EstimatedEst. Read Time: 4 minutes
RIPPED ABS – Beginner Ab Workout (5 Minutes!)

If you are a beginner and want to get ripped abs you need to do two very important things.  The first is you need to train your abs the right way and not just throw together a few random ab exercises.  The second is you need to get your body fat down low enough to see the results of your hard work, and this happens through a commitment to good nutrition.

 

In this video, I’m going to show you a perfect ab workout for beginners that will take just 5 minutes to complete.  Each of the five movements shown here is to be performed for one minute apiece.  If you find that you need to rest at any time, you may do so.  The goal is ultimately for you to be able to perform this 5 minute ab workout without needing to stop and rest at all.

 

The first thing you will notice is that none of the exercises in this ab workout require any equipment at all.  I want to be sure that everyone can give this a try.  The only thing you will need to have access to is somewhere to hook your feet.  As you will see however, you do not want to hook your feet under something to perform your situps, but rather over something so you can pull back and activate your hamstrings.

 

To begin, lay on the floor with a phone timer or stopwatch nearby.  You will start your clock when you begin your first exercise called the laying halos.  This is a great lower ab exercise that employs time under tension in the most difficult portion of the exercise (the lift) when your abs are most engaged.  Try to perform 30 seconds of this with your feet moving in a clockwise direction and 30 seconds with them moving in a counterclockwise diretion.

 

Next, you stick with the lower abs but start to incorporate more of the obliques with an exercise called the reverse corkscrew.  This involves simply curling your pelvis off the floor and twisting your butt towards the right or left (being sure to alternate on each rep).  The twisting of the pelvis engages the obliques, while the lifting of it off the ground is what activates the lower fibers of the abs more directly.

 

Keep the beginner ab workout going by moving onto what we call our midrange movement.  Here you are getting equal activation from the top down as you are from the bottom up.  This is a pendulum reach out plank.  The idea here is that it takes a boring static plank and adds more difficulty and dynamic movement to it without sacrificing the stability benefit that it provides.  Step one foot out to the side and then the other, followed by a reach out in front of your body with one hand and then the other.  Continue alternating these steps one after the next for the entire 60 seconds.

 

Next, we perform a variation of the ab scissor exercise called the chainsaw.  This is still involving a fluttering of the legs with them held off the ground to activate the lower abs, but it also employs rotation from the bottom up.  The additional rotation will help once again to attack the obliques and turn this into a brutal but effective beginner ab exercise.

 

Finally, the situp roll ups is a great upper ab exercise that is initiated from the top down.  This tends to be a stronger movement than does the lower ab exercise options, which is why it finds itself positioned at the end of the workout when you still have some energy.  The key is to hook the feet over and not under something to disengage the hip flexors and activate the hamstrings.

 

This will have the effect of decreasing the overactivation of the hip flexors which can cause back pain.  Also, you want to slowly roll your trunk off the floor once vertebra at a time and paint it back down the same way.  This will ensure good eccentric control of the abs and further protetion of the spine.

 

If you try this and find it effective and are looking for more training that you can do to take your entire body to the next level, please visit the link below and choose the ATHLEAN-X Training System that is best suited to your current goals.

 

If you are looking for more videos on how to get six pack abs and the best ab workouts for beginners or more advanced, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube at the link below and turn on your notifications so you never miss a video when it’s published.

 

Build Muscle in 90 Days – http://athleanx.com/x/my-workouts

Subscribe to this channel here – http://youtube.com/user/jdcav24

Jeff Cavaliere Headshot

Jeff Cavaliere M.S.P.T, CSCS

Jeff Cavaliere is a Physical Therapist, Strength Coach and creator of the ATHLEAN-X Training Programs and ATHLEAN-Rx Supplements. He has a Masters in Physical Therapy (MSPT) and has worked as Head Physical Therapist for the New York Mets, as well as training many elite professional athletes in Major League Baseball, NFL, MMA and professional wrestling. His programs produce “next level” achievements in muscle size, strength and performance for professional athletes and anyone looking to build a muscular athletic physique.

Read more about Jeff Cavaliere by clicking here

Popular & Trending
stop doing face pulls like this facepull mistake
1
How To Do Face Pulls
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
September 9th, 2019
Face pulls are one of the best corrective exercises to help offset poor posture and shoulder dysfunction.  They help strengthen the chronically weak...
Body Fat Percentage Men
2
Body Fat Percentage Men
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
July 11th, 2023
There are many ways to measure body fat percentage; some wildly expensive and most inaccurate. It's time to give you an alternative method that...
2 reasons your biceps aren't growing and 3 ways to fix it
3
Why Your Biceps Aren’t Growing
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
August 22nd, 2019
Have you ever felt that no matter how much you trained your biceps you’re left saying… “My Biceps STILL Aren’t Growing?” I believe I know...
The Perfect Abs Workout
4
The Perfect Abs Workout
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
July 31st, 2019
We’ll be following my ‘Six Pack Progression’ sequence as we choose each of the beginner and advanced ab exercises for each abdominal movement...
incline bench press avoid mistakes for upper chest
5
How To Incline Bench Press Correctly
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
January 16th, 2024
The Incline Bench Press is one of the best upper chest exercises there is, but there's one major problem preventing us from getting the maximum...
best dumbbell exercises for chest
6
The Best Dumbbell Exercises for Chest
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
November 6th, 2023
Today I’m going to share my favorite chest exercises… but there’s a catch. We can only use dumbbells! I’ll show you what to do whether you...
long head triceps exercises
7
Long Head Tricep Exercises
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
December 19th, 2023
The triceps make up two-thirds of the size of your arm so the bigger your triceps, the bigger your arm muscles. But not all muscle heads of the...
cable chest workout
8
Cable Chest Workout
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
November 2nd, 2023
Today, we're diving deep into the most underrated piece of equipment in your workout arsenal for chest workouts – the cable machine. The constant...
Cable Back Workouts
9
Cable Back Workouts
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
December 12th, 2023
If you want a versatile back workout that hits every angle, challenges muscle recruitment patterns, and provides consistent tension, then you can’t...
cable shoulder exerciees
10
Cable Shoulder Exercises
By Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS
November 30th, 2023
Unlike barbell or dumbbell shoulder workouts, cables offer consistent tension throughout the exercise, a key factor that can lead to better...
Watch the YouTube version of this article