Best Abs Workout That You Can Do at Gym

You are in the right place if you are looking for the best abs exercises and workout that you can do at the gym to build six-pack abs and strong core muscles.

If you’ve ever wondered how you can work your abs and core with the equipment available at your gym, we’ve got you covered with 16 creative and effective ways to take your abs routine up a notch.

Worked with some of the most common gym equipment: a pull-up bar, a cable machine, an abs roller, and a barbell. And you can adjust them to fit any fitness level.

Next time you’re at the gym, pick three of the moves below and do stick to it, and we promise you’ll feel the burn and see results.

The Anatomy of Your Abs

Your waist is made up of two muscle groups: the rectus abdominis (known as your “six-pack” muscles) In the front and the obliques on each side.

To build the impressive six-pack abs, first we needed to understand the anatomy and functionality of the abs, which help to perform the abs exercises at gym machine to the best level.

The Rectus abdominis muscle arises from the lower margin of the rib cage and sternum and passes vertically downward to attach to the pubic bone.

The two rectus abdominis muscles (one on each side) are encased in a sheath of fascia that forms the central dividing line down the middle of the abs.

The external oblique is the outer visible layer that passes run diagonally on each side of the rectus abdominis.

The internal oblique muscles lie under the external obliques and run into the lower back or erector spinae.

The deepest part of the abdominals is the transversus abdominis, which lies horizontally across the abdominal wall.

Complete Abs Workout At Gym

Do you want to lose that belly fat and finally achieve a rock-hard abs?

If you have a desire to achieve the astonishing six-pack abs, then these exercises which definitely help you.

Target, hitting the different areas of your abs from every angle. Some exercise concentrates on your upper abs, some focuses on the lower abs, and some works the often neglected side abs – or obliques – along with your deeper core muscles.

How Do You Target The Upper Abs In Gym?

The rectus abdominis’ main jobs are flexion of the torso, which means forward bending (bringing your chest toward your hips), and flexion of the hips, which essentially means to bring your pelvic bone/hips upward.

For your upper abs, they will be the most activated during movements that bring your upper body toward your hips/legs (spinal flexion). 

For example, the following gym exercises will target your upper abs: Cable Crunches and Twisting Sit-Up

How Do You Target The Lower Abs In Gym?

So, to target your lower abs, think of movements that bring your thighs toward your core.

Hanging leg raises, reverse crunches and stability ball Tuck, and are all wonderful for activating the lower abs area.

How Do You Target The Oblique Abs?

The obliques work together to help you to bend side-to-side, rotate your torso from left to right, and assist with spinal flexion.

For example, the following gym exercises will target your oblique: Cable Side Bend, Landmine Twists and Cable Wood Chopper

How to incorporate ab workouts into my gym routine?

Gym machine workouts help strengthen your core in a more dynamic way.

Machines like the cable set up, and the pull-up bar, allow you to work your abs for improved muscular endurance.

They also help burn abdominal fat. Other machines, such as the abs roller developer, can also increase the intensity.

All the gym machines listed below can help you strengthen your core muscles, including your rectus abdominis, obliques, and deep abdominal muscles.

• The cable machine can be used for strength, flexibility, and speed. Every cable exercise will work your core to some degree. The wood chop and the Pallof press are some of the most effective cable machine exercises to build six-pack abs.
• You could use a pull-up bar at your gym to sculpt your abs with exercises like hanging leg raises and hanging windshield wipers. You work your abdominal muscles whenever you hang from the bar and bracing your core.
• When you do sit-ups and reverse crunch on a decline bench, you’re increasing the amount of gravity you bring into the equation. It works your muscles differently and adds intensity to your sit-ups and reverse crunch.

16 Best Abs Exercises At Gym

Here are the best abs exercises at gym to add to your workout to build strong core and six-pack abs

1. Cable Crunch

Cable crunches, also known as kneeling cable crunches, are a weighted Crunch variation that targets your ab and core muscles. Perform cable crunch at the gym by kneeling in front of a cable station with a pulley attachment.

Doing Abs crunches exercises on a cable apparatus at a gym offers one huge advantage over doing them on the floor.

The cable allows you to increase resistance, enabling you to train to failure using heavier weights and fewer reps. This increased emphasis on strength and hypertrophy.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Upper abs

Secondary: Lower abs, Obliques, serratus anterior.

How To Do Cable Crunch

1. Kneel in front of a high pulley. Grasp the rope attachment in each hand and place your wrists against the sides of your head.
2. Lower your torso by flexing your hips, but allow the weight of the rope to lift your upper torso so that your lower back is extended.
3. Keeping your hips fixed, exhale as you pull the rope downward by flexing your abdomen so that your back becomes arched.
4. Hold for a count of two. Relax your abdomen and allow the rope to lift your upper torso so that your lower back goes back to being extended.

Tips

• Keep your neck in a neutral position.
• Keep your hips fixed. All the movement should be in your abdomen.
• Don’t choose a weight so heavy that your lower back handles most of the resistance. 

2. Machine Crunch

A great way to strengthen your abdominal muscles is to use an abs crunch machine.

Undoubtedly, adding this movement to your workout regime will help you on your path to getting great abs.

This is a convenient way to add resistance to your abdominal exercises for better abs and core development.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Upper abs

Secondary: Lower abs, Obliques, serratus anterior.

How To Do Machine Crunch

1. Sit on the ab machine and select a slight resistance. Position your feet under the pads and hold the handles at the top.
2. Make sure your arms are bent at 90 degrees.
3. Keep your feet stationary and perform crunches as instructed in the machine directions, focusing on the contraction of your abs.
4. Pause and slowly return to starting position as you inhale.

Tips

• Use a slow, controlled motion to target the muscles.
• Keep your motions slow and steady to reduce the risk of injury.
• Do not overload the machine. Go with the weights that you have worked with before and eventually build up.

3. Landmine Twists

The landmine twist exercise is one of the best abs exercises that you can add to your gym workout regime. The landmine twist is a rotational abdominal movement performed using an angled barbell anchored at floor level in a landmine device.

It targets the deep muscles of the core, including both the obliques and the transversus abdominis.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Abs, obliques.

Secondary: Serratus anterior, hip flexors.

How To Do Landmine Twists

1. Position a bar into a landmine or securely anchor it in a corner. Load the bar to an appropriate weight.
2. Raise the bar off the floor, taking it to shoulder height with both hands with your arms extended in front of you. Adopt a wide stance.
3. Rotate the trunk and hips as you swing the weight all the way down to one side. Keep your arms extended throughout the exercise.
4. Reverse the motion to swing the weight all the way to the opposite side.

Tips

• Keep a slight bend in your knees as you rotate, this should help take a bit of tension off your lumbar spine during the movement.
• Try to keep your arms straight.

4. Cable Side Bend

The cable side bend is a core strengthening exercise that specifically targets the obliques. This exercise also improves stability in the lower back and hips.

Cable side bends are more controllable, you can achieve more with less weight, and they allow you to stay within an active range of motion for your obliques.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Obliques

Secondary: Abs, Serratus anterior.

How To Do Cable Side Bend

1. Attached D-handle to a low pulley and stand side-on to the weight stack.
2. Grasp the D-handle with your right hand and stand with the pulley to your right side. Your torso should be laterally flexed (bent sideways) towards the pulley, and your arm should be straight and close to your body.
3. Bend your torso away from the pulley, pulling the D-handle upward.
4. Slowly lower the D-handle back to the starting position by bending your torso towards the pulley.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. Turn around and repeat the cable side bend with your left side.

Tips

• Keep your arm close to your body and your hips still throughout the exercise.
• Perform this exercise slowly and steadily to work the obliques.

5. Hanging Knee Raise

The hanging knee raise is one of the best abs exercises that people do at the gym for building strength in the hip flexors and developing the six-pack and stronger core.

Its Increasing basic strength and hypertrophy of those muscle groups can assist in movement like squats, cleans and snatches, bracing, and more.

Hanging knee raises are a lower abs exercise consisting of lifting and lowering your knees to your chest while hanging on a pull-up bar.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Lower abs

Secondary: Upper abs, Quadriceps, hip flexors, Iliopsoas.

How To Do Hanging Knee Raise

1. Grab a bar with an overhead grip, with the hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and your knees slightly bent.
2. Keep your core and glutes tight to keep your back and hips in the correct position.
3. Lift your legs, bending your knees on the way up to pull your knees up toward your chest, while rounding your lower back to bring your glutes forward and up.
4. Pause in this position for a second, slowly lower your legs back down to the start position without swinging, inhaling as you go down. Continue for the desired reps.

Tips

• Try not to use momentum to raise your legs. Keep the movement slow and under control.
• To make it more difficult, straighten your legs (hanging straight leg raise), or hold a dumbbell between your feet.
• Remember to engage your core before you raise your knees
• Keep your back straight to avoid putting too much pressure on your spine.

6. Hanging Straight Leg Raise

A hanging leg raise is an exercise that primarily works the abs and hip flexors, and is a great addition to any fitness routine for overall core strength, spine health, and mobility.

In fact, studies have shown that hanging leg raises activated the rectus abdominis by 100% and activated the oblique muscles by 88%. 

Hang on a pull-up bar and lift your legs, and in turn, your abs are tightening and strengthening. 

Muscles Worked

Primary: Lower abs

Secondary: Upper abs, Quadriceps, hip flexors, Iliopsoas.

How To Do Hanging Straight Leg Raise

1. Grab a bar with an overhead grip, with the hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
2. Keep your core and glutes tight to keep your back and hips in the correct position.
3. Keeping your legs straight, lift both legs, toward your chest, using your hips and ab muscles. Exhale as you lift your legs up.
4. Slowly lower your legs back down to the start position without swinging, inhaling as you go down. Continue for the desired reps.

Tips

• If you’re a beginner, do the bent knee variation and gradually straighten your legs as you get better at this exercise.
• Do in a controlled motion while lift your legs until they are at a 90-degree angle.
• For harder variation, pull your legs up as high as you can above your waist line. 

7. Hanging Windshield Wiper

The hanging windshield wiper is one of the advanced variant of the Hanging Leg Raise that help in strengthening your core muscle and the twisting movement pattern of your body.

Hanging windshield wiper gets its name from the posture adopted, that resembles the window wipers of a car, as an individual performs each rep.

The goal is to rotate the torso from one side to the other, whilst maintaining a horizontal position. Doing the windshield wiper movement helps to build a strong core.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Internal and External Obliques

Secondary: Abs, Quads, hip flexors

How To Do Hanging Windshield Wiper

1. Grab a bar with an overhead grip, with the hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
2. Keep your core and glutes tight to keep your back and hips in the correct position.
3. Lift your legs towards the bar. Keep your arms and legs straight. Your legs are perpendicular to your torso. Now, rotate your legs to one side until they are parallel with the floor, roughly 90 degrees.
4. Slowly and with control, rotate, your legs to the other side. Keep your legs as straight as possible. Continue for the desired reps.

Tips

• Do not lower your legs beyond feeling a mild stretch in your side.
• You can make the move easier by bending your knees.
• Don’t use momentum to aid you, use your core strength.

8. Abs Wheel Rollout

The wheel roll is a great exercise for Abs workouts at the gym. To build yourself up to it, you can start with the plank and graduate to the wheel rollout when ready.

Ab wheel rollout exercise is considered to be a great move to assist the development of aesthetic abdominal and core muscles.

They’re also an excellent conditioning exercise for athletes. The exercises can be done at home or in the gym.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Rectus Abdominis, hip flexors

Secondary: Obliques, Quad, Rhomboids, Lats, chest, Posterior Deltoid, Erector Spinae

How To Do Abs Wheel Rollout

1. Kneel on the floor and grasp the ab wheel roller with your hands, your arms should be straight and your torso fairly upright in the start position.
2. Allow the abs wheel to roll forward as far as possible with just your knees and toes touching the floor while you maintain your grip on this.
3. The goal is to be as flat as possible in the finish position, with your torso and upper legs parallel with the floor and hovering just a couple of inches above it.
4. Then reverse the motion to pull the abs wheel back toward your knees until your body is upright again. Repeat for as many reps as possible.

Tips

• Squeeze your abs and glutes throughout the movement for stability.
• Move within a comfortable range of motion. You should not strain your lower back.
• Do not allow your hips to sag at any point during the movement.

9. Barbell Rollout

The barbell roll-out is one of the best abs exercises that utilize a barbell in the place of an ab roller. It is an advanced version of the abs roller that you should add to your abs exercises at the gym.

The barbell roll out is performed with a barbell with rotating collars and is considered more difficult than other ab roller variations.

Many lifters may not be able to perform a single rep at first, but once they can perform these for reps, they’ll be rewarded with a seriously strong core.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Rectus Abdominis, hip flexors

Secondary: Obliques, Quad, Rhomboids, Lats, chest, rear delt. Erector Spinae

How To Do Barbell Rollout

1. Kneel on the floor in front of a loaded barbell and grab the barbell with an overhand, shoulder-width group.
2. Your arms should be straight and your torso fairly upright in the start position.
3. Allow the bar to roll forward as far as possible with just your knees and toes touching the floor while you maintain your grip on the bar.
4. The goal is to be as flat as possible in the finish position, with your torso and upper legs parallel with the floor and hovering just a couple of inches above it.
5. Then reverse the motion to pull the bar back toward your knees until your body is upright again. Repeat for as many reps as possible.

Tips

• Squeeze your abs and glutes throughout the movement for stability.
• Move within a comfortable range of motion. You should not strain your lower back.
• Do not allow your hips to sag at any point during the movement.

10. Pallof Press

If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your Abs exercises at the gym, why not try Pallof Press?

The Pallof Press is a full-body exercise that can increase overall stability and activate many large muscle groups in the body.

The Pallof press is an anti-rotation hold exercise that will work wonders in helping you develop a stable core. It is a valuable movement prep and core strengthening exercise for nearly every lifter.

It helps to establish proper spinal alignment under load and increase core stability.

Muscles Worked

Primary: abs, obliques.

Secondary: Serratus anterior, hip flexors, Erector Spinae, Pectoralis

How To Do Pallof Press

1. Attach a handle to a chest-high cable pulley. Stand on the side cable machine with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Grasp the handle with the hand nearest the pulley, pull the handle to your chest, and place your free hand over the hand holding the handle.
3. Engage your core and press the handle out with both hands, so your arms are extended in front of your chest.
4. Hold this position, resisting the pull of the cable and not letting your torso rotate towards the machine, for five to ten seconds, then bring the handle back in to your chest.
5. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Maintain a forward chest and straight back throughout the entire exercise.
• Use a challenging weight, but only to where you can maintain a straight body position. 

11. Cable wood chop

The cable wood chop is great for strengthening the twisting movement pattern of your torso, as well as improving your torso’s ability to resist twisting forces.

It is a compound pulling motion and a functional exercise, while it primarily targets the abdominal and obliques, it also employs the shoulders, back, and glutes.

You can do wood chops with a dumbbell or medicine, but the cable will give a constant tension that is preferable. It can be part of a core-strengthening workout or a total body workout.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Abs, obliques.

Secondary: Serratus anterior, hip flexors, Gluteus, Erector Spinae, Chest

How To Do Cable wood chop

1. Attach a handle to the top of the cable pulley. Grasp the handle with both hands, with either your fingers interlaced or with one hand over the other. Stand next to the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your arms straight, pull the handle in a diagonally downward motion until your torso faces away from the pulley and your hands are knee height.
3. Hold for a count of two. Then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Don’t lock the knees and hips. Allow the hips and knees to rotate slightly.
• Keep your arms straight, shoulders locked in place.

12. Cable down-up twist (Reverse Wood chop)

The Cable Down Up Twist is a variation of the wood chop and an exercise used to target the muscles of the abdominal complex, primarily works the oblique.

Use the cable down-up twist to strengthen and stabilize your core, and to strengthen the rotational movement pattern of your torso.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Rectus abdominis, obliques.

Secondary: Serratus anterior, hip flexors, Gluteus, Erector Spinae, Pectoralis

How To Do Reverse Wood chop

1. Attach a handle to the lowest of cable pulley. Grasp the handle with both hands, with either your fingers interlaced or with one hand over the other. Stand next to the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your arms straight, pull the handle in a diagonally upward motion until your torso faces away from the pulley and your hands are knee height.
3. Hold for a count of two. Then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Don’t lock the knees and hips. Allow the hips and knees to rotate slightly.
• Keep your arms straight, shoulders locked in place.

13. Cable Twist

The cable twist is an isolation exercise that works the oblique muscles of the core.

It’s unique in that it not only helps to strengthen the core muscles, but it’s a functional exercise because it’s performed on the feet.

Use the cable twist to strengthen the twisting movement pattern of your body.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Rectus abdominis, obliques.

Secondary: Serratus anterior, hip flexors, Gluteus, Erector Spinae, Pectoralis

How To Do Cable Twist

1. Attach a handle to a shoulder-height cable pulley. Grasp the handle with both hands, with either your fingers interlaced or with one hand over the other. Stand next to the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your arms straight, pull the handle in a twisting motion, across your body to your opposite side until your torso faces away from the pulley.
3. Hold for a count of two. Then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Keep your arms straight, shoulders locked in place.
• Don’t lock the knees and hips. Allow the hips and knees to rotate slightly.

14. Stability Ball Tuck

Stability Ball Tuck is also known as Stability-Ball Jackknife is a core stabilizing exercise that improves balance, strength, and flexibility throughout the hip and abdominal region.

It is one of those abdominal exercises that looks like they are fun to do, but it is a very effective exercise.

It targets the major muscle groups of the core, while also targeting the stabilizing muscles of the chest, shoulders, and hips.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Rectus abdominis, obliques, liopsoas

Secondary: Serratus anterior, hip flexors, Glute, Hamstrings,

How To Do Stability Ball Tuck

1. Lie on the floor in a push-up position with your feet resting on top of an exercise ball.
2. Tuck your knees in toward your chest while rolling the ball forward.
3. Hold the tucked position for a second, and then return to the starting position by extending your legs back.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Tips

• Keep your neck neutral.
• Do not allow your hips to sag throughout the movement.

15. Incline Reverse Crunch

The incline reverse crunch is similar to the traditional reverse crunch, except that it is performed on an incline bench or slant board.

Since it requires you to work against gravity, it puts more tension on the abs and is more difficult than the standard version.

The incline reverse crunch is a dynamic bodyweight exercise that strengthens the hip flexors and lower abs region. This exercise also improves stability and mobility throughout the lower back.

Placing your torso on an incline increases the range of motion and places more tension on your abs, which makes the exercises more difficult.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Rectus Abdominis

Secondary: Obliques, Quadriceps, hip flexors

How To Do Incline Reverse Crunch

1. Lie on an incline bench, with your head where your feet normally go. Hold on to the leg pads to hold your torso in place on the bench.
2. Bend your hips and knees to 90-degree angles for the start position of the reverse crunch.
3. Maintain the bend in your knees and hips, and flex your spine from the bottom to lift your hips up off the bench and curl your knees toward your head.
4. Slowly reverse the motion to return your legs to the start position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Keep the movement slow and controlled. Do not use momentum.
• Increase the incline by raising the bench to add more resistance.
• Hold a small dumbbell between your legs for additional resistance.

16. Twisting Sit-Up

A decline sit-up bench positions your upper body at an angle so that it’s lower than your hips and thighs. This positioning causes your body to work harder, since you have to work against gravity and through a wider range of motion.

The decline twisting sit-up is an abs and oblique exercise made to strengthen your core and build muscle.

It’s a great exercise for intermediate to advanced lifters because it is moderately challenging but very effective for its intended purpose.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Abs, Obliques.

Secondary: Serratus anterior, hip flexors.

How To Do Twisting Sit-Up

1. Sit on the decline bench, hook your feet under the pad, lean back, and position your hands behind your head.
2. As you sit up, twist your torso, directing your right elbow toward your left knee.
3. Reverse the motion and lower your torso to the starting position; during the next repetition, direct your left elbow toward your right knee.
4. Keep repeating and alternating the side to which you twist your waist.

Tips

• Keep your neck in a neutral position.
• Use a slow, controlled motion to target the muscles. 

Training Program For The ABS Workout Using Gym Equipment

The abs need to be trained with adequate volume and frequency, and with considered exercise selection and progressive overload, just like any other muscle group. 

You could train abs twice per week, one session using an abs exercise and the other using an oblique exercise, and achieve adequate volume throughout the whole area.

Gym Abs Workout Plan Samples

Now you can take them into consideration when planning your workouts. You could use them as a finisher, picking two or three moves and cycling between them with minimal rest in between, or you could separately train your core.

The result will be a stronger, more stable core ready for action in and out of the gym.

Below are some sample workout plans to train your core, abs, and oblique separately with gym equipment.

Gym Abs Workout Plan

1. Cable Crunch: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
2. Landmine Twists: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
3. Hanging Knee Raise: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
4. Abs Wheel Rollout: 2-3 sets x 8-12 reps

Gym Oblique Workout Plan

1. Cable Side Bend: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
2. Pallof Press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
3. Cable Wood Chop: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
4. Landmine Twists: 2 sets x 10-15 reps

Dumbbell Core Workout Plan

1. Barbell Rollout: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
2. Pallof Press: 3 sets x 6-8 reps
3. Stability Ball Tuck: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
4. Twisting Sit-Up: 2 sets x 10-15 reps

Of course, you don’t have to only do gym exercises for your ab workouts.

In fact, you probably should mix it up with:

If you want a well-rounded abs and oblique and core workout, then you must add variation to your workout.

We strongly suggest adding Planks and leg raises to your routine once you have achieved sufficient core strength to perform them safely and correctly.

Best Supplement To Lose Weight And Get Six Pack Abs

Is a slow metabolism the reason for your struggles to lose weight no matter how much you diet and exercise?

Discover the secret to weight loss success with Alpilean.

The ultimate weight loss solution.

Try it for yourself now.

Wishing you health and happiness.

FAQ

What gym workout is best for abs?

The above-mentioned abs machine exercises are a great way to start building six-pack abs if you hit the gym.

What can I do at the gym for abs?

For doing the abs workout at gym choice, 3-4 exercises mentioned above and do 3-4 set and If you’re incorporating heavy weight with some of the moves, do lower reps. It is advisable to modify the workout according to intensity and duration.

Is it worth training abs in the gym?

Training abs with weight at gym help to build Strong abdominal muscles can help improve posture and balance. They can also help reduce back pain and increase flexibility.

How do I get a six-pack at the gym?

Doing cable crunches and other targeted gym exercises is great for toning abdominal muscles, but the first step towards revealing your abs is losing both subcutaneous and visceral fat.

When there is fat under the skin, it will prevent you from seeing your abdominal muscles.

To have defined abs or a six-pack, you need to get rid of subcutaneous fat from your abdominal area.

Takeaways

There is a wide variety of gym abs exercises that will help you achieve your six-pack abs goal. You can do the same using different gym equipment like cables, barbells, dumbbells, and machines.

Thanks for reading, enjoy your Gym Abs Exercises!

Stay Fit, Live a Happy and Healthy Life

Note: When you buy something through one of the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Know More About Abs Training

The 20 Best Gym Ab Workouts To Build Rock Solid Abs

Abs Exercises at Gym