

The 11 Best Ab Workouts of All Time: Sculpt and Strengthen Your Way to a Toned Midsection

BRB, stalking J-Lo's stomach


Googling the best ab workouts is a click-hole waiting to happen. From searching for ‘the most effective ab exercises for women’ to frantically calculating how fast exactly it’ll take you to tone your midsection, the hours lost trawling the internet for information are immeasurable. From wanting to lose belly fat to trying to tone stomach muscles (aka, ya abs) the amount of women looking to change the appearance of their midsection is high.

If you're someone who struggles to see visible results in spite of smashing your workouts day in and day out, it’s good to remember that a strong core doesn’t always equate to washboard abs. There are many other variables that'll play into the tautness of your tummy, so make sure to read right to the end to make sure you're hitting them too.

For now though, the crème de la crème of abdominal workouts...

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The 11 Best Ab Workouts for Women

First things first, let's get the basics out of the way with a bit of biology. The four main muscle groups in the abdominal section are the:

  1. External obliques (obliques are the muscles on the side that make the 'hourglass' definition)
  2. Internal obliques
  3. Transversus abdominis (acts like a corset around your midsection)
  4. Rectus abdominis (commonly called the 'sit-up' muscles, they start from the pubic section and extend the entire length of your trunk)

    The workouts below are targeted to hit combinations of these muscles with a variety of moves - *cough* Spiderman press ups coming your way *cough*.

    Pay attention to the instructions and make sure to engage your core because things are about to get spicy.

    Ready? Let's roll.

    1/ Tash Oakley's Best Bodyweight Ab Workout

    Targets: triceps, core, glutes, thighs, shoulders, arms, chest, abs

    Natasha Oakley's stomach is surprisingly something people around the world are aware of. As co-founder of swimwear companies A Bikini a Day and Monday Swimwear, she's in kit a lot. And by kit, we obviously mean a bikini.

    To train like Tash, albeit sans swimsuit and perhaps with a sports bra on instead, try this killer core workout designed by her ex-boyfriend and PT Gilles Souteyrand.

    2/ PT Alice Liveing's Best 15-minute Ab Workout

    Targets: abs, obliques, shoulders

    A quick 15 minute ab blast from social media ray of sunshine Alice Liveing is all you need to get your core fired up in an efficient and effective way.

    Have a go at her four-move ab conditioning workout. It'll take 15 minutes but don't let that make you think it's easy...

    Do each exercise for 45 seconds then rest for 15 seconds. Move onto the next exercise. Rest for one minute after each circuit.

    3/ The Best Ballet-Inspired Ab Workout

    Targets: core, external and internal obliques, abs, transverse abdominus

    Anouk Pascale, founder of luxury health and fitness company Reshapeology, designed this ballet-barre workout to help women develop strong cores.

    For the swan in you, have a crack at these. Just remember, grace is in the eye of the beholder and all that...

    Do this workout three times a week for best results.

    4/ The Best Strength and Cardio Combo Ab Workout

    Targets: glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, triceps, rotators, abs

    With this circuit, try to limit the amount of rest between sets as this will help keep your heart rate high and get the strength cardio fix you're after.

    Repeat the circuit four times for ultimate effect.

    5 & 6/ The Best Bodyweight Ab Workouts

    Targets: Abs

    This 15-minute four move circuit is perfect for targeting the abdominal muscles that define a toned tummy. Well, go on then!

    Add these moves into your workout three or four times a week to gain core strength.

    Another time-efficient ab workout, this ab-focused workout uses side planks, jabs and punches to get you shaped up in no time.

    Targets: abs, obliques, triceps

    7/ The Best Stability Ball Ab Workouts

    Targets: core, glutes, lower abdominals, obliques, shoulders, lower back

    A strong core is a massive part of avoiding injury when training as it can mitigate stress put on the hips and knees. Try this minimal equipment ab workout for the ultimate sculpt and strengthen.

    Repeat the circuit for 3-5 rounds, dependent on skill and strength.

    8/ The Best Ab Finisher Workout

    Targets: core, triceps, shoulders, glutes, quadriceps

    So, you've done the hard bit, your workout's (almost!) over and you're this close to packing it in and hitting the showers. Before that much needed moment, make sure to tack this abdominal finisher onto the end of your sesh. Four moves is all it takes!

    As this is an AMRAP finisher, try to complete as many rounds as possible in 4 minutes then rest for 60 seconds and repeat 3 times. Brutal? You betcha.

    9/ The Best Workout for Lower Abs

    Targets: lower abdominals, pelvic floor, obliques

    Designed to target the muscles south of the belly button, this 5 move workout will work your abdominal wall and obliques.

    10/ The Best Core Definition Ab Workout

    Targets: obliques, abdominals, lower back, lower abdominals

    Looking for a defined midsection? Well, look no further.

    This flexibility and strength building session can be done alone or as part of a workout plan.

    11/ The Best No-Crunch Ab Workout

    Targets: abs, core

    Laying down and wriggling around like a over-turned turtle while you try to bicycle kick your way to a toned tummy is not the only way. Instead, approaching ab workouts from a functional fitness perspective means that you can go crunch-free - hallelujah!

    Try this 15 minute circuit as a standalone session or as part of a larger workout.

    Try to maintain these important things too...

    Decent sleep

    7-9 hours is the average range for most people, although everyone has their own unique sleep ‘footprint. Try and work out how much you need to feel alert and ready for the day and then maintain it with good sleep hygiene.

    There are apps upon apps out there to help shift bedtime from turn up to wind down - the most basic of which is to work with you body’s natural circadian rhythm and try to calm down as the sun sinks.

    Now, it’s not realistic to expect you to be home and hunkering down before the sun’s set - but limiting the amount of blue light you consume from screens before bedtime is always a good shout to shift from up and at ‘em to easing into sleep.

    Staying properly hydrated

    Now that everyone and their dog has a reusable water bottle (yay!) now seems like a great tIme to figure out exactly how much of the clear stuff you should be drinking. No, not gin, but good ol’ H20.

    To calculate the base amount of water you should be drinking per day:

    Then multiply your weight in kg by 0.6 and divide by 15. If, for example, you weigh 60kg your calculation would look like:

    60 x 0.6 / 15 = 2.5 litres per day.

    So, grab a calculator - who are we kidding, switch apps - and calculate how much you should be chugging down.

    Keeping an eye on nutrition

    Tracking your macros can be a great way to see exactly how your nutrition fits into your goals. Not everyone can have the same macro split as goals vary from person to person - some choosing to focus on aesthetic change while others are chasing after PBs and strength markers.

    Those looking to shed fat and uncover their abdominal muscles may have a different macronutrient split to those wanting to grow and strengthen abdominal muscles without the fat-loss. As sure as you can be that you’ve been spot on with your nutrition, a macro-tracker is a handy way to stay accountable to your goals.

    If that sounds like too much faff then meals focused around lean proteins, slow-release carbs and digestion-helping fibre will stave off the dreaded 3pm slump and hopefully the hangry snack purchases that come with it - helping you lose fat and define lean abdominal muscles.

    Recipes containing fish and nuts will work to keep you feeling full while also replenishing the protein stores that repair (and grow) the muscle fibres you’ve torn during your morning strength training sesh.


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