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How to Train Your Abs Without Crunches By Craig Ballantyne, MS, CSCS www.TurbulenceTrainingForAbs.com www.TurbulenceTraining.com I see a lot of sad things at the gym, from young kids benching too-heavy with poor form, to women doing slow cardio for months on end without any results, but the saddest thing to see in the gym is an overweight member doing a 30-minute workout of crunches and expecting their body to change. 
The truth is, every single person in the world could give up crunches for the rest of their life and their abs wouldn’t suffer.
Secret Ab Exercise #1 – High-repetition Dumbbell Row Secret Ab Exercise #2 – Renegade Row You can do this with kettlebells or dumbbells, but either way, I promise you your abs will never have felt this way before. This exercise requires a powerful contraction just to maintain proper form as you are rowing the ’bells. Keep your abs braced, and check your ego at the door when you get started. You won’t be able to row as much weight as normal in your first workout, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly and rapidly increase the amount of weight you can use. There aren’t too many exercises that come close to challenging you like this one.Secret Ab Exercise #3 – The Ultimate Pull-up or Chin-up This is the ultimate ab exercise you might not know existed. But I did a version of it 3 days ago and my abs can still feel it. All you need to do is marry two of the best exercises you can do with a Pull-up bar – Any version of a Pull-up or Chin-up with a Hanging Knee-up (or Knee Raise, whatever you want to call it). Your abs will be put through the shredder – and even your LOWER ABS will be sore after this one. As you do a Pull-up or Chin-up, bring your knees up to your chest. And here’s the magical part. As you lower yourself from the top position, slowly lower your knees back to the start position. The eccentric motion in this part of the exercise is far more powerful than you would achieve in a regular Hanging Knee Raise, and your abs will agree in the days to follow. Because this exercise is so hard on your abs, just do one set the first time you try it, and work up to no more than 3 sets per workout.Secret Ab Exercise #4 – 1-Arm Staggered Stance Dumbbell Biceps Curl I even have 2 favorite arm exercises for abs. The first is a “1-Arm Staggered Stance Dumbbell Biceps Curl”. And the title pretty much describes. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and step forward with your left leg. That will put you in a naturally stronger position. You might even want to use your left arm for support, by holding onto a sturdy object. This allows you to get assistance, while maintaining good form. Brace your abs and curl the dumbbell like you would in any biceps curl. By using a heavy weight and getting into this powerful stance, you essentially work your entire body as hard as possible in any biceps curl exercise. Remember to brace your abs as if someone was about to punch you in the stomach. And don’t lean back. Instead, lean slightly forward and maintain strong abs.Secret Ab Exercise #5 – Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension with Extra Stretch The second arm exercise for your abs is a modified lying dumbbell triceps extension. As you do this exercise, slowly lower the dumbbells beside your head with your elbows pointed to the ceiling. Once they reach the bottom of the movement, allow your elbows to drop back toward your head, putting more stretch on your triceps and more stretch on your abs. Then contract your abs and triceps and extend the dumbbells back up to the start position. Do your regular set and reps scheme for the day, and even if you do no other ab work, your six pack will be feeling it the next day.
Renegade Rows Start And there are other exercises I could go on and on about, not to mention the half-dozen simple changes I can make to a push-up exercise to work your abs harder than crunches. But put these exercises into your program for now, and you’ll work your abs like never before.
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc., is one of the top Strength & Conditioning coaches in North America. He trains athletes and executives in Toronto and is a member of the Training Advisory Boards for Men's Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines. Craig's fat loss and workout tips are featured every month in Men's Fitness and Maximum Fitness, and in numerous on-line newsletters. Craig’s trademarked Turbulence Training workouts and comprehensive workout manuals are featured on his websites, www.TurbulenceTraining.com and TurbulenceTrainingFor Abs.com. NEW FROM CRAIG BALLANTYNE! Turbulence Training For Abs!
About Craig's Original "Turbulence Training System"
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