Categories Navigation Menu
- WHAT’S FRESH
-
What's The Most Repulsive Fast Food Item In The US? Ranking The 50 Most Fattening Fast Food Abominations[L]et's get sauced. Given the current state of crisis in the portable food arena, we asked a basic question: what's THE most repulsive fast food item in the US? And just how egregious is it?... -
[Review] Smoothie, Shake, or Juice Junkie? You NEED A Vitamix Blender In Your Health Arsenal, And Here's Why*Disclaimer: This review is unsponsored and unaffiliated with Vitamix. I bought my own blender. All opinions are solely mine and those of Lean It UP. [T]here was a point when I thought... -
Love Ice Cream, Hate The Calories? Cut Through The Summer Heat With These 4 LEAN Frozen Desserts[B]y now, most of us have learned that no matter how hard you work in the gym every day, the key to a chiseled summer body comes down to what you’re fetching for in the kitchen. With the thick... -
[Workout Plans] Cut Up Your Core With The Total Ab-Domination Workout[L]ooking for a little high octane fuel to light explosive new ab growth? Fire away at your core from all angles with the Total Ab-Domination Workout. Giddy up. Your abs are about to get lit the... -
Examine.com — Your #1 Resource To Learn The Unbiased Truth About Supplements[D]ietary supplements represent one of the fastest growing industries in the entire economy. According to the Nutritional Business Journal the industry produced $32 billion in revenue in 2012,... -
Stack ALL Of Your Supps In One Place With Blender Bottle's New GoStak & ProStak Lines [Product]*Disclaimer: Blender Bottle sent us a ProStak and GoStak for trial purposes. This review is otherwise unsponsored and solely reflects the views of Lean It UP. [S]TACK IT UP! Everyone knows... -
How Hilary Knight Got That ESPN Body Edition Body [Infographic]"I've tried to shatter the body image that muscular isn't feminine." — Hilary Knight [E]SPN just unloaded the latest edition of its Body Issue, which annually exposes a lineup of... -
37 Killer Resistance Band Exercises To Burn Up Your Muscles Anywhere[J]et-setting to a tropical oasis? Bouncing across the country for business, perpetually stuck in hotels 24/7? Don't want to splurge for a full gym membership? All of those situations can... -
[WOTM, 07/2014] Build A Tank-Like Upper Body With The Chiseled Chest + Triceps Workout[G]et chiseling. We're about to sculpt a wide, striated, dense chest of the gods. Using a circuit of high-powered dumbbell exercises, July's WOTM—The Chiseled Chest + Triceps Workout—works... -
Pop The Top Off Your Coconut In Under 5 Seconds With The Coco Jack [GIVEAWAY]*Disclosure: Coco Jack graciously sent us a sample pack to test out. This review is otherwise unsponsored and only reflects the opinions of Lean It UP. [C]uckoo for coconuts? We're about... -
Eat As Much Protein As You Want — You Won't Gain Weight [Study]Image: Lky7Sports [C]HUG. CHUG. CHUG. CHUG. What if I told you that you could eat as much as you wanted and you wouldn't gain any weight? As long as you're chugging protein, that might very... -
Confessions Of An Ex-Cardio Queen: 5 Fitness Myths That Made Me Skip The Weight Section[A]s an avid gym-goer over the past seven years or so, I’ve noticed the same exact pattern at every gym location. There's almost always a clear distinction between gender activity — women...
-
The 12 Best Upper Ab Exercises; Miracle-Gro To Annihilate Your Rectus Abdominis & Cultivate A Six-Pack That Pops
The colloquial “six-pack” muscles are the visible product of a strong, chiseled-out, well-defined rectus abdominis — the symmetrical, 2-by-3 columns of tantalizing midsection meat spanning from pecs-to-pelvis (they can be asymmetrical as well, it’s genetics).
While the obliques, serratus (the diagonal finger-like muscles below the pecs), lower abs, and transverse abdominis are each requisite elements of an elite core, the rectus abdominis (RA) is arguably the trump muscle that unlocks six-pack potential. It’s the meat-and-potatoes (or, better yet, salmon and goji) that helps the abs look like they’re always freshly pressed by a waffle iron and chiseled out with a fiery vengeance.
The surest way to add substance, striation, and density to the RA — and ultimately help the region pop — is with a heavy dose of effective, challenging upper ab exercises.
Our list of the 12 Best Upper Ab Exercises is abdominal Miracle-Gro. Use it as potent fuel to recalibrate your routine and annihilate your RA, leaving it prepped-and-primed to sprout budding little abs from the inside-out.
*As always, your abs won’t “pop” if there’s blubber plastering your core. Diet (read part 1 here) and a foundational workout routine/ample cardio are absolutely KEY — effective ab exercises are only one small contributor to a lean, healthy body.
The 12 Best Upper Ab Exercises; Miracle-Gro To Annihilate Your Rectus Abdominis & Cultivate A Six-Pack That Pops
Upper Abs Exercise 1: Wide-Leg Cross Sit Ups
How to:
- Lie flat on the ground with your legs spread out wide.
- Powerfully contract your core, raise your torso, and touch your right hand to your left foot.
- Return to the bottom. Extend your arms long over your head and stretch out your core; immediately crunch up and touch the ground in between your feet.
- Return to the bottom a 3rd time. Repeat the motion, touching your left hand to your right foot.
- Continue to alternate left, middle, right.
- Hold a dumbbell or medicine ball to increase the difficulty, if possible.
Video:
Upper Abs Exercise 2: Cable Crunches
How to:
- Attach a rope handle attachment to the top of a cable pulley station.
- Grab the rope with both hands and lower your body down onto both knees. Stick your butt out, set your hips back, and form a 45° angle with your torso.
- Tighten your abs, puff out your chest, and slowly — WITHOUT moving your hips — crunch your abs down towards the floor.
- Once your chest is roughly parallel with the floor, SQUEEEEEZE the life out of your abs for 1.5 seconds.
- Slowly extend your back, stretch out your abs and spine, and return to the starting position.
- Increase the weight as your abs strengthen.
Video:
Upper Abs Exercise 3: Sprinters
How to:
- Lie flat on the ground with your arms at your side.
- Powerfully contract your core and explosively raise your torso, right arm, and left leg; your elbow and knee should reach the same height so that they’re directly across from one another.
- Return to the ground and immediately repeat for the opposite side.
- Increase the difficulty by holding a light dumbbell in either hand.
Video:
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Bryan DiSanto
Owner & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP
Bryan DiSanto is the Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, ACE-CPT & CSN, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness/nutrition nutjob.
When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.
When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.
Latest posts by Bryan DiSanto (see all)
- What’s The Most Repulsive Fast Food Item In The US? Ranking The 50 Most Fattening Fast Food Abominations - July 31, 2014
- [Review] Smoothie, Shake, or Juice Junkie? You NEED A Vitamix Blender In Your Health Arsenal, And Here’s Why - July 25, 2014
- [Workout Plans] Cut Up Your Core With The Total Ab-Domination Workout - July 22, 2014
Lean It UP is a web community that touches all ends of the fitness spectrum. We regularly publish workout plans, nutritional analysis, product reviews, supplement advice, recipes, and other related content that can help inform and educate on the most effective, practical ways to improve fitness levels, aesthetics, and overall health. We want to help YOU build your own perfect body -- hop on for the ride. 
