9 Best Weighted Ab Exercises That Can Really Give You Great Results

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Many ab exercises rely on your body weight for success, but that can take some time. Weighted ab exercises can, however, help increase the pressure on your muscles to help speed up the outcome.

Including weights with your abs exercises can stimulate your muscles to help you get some great results.

Thus while situps and crunches with your body weight can help target and work your abs, weighted ab exercises such as weighted crunches and weighted situps will make your effort less strenuous and time-saving.

Related: 9 Best Sit Up Benches for Home Gym to Help Target Ab Muscles

The Ab Muscles – A Brief Explanation

The abs are some of the most important muscle groups in your body.

The abdominal muscles or abs, located around the front of your body, comprise the

• Pyramidalis
• Rectus Abdominus
• External Obliques
• Internal Obliques
• Transversus Abdominis

The five muscles come together to make up your core or core muscles.

One of the goals of many athletes and exercisers is to get flat abs or the much sort after six-pack.

Working your abs may give an aesthetic value, but strong abs can have many benefits.

Strong ab muscles can make it easy for you to help your body to function as expected. Activities such as bending, rotating, and flexing your torso are some daily routines that rely on having a strong and well-functioning core.

Thus exercises that can work and target your core muscles should form an integral part of any fitness regimen.

Best Weighted Ab Exercises That Can Really Pay Off

Weighted ab exercises can help build and strengthen your abdominal muscles. That can help make them more visible and functionally stronger.

It is worth remembering that the weight ab exercises must go together with the correct nutrition and possibly lifestyle changes. Thus your pre-workout meal and post-workout foods get the necessary attention as well.

Below are some of the best weighted ab exercises that can help strengthen your abdominal muscles for a stronger core.

Weighted Crunch

The dumbbell crunch, a variation of crunches, is one of the best weighted ab exercises for working the abdominal muscles.

Adding weights to the crunches exercise makes it more challenging and allows you to build stronger muscles.

You will need an exercise mat and a dumbbell for the weight ab exercises

Steps to follow

• Take a supine position with your back on the floor, holding a dumbbell over your chest
• Bend your knees and plant them firmly on the floor.
• Press the dumbbell straight up until you lock your elbows.
• Exhale, push the small of your back into the floor and lift your shoulders. Ensure you keep your stretched arms and the dumbbell pointing to the ceiling.
• Allow your shoulders to come off the floor by about four inches while pushing your small back firmly down.
• Contract your abs as hard as possible for a second and slowly return your shoulder to the floor.
• Repeat 8-12 reps for a set and 3-4 sets in a session

Dumbbell Side Bends

The dumbbell side bend is one of the most popular weight ab exercises for adding side and definition to the oblique muscles of the abs.

Building your oblique muscles can help improve posture and keep your spine in good shape.

The side bends are some of the best weight ab exercises that can add a V-taper shape to your waist.

Steps to follow

• Stand upright, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Keep your hands stretched by your sides, palms facing your torso, and legs at shoulder width.
• Start inhaling, then bend sideways only at your waist. Ensure you keep your head up, your back straight, your hands stretched, and the rest of your body still.
• Pause for a second, exhale, and return to your starting position.
• Repeat the movement by bending to the other side
• Complete 8-12 reps per side for a set and 3-4 sets in a session

Abdominal Barbell Rollouts

The barbell rollout is one of the weighted ab exercises for working the rectus abdominis or the six-pack and the deep core muscles.

The Barbell Rollouts are some of the best weighted ab exercises that target the lats and upper back muscles.

The exercise uses a barbell, instead of an ab roller to target and work your core muscles.

Steps to follow

• You will need a barbell with 5-10lb loaded plates for the exercise.
• Place a loaded barbell on the floor and kneel facing the bar.
• Grasp the barbell, ensuring your palms are apart by more than shoulder width.
• With your arms and back straight, extend your hips and start rolling the barbell away from you. Ensure your arms remain stretched throughout.
• Roll the bar forward as far as possible and roll back to your starting position.
• Repeat 8-12 reps for a set and 3-4 sets per session.

Weighted Decline Sit-Up

The decline sit-up places your upper body at a higher height than your thighs and hips, forcing your body to work against gravity. That position gives you a higher range of motion to help target your core muscles.

Using a dumbbell when doing the exercise makes it more challenging and helps target the muscles better to speed up the results.

The decline sit-ups with a dumbbell are some of the best ab exercises for core strength. Including them in your training regimen can help stabilize your body and help reduce the risk of injury.

You will need a sit up bench for the exercise.

Steps to follow

• Position yourself on the sit-up bench holding a dumbbell with both hands above your chest.
• Lock your feet into pace with the foot pad
• Lift your torso until your chest is in line with your thighs.
• Pause for some seconds and return to your starting position
• Repeat 8-15 reps per set and 3-4 sets in a session

Oblique Twists With Medicine Ball

The oblique twist or the Russian twist can help strengthen the ab muscles. Holding a weight, like a medicine ball, while doing the exercises challenges your core to work harder, helping to improve the results.

The Russian Twists with a slam ball are some of the most popular weighted ab exercises for targeting the internal and external obliques.

Strengthening your obliques can provide your torso with better support and help reduce some of the pressure on your lower back and abs.

Steps to follow

• Sit on a floor or an exercise mat, holding a medicine ball.
• Bend your knees and plant your feet on the floor.
• Lower your upper body to about 45 degrees to make a V shape with your thighs and upper body.
• Contract your abs and twist at the waist from side to side with the ball. Ensure your keep your upper body straight.
• Rotating from left to right and back to the center is a rep.
• Repeat 8-15 reps for a set and 3-4 sets in a session

Dumbbell V-Sit Cross Jab

The dumbbell V-sit cross jab is one of the most effective weighted ab exercises that simultaneously target the abdominal and shoulder muscles.

The V-sit cross jab can stabilize the core muscles and boost cardiovascular health.

Steps to follow

• Sit on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your chest.
• Bend your knees and plant your feet on the floor.
• Lean back to form a V shape with your thighs and upper body.
• Tighten your core, and extend one arm straight out as if throwing a jab. Then bring it back to your starting position while simultaneously throwing a punch with the other arm.
• Throwing a punch with each hand represents a rep.
• Repeat 8-15 reps for a set and 3-4 sets to complete a session.

Kettlebell Windmill

The kettlebell windmill is one of the best compound weighted ab exercises for core strength. It is also a good hip mobility and shoulder stability exercise.

The kettlebell windmill targets and strengthens the transversus abdominus and obliques of the abdominal muscles.

You will need a kettlebell for the exercise.

Steps to follow

• Stand upright with feet slightly wider than hip-width.
• Grab the kettlebell with your left hand, palms facing forward, and extend the hand over your head.
• Extend the right hand in front of its thigh, palms facing forward.
• Hinge at your hips and lower your upper body sideways to the right. Keep your right hand facing forward and slide it down your leg as you bed sideways. Keep your left hand stretched and let it stay overhead as you bend sideways.
• Pause when your right palm gets close to your foot. You should feel some weight shifting into your left hip. Keep your eyes on the kettlebell throughout
• Pause at the bottom of the movement and return to your starting position.
• Repeat with the other side.

Seated Barbell Twist

The seated barbell twist strengthens the obliques and is one of the best weighted ab exercises for core aesthetics.

You will need a light bar or an empty barbell for the exercises.

Steps to follow

• Sit on a flat bench and rest the bar on your neck muscle.
• Caution: Do not rest the bar on your neck!
• Keep your feet more than shoulder width on the floor and your back firm and straight.
• Tighten your abs and twist your upper body slowly to the left and the right as far as possible. Ensure your head remains still and face forward as you turn your torso.

Woodchoppers

The woodchoppers with a dumbbell are full-body rotational exercises for strengthening the core muscles, especially the obliques and lower abs.

The dumbbell woodchoppers are some of the most effective weighted ab exercises for boosting rotational power through the lower back and hips.

Steps to follow

• Stand upright, holding a dumbbell with both hands and feet at shoulder-width
• Lift the dumbbell above one shoulder and keep your torso tight
• Rotate your upper body and bring the dumbbell diagonally down and past your opposite thigh.
• Reverse to return the dumbbell to your starting position.
• Repeat.

Final words from LiveLIfe

You can achieve your ab strengthening goals with only your body weight but adding weights to those can help make the exercises more challenging and give better results.

Thus weighted ab exercise can help push your bodyweight exercises to different levels.

Most weighted ab exercises are compound movements that allow you to work many muscles simultaneously, making them time-saving and efficient.

Add these weighted ab exercises to your training regimen to strengthen and build your core muscles more efficiently.