CHANDLERabs

Classic Ab Routine

I work my abs about 3 times a week, for approximately
15 to 20 minutes. Of the exercises on this page, I
choose 3, then do 3 to 5 sets of each one, doing as
many reps as I can on each set. Sometimes I mix it up,
do a cycle of the 3, doing a set of one then move to the
next exercise for another set, then to the third exercise
for a third set, rest a couple of minutes then repeat that
cycle until the 20 minutes is up. Don't always stick to
the same 3 exercises because you want to keep your
muscles guessing. Remember when you do abs, you're
always exhaling on the crunch part or the exercise.

Cable Crunch

With the cable crunch you want to hold the handle
right behind your head or at your forehead, and don't
move your arms as you crunch; keep them firm. All
you have to do is come straight up and crunch back
down making sure abs are pulling you down, not your
arms. Touch your legs with your elbows to complete the
rep. Also near the end of this video you can see that I
start to work side abs (obliques) by touching my
opposite elbow to opposite knee.

Ab Wheel

With this exercise I like to fully extend out to where
my stomach touches the ground, then crunch all the
way back up to where my arms come back to my legs
to get the full rep

Seated Knee-Ups

With seated knee ups I like to grab the bottom of the
bench to keep myself steady. I don't cross my legs on
this exercise. I fully extend out to where my whole
body is straight. Then I crunch all the way up to where
my knees touch my chest for the full rep.

Straight-Legged Hanging Knee-ups

This exercise is a lot like hanging knee-ups but your
legs come out straight in front of you at about a 90
degree angle at the top of the rep. Also with this
exercise try to go slow so you can control your
swinging. It's like any exercise you do: the slower
you go the better the workout is going to be.

Hanging Knee-ups

Now with this exercise I'm hanging by my arms, so I
grab the ab straps to help from swinging so much. I
also cross my legs. I bring my knee's up to my chest to
get a complete rep. I try not to go too fast because the
faster you go the harder it is to control the swinging, so
do your reps slow to get the full benefit.

Slant Board Crunch

With this ab exercise I cross my arms on my chest
instead of putting them behind my head. When my
hands are behind my neck I feel like I'm pulling on
my neck to help me complete the rep. With my
hands on my chest, I'm using more of my abs to
crunch up. I also touch my legs with my arms to
make sure I did a full rep.