goal quickly and without detours, we advise you to complete the exercises in the photo gallery 3 times a week for 3 rounds each.

Complete at least 10 repetitions of each side of each exercise. This means: first you do 10 reps on the right side, then immediately after that you continue with 10 reps on the left side. Then pause for 30 seconds and continue with the next exercise. Easy right? Let's go!

Standing Abs Workout: Why abdominal training is more effective while standing

Are you still stuck on the idea that “abs” stands for crunches and sit-ups? Certainly, many of the most popular abdominal exercises are done while lying down. But here comes the aha moment: the abdominal muscles can be strengthened more effectively. In the classic back crunch, the abdominal muscles are stressed somewhat superficially because essentially only one area is being worked. The muscles surrounding your stomach, especially the deep core muscles, are not needed when training while lying down.

Why are abdominal weight exercises so effective?

If you have never used dumbbells or other weights before, you will notice that training with them can be very demanding in terms of coordination. When training with free weights, your muscles are constantly trying to steady themselves and must get used to new movements. Let's take the example of a dumbbell squat: your entire torso is tense because you have to activate several muscle groups at the same time, and, moreover, you have to maintain your balance – and this requires a lot of effort.

But the effort pays off because you strengthen several muscle groups at once. With squats plus dumbbells, you not only strengthen your legs and buttocks, but also your arms, back and – who would have thought – your abdominal muscles benefit greatly. The nice thing about training with dumbbells is that it is very simple and does not require a lot of preparation time. For the four exercises in our photo series, you only need a couple of dumbbells, a little discipline and motivation, and you're good to go! The following dumbbell sets, for example, are perfect for our exercises:

Our cooperative partner Lucadora has sent these Women's health dumbbells Made of high quality polyurethane in sizes from 2.5 to 15 lbs.

Dumbbells with adjustable weight plates

Don't want to use dumbbells? These are suitable alternatives

Don't have space for your own dumbbell set at home and don't want to go to the gym? Maybe you want to start slowly training without dumbbells? In these cases you can Resistance bands Begins.

You can modify the exercises in our gallery by either standing on the belt or attaching the belt to a hook or something similar, depending on the exercise and the direction of the pull. If you don't have any equipment on hand, you can improvise with water bottles to get started: simply fill a 1.5-liter bottle and get started.

Abs training works best when you train multiple muscle groups at the same time. It is best to train your core while standing with weights. You can find the 4 best dumbbell exercises for your stomach in our photo gallery, or you can get started right away with our 8-week combination plan for your abs! But do not forget to adjust your diet, because only you follow it Correct nutrition Groups will achieve success in training.