Abs: moves, progressions and balance

Set up. Kneel on a pad holding the ab wheel on the floor under your shoulders.

1. Brace and roll the wheel forward, extending your body.
2. Go only as far as you can keep the back flat.
3. Pull the wheel back toward your knees using your stomach.

Form cues

• Keep the hips tucked.
• Keep the arms straight.
• Start with short rollouts.

Common mistakes

• Letting the lower back sag at full reach.
• Leading the return with the hips.

Set up. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart holding a non-bouncing slam ball overhead.

1. Slam the ball down in front of your feet, hinging and bending the knees.
2. Squat down with a flat back to pick it up.
3. Lift it back overhead and repeat.

Form cues

• Throw with the whole body.
• Keep the back flat when picking it up.
• Use a ball made for slamming.

Common mistakes

• Using a bouncy ball that rebounds into your face.
• Rounding the back to pick it up.

Set up. Get into a push-up position with straight arms and your body in a straight line.

1. Drive one knee toward your chest.
2. Switch legs, bringing the other knee in as the first goes back.
3. Keep alternating for the target time.

Form cues

• Keep the hips low.
• Keep the shoulders over the hands.
• Go slower to keep good form.

Common mistakes

• Bouncing the hips up.
• Letting the shoulders drift back.

Set up. Lie face down and rest on your forearms, elbows under your shoulders, then lift onto your toes so your body forms a straight line.

1. Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes.
2. Hold the straight line for the target time.
3. Lower your knees to the floor to finish.

Form cues

• Keep a straight line from head to heels.
• Push the floor away with your forearms.
• Breathe steadily.

Common mistakes

• Letting the hips sag.
• Piking the hips up high.

Set up. Hang from a pull-up bar with straight arms and your legs together.

1. Brace and lift your legs up in front of you, keeping them as straight as you can.
2. Raise them to at least hip height, tilting the pelvis up at the top.
3. Lower slowly without swinging.

Form cues

• Curl the pelvis up at the top.
• Keep the body still.
• Bend the knees to make it easier.

Common mistakes

• Swinging to get the legs up.
• Dropping the legs quickly.

Set up. Lie on your back with your arms pointing to the ceiling and your knees bent at right angles above your hips.

1. Press your lower back gently into the floor.
2. Lower one arm overhead and the opposite leg toward the floor at the same time.
3. Return to the start and repeat with the other pair.

Form cues

• Keep the lower back on the floor.
• Breathe out as you reach.
• Move slowly.

Common mistakes

• Letting the back arch as the leg lowers.
• Rushing the reps.

Set up. Lie on your back with your arms overhead and legs straight.

1. Press your lower back into the floor.
2. Lift your shoulders, arms and legs a little off the floor.
3. Hold for the target time.

Form cues

• Keep the lower back pressed down.
• Bend the knees or bring the arms down to make it easier.
• Breathe steadily.

Common mistakes

• Letting the lower back lift.
• Holding the breath.

Set up. Lie on your back with your knees bent at right angles above your hips and your arms by your sides.

1. Curl your hips up off the floor, bringing your knees toward your chest.
2. Pause briefly.
3. Lower your hips slowly.

Form cues

• Curl the pelvis, do not swing the legs.
• Keep the arms relaxed.
• Lower slowly.

Common mistakes

• Kicking the legs to lift the hips.
• Dropping back down quickly.

Set up. Lie on your back with one knee bent and one leg straight, hands under the small of your back.

1. Brace your stomach.
2. Lift your head and shoulders a little way off the floor as one unit.
3. Hold for a few seconds, then lower.
4. Switch the bent leg halfway through.

Form cues

• Keep the neck in line with the upper back.
• The movement is small.
• Keep the hands under the lower back.

Common mistakes

• Tucking the chin to the chest.
• Curling up high like a sit-up.

Set up. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, hands lightly beside your head or across your chest.

1. Curl your shoulders off the floor by contracting your stomach.
2. Pause briefly.
3. Lower slowly.

Form cues

• Bring the ribs toward the pelvis.
• Keep the neck relaxed.
• Keep the lower back on the floor.

Common mistakes

• Pulling on the head with the hands.
• Sitting all the way up with momentum.

Set up. Sit on a decline bench with your feet hooked under the pads and your arms across your chest.

1. Lower your torso back under control.
2. Curl back up toward your thighs.
3. Return slowly.

Form cues

• Curl rather than jerk.
• Keep the arms crossed.
• Control the lowering.

Common mistakes

• Jerking up with momentum.
• Dropping back quickly.

Set up. Hang from a pull-up bar with straight arms.

1. Lift your knees toward your chest.
2. Curl the pelvis up slightly at the top.
3. Lower slowly without swinging.

Form cues

• Keep the body still.
• Breathe out as you lift.
• Control the lowering.

Common mistakes

• Swinging.
• Dropping the legs quickly.

Set up. Get into a push-up position with straight arms and your feet a little wider than hip width.

1. Brace and lift one hand to tap the opposite shoulder.
2. Place it back down.
3. Alternate hands while keeping the hips still.

Form cues

• Keep the hips level.
• Move slowly.
• Widen the feet to make it easier.

Common mistakes

• Rocking the hips side to side.
• Letting the back sag.

Set up. Kneel on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

1. Brace and lift your knees a little off the floor.
2. Hold with a flat back for the target time.
3. Lower the knees to finish.

Form cues

• Keep the back flat.
• Push the floor away.
• Breathe steadily.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the hips high.
• Holding the breath.

Set up. Sit between two parallettes or on the floor with your hands beside your hips, legs straight in front.

1. Press down through straight arms to lift your hips.
2. Hold your legs straight out in front, as level as you can.
3. Hold for the target time, then lower.

Form cues

• Push the shoulders down.
• Bend the knees to make it easier.
• Keep the arms locked.

Common mistakes

• Shrugging the shoulders up.
• Letting the legs drop to the floor.

Set up. Clean one or two kettlebells to the front rack, handles at your chest and bells resting on your forearms.

1. Stand tall and brace.
2. Walk forward with steady steps.
3. Lower the bells under control at the end.

Form cues

• Keep the elbows tucked.
• Keep the ribs down.
• Breathe behind the brace.

Common mistakes

• Leaning back.
• Letting the bells slide off the forearms.

Set up. Attach a rope to a high cable. Kneel facing the machine and hold the rope beside your head.

1. Curl your torso down, bringing your elbows toward your thighs.
2. Round through the spine by contracting the stomach.
3. Return slowly to the upright start.

Form cues

• Keep the hips still.
• Crunch the ribs toward the pelvis.
• Keep the hands by the head.

Common mistakes

• Sitting back on the heels to pull the weight.
• Pulling with the arms.

Set up. Adjust the seat so the pads sit on your upper chest or the handles beside your head. Sit back with your feet secured.

1. Curl your torso forward and down by contracting your stomach.
2. Pause at the bottom.
3. Return under control.

Form cues

• Curl the ribs toward the pelvis.
• Keep the hips still.
• Do not pull with the arms.

Common mistakes

• Pulling with the arms.
• Letting the stack crash between reps.

Set up. Stand in the captain's chair with your back against the pad and your forearms on the arm rests, legs hanging.

1. Lift your knees toward your chest.
2. Curl the pelvis up slightly at the top.
3. Lower slowly.

Form cues

• Keep the back against the pad.
• Move slowly.
• Do not swing the legs.

Common mistakes

• Swinging the legs up.
• Dropping the legs quickly.

Set up. Place your hands on the floor slightly wider than your shoulders and step your feet back so your body forms a straight line from head to heels.

1. Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes.
2. Bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor, elbows angled back at about forty-five degrees.
3. Go down until your chest is just above the floor.
4. Push the floor away to straighten your arms, keeping the body in one line.

Form cues

• Keep your body rigid like a plank.
• Keep your hands under your shoulders.
• Lower the chest, not the head.

Common mistakes

• Letting the hips sag or pike up.
• Doing half reps that stop well above the floor.

Set up. Stand with the bar on the front of your shoulders, hands just outside shoulder width and feet about hip width apart. Squeeze your glutes and brace your stomach.

1. Press the bar straight up, moving your head back slightly to let it pass.
2. Bring your head through once the bar passes your forehead.
3. Lock out with the bar over the middle of your feet.
4. Lower under control to the front of your shoulders.

Form cues

• Keep the ribs down and the glutes tight.
• Press in a straight line.
• Keep your wrists over your elbows.

Common mistakes

• Leaning far back to push the bar up.
• Pressing the bar out in front of the face.

Set up. Stand between two heavy dumbbells, squat down with a flat back and grip one in each hand.

1. Stand up tall with the dumbbells at your sides.
2. Walk forward with short, steady steps.
3. Set the dumbbells down by squatting at the end of the distance or time.

Form cues

• Stand tall with the shoulders back.
• Grip hard.
• Walk smoothly, without rushing.

Common mistakes

• Leaning forward or to one side.
• Bending over to put the weights down with a round back.

Set up. Rest the bar on the front of your shoulders against your throat, fingertips under the bar or arms crossed, elbows high. Stand with feet about shoulder width apart.

1. Brace and keep your elbows up.
2. Squat down between your heels with an upright torso.
3. Go as deep as your mobility allows with a flat back.
4. Drive up to standing, leading with the elbows.

Form cues

• Keep the elbows high.
• Stay upright.
• Keep the knees tracking over the toes.

Common mistakes

• Dropping the elbows so the bar rolls forward.
• Rounding the upper back.

Take care. Squat inside a rack with the safety pins set, and if a rep fails, push the bar forward off the shoulders onto them.

Set up. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips and a kettlebell on the floor a short way in front. Hinge down with a flat back and grip the handle with both hands.

1. Hike the kettlebell back between your legs.
2. Snap your hips forward to stand tall, letting the bell float up to about chest height.
3. Let it swing back down and hinge to meet it.
4. At the end, hinge and park the bell on the floor in front of you.

Form cues

• It is a hip hinge, not a squat.
• The arms guide the bell, the hips move it.
• Stand tall with glutes tight at the top.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the bell with the arms.
• Rounding the back as the bell swings down.

Set up. Hold a kettlebell by its horns against your chest. Stand with feet about shoulder width apart, toes turned slightly out.

1. Brace your stomach.
2. Squat down between your heels, keeping your chest up.
3. Let your elbows travel inside your knees at the bottom.
4. Drive up to standing.

Form cues

• Keep the weight close to your chest.
• Keep the knees out over the toes.
• Keep the heels down.

Common mistakes

• Letting the chest fall forward.
• Rising onto the toes.

Set up. Place your hands on a sturdy bench, box or bar slightly wider than your shoulders and walk your feet back until your body is in a straight line.

1. Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes.
2. Bend your elbows and lower your chest to the edge of the support.
3. Push back up to straight arms.

Form cues

• Keep your body in one straight line.
• A higher support makes it easier, a lower one harder.
• Keep your elbows at about forty-five degrees.

Common mistakes

• Letting the hips sag.
• Using a support that can slide or tip.

Set up. Set up as for a back squat in a rack with the safety pins set, the bar on your upper back.

1. Squat down under control to your usual depth.
2. Hold the bottom position still for a count of two or three while staying braced.
3. Drive up to standing without bouncing.

Form cues

• Stay tight during the pause.
• Keep your chest up.
• Use less weight than a normal squat.

Common mistakes

• Relaxing at the bottom.
• Rocking out of the pause.

Take care. Squat inside a rack with the safety pins set just below your lowest point.

Set up. Set a cable high. Stand side-on to it, feet wide, and hold the handle with both hands above the near shoulder.

1. Pull the handle down and across your body toward the opposite hip.
2. Turn the hips and pivot the back foot as you go.
3. Return under control.
4. Finish the set and switch sides.

Form cues

• Keep the arms fairly straight.
• Turn from the hips and torso together.
• Control the return.

Common mistakes

• Pulling with the arms only.
• Twisting the lower back without turning the hips.

Set up. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front in a rack, the bar set at about shoulder height. Grip it slightly wider than your shoulders.

1. Unrack the bar to the front of your shoulders, sitting tall.
2. Press straight up to straight arms.
3. Lower under control.

Form cues

• Sit tall and brace.
• Keep the bar over your hips.
• Use lighter weight than a standing press.

Common mistakes

• Leaning back to press.
• Rounding the lower back.