If you can sing your way through bodyweight abs exercises like plank variations, scissor kicks, and hollow holds, you're ready to level up your core work. There's one seriously effective (and simple) way to up the burn: grab some weights.
“If bodyweight abdominal or core exercises are no longer challenging for you, add weights,” says Kristen McParland, CPT, a strength-focused personal trainer. Doing an ab workout with weights will help you gain strength and definition while maintaining a low rep range. That makes them quick and effective.
Here's why: Repetitions over 20 tend to focus more on muscular endurance and less on strength and hypertrophy. So, using a kettlebell, dumbbell, or any form of weight for 6 to 15 reps of each exercise in your core training program focuses on building muscle while keeping your reps to a minimum, says McParland. (Talk about a time saver.)
Meet the expert: Kristen McParland, CPT, is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with 10 years of experience.
If your main goal is adding muscle definition to your midsection the best and fastest way to get visible abs is via weighted ab workouts. Performing exercises with a load that's heavy enough to make you struggle by the last couple of reps is key to ultimate definition success. Some of the moves may surprise you, squats, kettlebell swings, and others you think of for lower body actually work the core effectively, too.
The extra pounds make your whole system work that much harder, and that's especially true of the muscles in your middle, because that's your center of gravity. So, when you pick up a weight and lift it overhead, for example, or move it from the floor toward the ceiling, all of that coordination comes from your core engaging and supporting your other muscles as they move.
18 Best Ab Workouts With Weights
Time: 10-18 minutes | Equipment: Kettlebell, dumbbell, medicine ball, or slam ball | Good for: Abs, core
Instructions: Select five or six moves from the list, and do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) of each exercise in 40 seconds, rest for 20 seconds then continue immediately to the next. Rest for 2 minutes, then, repeat the entire circuit again for a total of 2-3 rounds. For a total abs burnout, complete all 18 moves on the list.
Halo
How to:
- Start standing with feet hip-width apart holding the ends of one dumbbell (or the handle of a kettlebell) with both hands in front of face, elbows bent and wide at sides.
- Keeping both elbows bent, and the rest of body still, slowly circle the weight around head once, keeping it at eye level. That's 1 rep.
Unilateral Dumbbell March
How to:
- Stand up straight, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hold a dumbbell in your left hand.Extend your right arm out to your side at a 45-degree angle from your body.
- Slowly lift your left leg up until you knee is at hip height.
- Then, with control, lower your leg down to the ground.
- Repeat with right leg.
- That's 1 rep.
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Single-Arm Overhead Press
How to:
- Start standing with feet just wider than hips.Hold a kettlebell in your right hand while keeping your right arm bent with your elbow close to body, so that the weight rests on the shoulder, and place your left hand on your left hip.Sink hips slightly into a quarter-squat.Then, quickly push through feet to extend legs, simultaneously pressing kettlebell straight up until right arm is completely extended overhead.With control, lower kettlebell back down. That's one rep.
Low To High
Why it rocks: “This combo move is amazing for functional fitness,” says Corgel. “Power begins with the glutes, stability comes from the core (mainly the obliques), and the press rotation at the top of the lift further requires your abs to lock the spine in place while the shoulders and biceps hold the dumbbell firmly.”
How to:
- Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell with both hands in front of chest.
- Rotate body toward the left foot, lifting the right heel and pivoting on the right ball of foot so knees and hips face the left side while bending over and lowering weight down outside of the right foot.
- Reverse the movement, and continue rotating through center until body faces right side, pivoting on ball of right foot and raising weight up overhead at 45-degree angle.
- Reverse to return to start. That's 1 rep. Complete 10 on each side.
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Half-Kneeling Windmill
How to:
- Start in a half-kneeling position with right leg forward and left leg back, both bent at 90 degrees, holding a kettlebell in right hand extended up to ceiling above shoulder.
- Keeping gaze on weight, fold at waist to bring left palm to the ground outside left knee.
- Continue lowering until left forearm is on the ground.
- Reverse movement to return to start. That's 1 rep.
Squat To Overhead Press
How to:
- Start standing, feet hip-distance apart, toes pointed out slightly, holding dumbbells in either hand and resting lightly on shoulders.
- Sit back into a squat until thighs are parallel with the ground.
- Drive up through heels to standing while raising both arms toward ceiling.
- Lower hands back to shoulders. That's 1 rep.
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Weighted Leg Lower
How to:
- Lie on back holding one dumbbell with both hands and arms extended toward ceiling. (Think wrists over chest NOT face.)
- Extend and lift legs up directly over hips.
- Lower your right leg down as low as you can go without lower back arching up off the mat.
- Return to start, and repeat on the other side. That's 1 rep.
Turkish Get-Up
How to:
- Start lying face up with right leg straight on mat, left leg bent, foot flat on floor, right arm out at side on floor at 45-degree angle, and left arm holding kettlebell above shoulder with tricep on floor and elbow at a 45-degree angle from body.
- Raise the weight up above chest, keeping gaze on it, until arm is straight but not locked at the elbow.
- Push into right forearm to sit up.
- Rise onto right palm, lift hips off floor, and slide right leg behind body until kneeling on right knee with shin parallel to top of mat.
- Sweep right foot back behind body to come into kneeling lunge with both legs bent at 90 degrees.
- Push through both feet to stand, bringing feet together under hips.
- Reverse entire movement to return to start. That's 1 rep.
- Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat.
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Renegade Row
How to:
- Start in plank position, holding one dumbbell in each hand on the ground.
- Pull right elbow toward the ceiling until right wrist is near ribs.
- Lower it back down.
- Repeat on opposite side. That's 1 rep.
Half Turkish Get-Up
How to:
- Start lying face up with right leg straight on mat, left leg bent, foot flat on floor, right arm out at side on floor at 45-degree angle, and left arm holding kettlebell above shoulder with tricep on floor and elbow at a 45-degree angle from body.
- Raise the weight up above chest, keeping gaze on it, until arm is straight but not locked at the elbow.
- Push into right forearm to begin lifting torso up from mat.
- Rise onto right palm to sit up tall.
- Reverse entire movement to return to start. That's 1 rep.
- Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat.
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Lunge With Twist
Muscles worked: Quads, glutes, and obliques
Why it rocks: While a classic forward lunge tests your lower-body muscles and balance, this version takes the stability component up a notch thanks to the added twist, says Tang. The core rotation will also fire up your obliques, the muscles that run along the sides of your trunk.
How to:
- Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart holding one dumbbell in front of chest, hands grasping each end. Draw shoulders down and back, brace core, and gaze forward.
- Take a large step forward with right foot and lower until both knees are bent at 90-degree angles.
- At the bottom of the lunge, extend arms straight and twist torso to the right as far as is comfortable, keeping the weight close to torso.
- Reverse the rotation to return to center.
- Push through all four corners of right foot to straighten legs, and step right foot back to meet left foot to return to the starting position.
- Repeat to the left. That’s 1 rep. Continue alternating sides.
Plank With Triceps Kickback
How to:
- Get into a high-plank position with your feet slightly wider than shoulders.
- Hold a dumbbell in your right hand.
- Bend your elbow until your tricep is in line with your torso.
- Extend your arm back, until it’s completely straight.
- Return to start. That’s 1 rep.
- Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat.
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Flutter Kicks
How to:
- Start lying face up with back pressed into mat, arms extended to straight over chest holding a weight, and legs extended in air at 45-degree angle.
- Alternate lifting legs up and down a few inches. That's 1 rep.
Russian Twist
How to:
- Sit on the ground with your knees bent, heels on the floor, and your upper body leaning back at a 45-degree angle to the ground.
- Hold a slam ball at your chest with elbows bent.
- Keeping arms slightly bend, twist your torso to the left and slam ball on the ground next to your left hip. Hold for 1-2 seconds.
- Twist torso through center to the right and slam ball on the ground near your right hip. That's one rep. Repeat alternating sides.
Pro tip: For an extra challenge, try lifting your heels off the ground.
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Circuit 4: Jacknike Pullover
Why it rocks: “Holding the dumbbell is going to significantly increase the demand on the upper abdominals making it more difficult to crunch your chest up to the lower half,” notes Wilson. Plus, maintaining the upper ab contraction throughout the movement (and not allowing the dumbbell to slam down on the floor) is a major win for core stability.
Good for: Rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis, shoulders
How to:
- Start lying on your back, holding a single dumbbell or light kettlebell in hands like a goblet with arms straight.
- Bend legs and curl shoulder blades up off the floor to bring elbows and knees to touch in the air over your stomach.
- Lower back to mat and stretch arms overhead while extending legs and lower to hover a few inches above the floor.
- Return to start. That's 1 rep.
Make this move more difficult by increasing the weight used. Make it easier by removing the weight.
Weighted Side Plank
How to:
- Lie on right side with legs bent, right elbow directly under shoulder, and left hand holding a dumbbell.
- Lift hips off the mat, extending legs to form a straight line from head to heels, and extend left arm and dumbbell up toward ceiling.
- Hold for 20 seconds. Then, switch sides and repeat.
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高強度間歇訓練:壺鈴擺盪
操作方法:
- 從鉸鏈開始(臀部向後,膝蓋稍微彎曲,上身向前傾斜約45度),雙手握住壺鈴的把手,雙臂伸直向地面垂直,壺鈴位於膝蓋間的地板上。
- 一個動作中,用力夾緊臀部,伸直雙腿,抬起上身,向前推臀部,同時揮舞壺鈴到胸部高度,保持雙臂伸直並緊縮腹部。
- 反向動作時,再次將壺鈴放在大腿之間。這就是完成一次動作。
Sit Up And Overhead Press
How to:
- Start by laying on back on the floor with knees bent and feet planted, holding the medicine ball on top of chest with the elbows folded in neatly on either side of the body.
- Keeping hips and feet planted on the floor, rock into a seated position while simultaneously pressing the medicine ball up overhead.
- Reverse the movement to lower back to the starting position. That's 1 rep.
Jordan Galloway
Jordan Galloway is a certified personal trainer and the fitness director for Women’s Health magazine and website.
Jennifer Nied
Jennifer Nied is the fitness editor at Women’s Health and has more than 10 years of experience in health and wellness journalism. She’s always out exploring—sweat-testing workouts and gear, hiking, snowboarding, running, and more—with her husband, daughter, and dog.