If your goal is to strengthen and tighten your abdominal muscles, you've come to the right place. I'm a NASM certified personal trainer [1], and a request I often get is to help people lower their body fat percentage [2], especially the fat around their stomach. To be 100 percent transparent: I'm not a fan of spot reduction [3], and the thought of it makes me cringe a little bit, because in my opinion, it's a waste of time. Instead, I like to teach my clients (and anyone who reads my work) about training for performance, because it will improve how your body looks overall and, most importantly, how it functions.
That said, instead of just helping clients get a six-pack, my goal is to teach my clients and all of you about the true importance of their abdominal muscles. Our abs consist of four muscles: the external obliques, internal obliques, transversus abdominis, and rectus abdominis muscles.
These muscles form a wall that protects your internal organs, and this muscular wall also helps support the muscles of the spine, allowing you to maintain an erect posture. The obliques aid in rotation and flexion of the torso (twisting and bending), the transversus abdominis muscle [5] stabilizes your lower back (aka lumbar spine) and pelvis, and the rectus abdominis (aka the six-pack) muscle helps with your posture and is often activated with exercises like toe touches [6]. The group of ab muscles are essential for functions like breathing, sneezing, coughing, bowel movements, and giving birth — not just for looking good.
Now back to the six-pack. I'm not guaranteeing that you'll have a six-pack at the end of four weeks, but you can expect to have a stronger core once you've completed the program. As I mentioned before, it's important to train your entire body, not just a specific area, which is why I recommend doing this plan along with strength workouts [7]. Do the core portion first to activate your abs [8], then complete the strength portion of your workout. You'll also want to ensure that you're fueling your body with clean foods [9] — foods that will give you energy and help you recover. Doing these two things consistently (the keyword here is "consistently"!) will have you feeling and looking your best.
For the exercises that involve a weight or medicine ball, begin with a 7.5- to 10-pound weight/ball. If you find that this is too easy or too heavy, adjust the weight accordingly.
Get ready to put in work with the four-week program ahead.
Week 1
Day 1:
Complete three sets of each exercise before you move onto the following exercise. Take no more than 60 seconds of rest in between each set and as little rest as possible in between each exercise.
- Plank with lateral arm reach [11]: three sets of 10 reps (each arm)
- Reverse crunch [12]: three sets of 12 reps
- Bird dog [13]: three sets of 10 reps
- Stir the pot [14]: three sets of 10 reps (each direction)
- Dead bug [15]: three sets of 10 reps
Day 2:
The following workout will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat the circuit for a total of five rounds.
- Pallof press [16]: 10 reps
- Up down plank [17]: 20 reps
- Ball slam [18]: 20 reps
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Treadmill sprints (21 minutes)
- Begin with a five-minute jog on the treadmill to warm up before beginning the speed work.
- Set the speed of the treadmill to 7.0 mph and complete a total of six, 45-seconds sprints. Take one minute of rest in between each sprint. If 7.0 mph is too fast or too slow, feel free to adjust the speed. Remember, this is a sprint, and the speed should be at a challenging pace.
- Complete a five-minute, light jog to cool down.
Day 5: Rest
Day 6:
Complete the designated reps and sets for each exercise ahead. Take no more than 60 seconds of rest in between each set and as little rest as possible in between each exercise.
- Double leg lift [19]: 15 reps
- Russian twist [20]: 20 reps
- Stir the pot [21]: 10 reps (each direction)
- Ball pass [22]: 10 reps
Day 7: Rest
Way to go! One week down, three more to go.
Week 2
Day 1:
The following workout will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest in between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat for a total of three rounds.
- Plank with knee tap [23]: 20 reps
- Mountain climber [24]: 30 reps
- Side elbow plank (left side) [25]: 30 seconds
- Russian twist [26]: 20 reps
- Side plank (right side) [27]: 30 seconds
Day 2: Treadmill sprints (21 minutes)
- Begin with a five-minute jog on the treadmill to warm up before beginning the speed work.
- Set the speed of the treadmill to 7.0 mph, and complete a total of six, 45-seconds sprints. Take one minute of rest in between each sprint. If 7.0 mph is too fast or too slow, feel free to adjust the speed. Remember, this is a sprint, and the speed should be at a challenging pace.
- Complete a five-minute, light jog to cool down.
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: The following exercises will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest in between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat for a total of four rounds.
- Plank with knee tap [28]: 10 reps
- Medicine ball slam [29]: 20 reps
- Vertical bench knee/leg raise [30]: 10 reps
- TRX knee tuck [31]: 12 reps
- TRX pike [32]: 12 reps
- Bottoms-Up kettlebell carry [33]: 20 steps forward or 20 feet
Day 5: Rest
Day 6:
The following workout will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest in between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat for a total of four rounds.
- Mountain climber [34]: 30 reps
- Side plank dip (left side) [35]: 15 reps
- High knees [36]: 30 reps
- Side plank dip (right side) [37]: 15 reps
Day 7: Rest
You're already half through the program. Are you feeling stronger yet?
Week 3
Day 1:
Complete three sets of each exercise before you move onto the following exercise. Take no more than 60 seconds of rest in between each set and as little rest as possible in between each exercise.
- Plank with lateral arm reach [38]: three sets of 10 reps (each arm)
- Reverse crunch [39]: three sets of 12 reps
- Bird dog [40]: three sets of 10 reps
- Stir the pot [41]: three sets of 10 reps (each direction)
- Dead bug [42]: three sets of 10 reps
Day 2:
The following workout will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest in between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat for a total of five rounds.
- Pallof press [43]: 10 reps
- Up down plank [44]: 20 reps
- Ball slam [45]: 20 reps
- Cable crunch [46]: 15 reps
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Treadmill sprints (24 minutes)
- Begin with a five-minute jog on the treadmill to warm up before beginning the speed work.
- Set the speed of the treadmill to 7.0 mph, and complete a total of eight, 45-seconds sprints. Take one minute of rest in between each sprint. If 7.0 mph is too fast or too slow, feel free to adjust the speed. Remember, this is a sprint, and the speed should be at a challenging pace.
- Complete a five-minute, light jog to cool down.
Day 5: Rest
Day 6:
Complete the designated reps and sets for each exercise ahead. Take no more than 60 seconds of rest in between each set and as little rest as possible in between each exercise.
- Double leg lift [47]: 15 reps
- Russian twist [48]: 20 reps
- Stir the pot [49]: 10 reps (each direction)
- Ball pass [50]: 10 reps
Day 7: Rest
Keep crushing these workouts! You've only got a week left.
Week 4
Day 1:
The following workout will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest in between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat for a total of four rounds.
- Plank with knee tap [51]: 20 reps
- Mountain climber [52]: 30 reps
- Side elbow plank (left side) [53]: 30 seconds
- Russian twist [54]: 20 reps
- Side plank (right side) [55]: 30 seconds
Day 2: Treadmill sprints (28 minutes)
- Begin with a five-minute jog on the treadmill to warm up before beginning the speed work.
- Set the speed of the treadmill to 7.0 mph, and complete a total of 10, 45-seconds sprints. Take one minute of rest in between each sprint. If 7.0 mph is too fast or too slow, feel free to adjust the speed. Remember, this is a sprint, and the speed should be at a challenging pace.
- Complete a five-minute, light jog to cool down.
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: The following exercises will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest in between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat for a total of four rounds.
- Plank with knee tap [56]: 10 reps
- Medicine ball slam [57]: 20 reps
- Vertical bench knee/leg raise [58]: 10 reps
- TRX knee tuck [59]: 12 reps
- TRX pike [60]: 12 reps
- Bottoms-Up kettlebell carry [61]: 20 steps forward or 20 feet
Day 5: Rest
Day 6:
The following workout will be done as a circuit, meaning you will take little to no rest in between each exercise. After you complete all the exercises, take 90 seconds of rest, then repeat for a total of four rounds.
- Mountain climber [62]: 30
- Side plank dip (left side) [63]: 15 reps
- High knees [64]: 30 reps
- Side plank dip (right side) [65]: 15 reps
Day 7: Rest
Way to work! If you liked this program, feel free to start it over next week.