UberExercise — The Lower Abs Trifecta [Abs]

*Update, 10/12: We’ve released The Upper Abs Trifecta – the follow-up counterpart to the Lower Abs Trifecta, which emphasizes the upper portion of the abs. View it here.

The Lower Abs Trifecta, Quick Hits:

Primary Muscle:

Lower abs.

Secondary Muscles:

Rectus abdominis (middle & upper), Transverse abdominis, Obliques.

What You’ll Need:

Nothing mandatory. Bench and dumbbells are both optional.

Why They’re Über:

All 3 exercises in the trifecta directly target the lower abs, and in the case of reverse crunches & ab pulse ups, isolate the lower abs. Supersetting 3 different lower abs-focused exercises back-to-back absolutely tears up the muscle fibers and pushes them into robust new growth.

About The Lower Abs Trifecta

If you want pancake-flat, carved-up lower abs and a razor-sharp V-cut, The Lower Abs Trifecta is my little secret weapon. I’ve tested this out of the past few months and all I can say is: wow – never has a sequence of exercises absolutely demolished my lower abs and produced crazy-fast results quite like this.

The Lower Abs Trifecta (LAT) isn’t an exercise per se, but rather a superset of 3 different lower abs exercises back-to-back, sans rest. LAT involves 3 consecutive lower ab-centric exercises in sequence:

1. Ab Pulse Ups — detailed in depth here.

2. Reverse Crunches

3. Ab V Holds

The beauty and power of LAT comes from strategic supersetting. By supersetting 2 predominantly lower ab focused exercises (pulse ups & reverse crunches) you’re able to quickly isolate & fatigue the lower section of the abs. Normally you’d stop after just one lower ab exercise — we’re pushing out two INTENSE sets one after another.

That’s effective, crazy, and powerful in-and-of itself, but compounding a third set — Ab V Holds — is what separates 4-packers from 6-packers; we’re going for ABDOMINAL GLORY.

Ab V Holds are a comprehensive core exercise, meaning they recruit the upper abs, middle abs, lower abs, lower back, and even the quads/hamstrings. Even though your lower abs are probably in searing pain from the circulating lactic acid, fatigue, and preceding onslaught, the remainder of your core can help compensate and assist the beaten and battered lower portion.

The result? You’ll grind through the final set and actually push the lower abs even FURTHER past their natural point of fatigue, to a level they’d never, ever reach via lower abs exercises on their own. That equates to deeply torn muscle fibers and ultimately hyperaccelerated growth.

LAT also torches fat. Absolutely incinerates it, which is pretty important, considering that you’ll never see your lower abs if there’s a thick layer of chubby blubber lying on top. Unfortunately this doesn’t burn the fat directly from your belly — there’s no such thing as spot reduction.

Instructions

1. Find an open floor space or grab a flat weight-lifting bench — that’s all you’ll need to start.
2. Complete 15 Ab Pulse Ups, which I’ve explained in-depth here. Pictures also below. Once this gets too easy, hold a dumbbell in between your feet as you pulse upwards.
3. Without resting, immediately do 12 Reverse Crunches. Description below. Once this gets too easy, hold a dumbbell in between your feet as you crunch inward.
4. Without resting, immediately do an Ab V Hold for 60 seconds, or for as long as you can. Description below.
5. Rest 1 minute and 30 seconds.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 two more times, for a total of 3 LATs.

1. Ab Pulse Ups

2. Reverse Crunch

3. Ab V Holds

Precautions

Avoid LAT if you have lower back problems.

Love this? Try The Upper Abs Trifecta – the follow-up counterpart to the Lower Abs Trifecta, which emphasizes the upper portion of the abs.

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