Abs exercises.
15 exercises that put abs first, and the weekly set targets Swole.fit uses to grow them.
How many sets a week for abs?
Swole.fit plans 4 hard sets a week as the point where abs starts to grow, 8 to 16 sets as the sweet spot for most lifters, and 20 as the most you can usually recover from. Indirect work from other lifts is enough to keep what you built. Sets where abs only helps count as half a set.
Compound abs exercises
Multi-joint lifts. Heavier loads, more muscle per set, and the backbone of a plan.
- Kettlebell Turkish Get-UpKettlebell, band and specialty bar, with glutes, quadriceps
- L-SitBodyweight, with triceps, shoulders
- Landmine RotationKettlebell, band and specialty bar, with shoulders
- Mountain ClimbersBodyweight, with shoulders, quadriceps
- Trap Bar Farmer's WalkKettlebell, band and specialty bar, with traps, shoulders
Isolation abs exercises
Single-joint moves. Less fatigue per set, so they fill the gap between growth and the recovery limit.
- Bicycle CrunchesBodyweight
- Cable CrunchCable
- Cable Pallof PressCable, with obliques
- CrunchesBodyweight
- Dead BugBodyweight, with obliques
- Hollow Body HoldBodyweight, with hip flexors
- Machine CrunchMachine
- PlankBodyweight, with shoulders
- Side PlankBodyweight, with shoulders
- Weighted PlankKettlebell, band and specialty bar, with shoulders, lower back
Lifts where abs helps
Each set of these counts as half a set toward your weekly total.
- Barbell Back Squat
- Barbell Front Squat
- Barbell Military Press
- Barbell Overhead Press
- Burpees
- Cable Russian Twist
- Cable Woodchopper
- Dumbbell Goblet Squat
- Kettlebell Clean and Press
- Kettlebell Goblet Squat
- Kettlebell Snatch
- Kettlebell Swing
- Landmine Press
- Landmine Squat
- Machine Torso Rotation
- Pistol Squats
- Ring Dips
- Single-Leg Glute Bridge
- Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
Programs that bring up abs
Free splits from the Swole.fit library with extra focus here.
Let the app count your abs sets.
Swole.fit tallies every set for abs across the week, shows where you sit against these targets and adds volume as the cycle builds.