- CrossFit star Kari Pearce said that intense, non-traditional exercises help build your abdominal muscles more than crunches.
- Her favorite underrated core moves include weighted hanging leg raises and hollow holds.
- Piercings also love the high-intensity burpees for burning calories and body fat, which are the keys to the visible abdominal muscles.
According to former elite gymnast and six-time CrossFit Games athlete Cali Pierce, if you’re looking for a strong and clear core muscle, Crunch isn’t going to cut it.
“I think crunch is definitely an overrated exercise because people haven’t learned how to properly activate the core,” she told insiders.
Piercing is a core strength and stability expert, recreating hundreds of weighted pull-ups and excels in skill and strength exercises like handstand push-ups.
Now retired from the competitive CrossFit, her Power Abs and other training programs help athletes of all sports and experience levels work towards the coveted 6-pack aesthetic.
She said high-intensity exercises such as Hanging Leg Raises, Hollow Holds, and Burpees are the key to building muscle and burning fat to shape the defined abdominal muscles.
You can see the results with a short and fun workout, Pierce said
According to Pierce, abdominal muscle training should not be painful or boring if done correctly. If you have a backache, it is more likely that the core will not engage properly, which will be ineffective and may result in injury.
You don’t have to overdo it, as it’s enough to consistently train 10 minutes a day to notice the difference.
“If you’re having fun, you’re likely to do that. You don’t have to exercise for hours,” Pierce said. “If you hit hard, you’ll get great results.”
Weighted Hanging Leg Raise is a challenging move to show your abdominal muscles
For challenge-seeking athletes, Pierce said one of her favorite abs exercises to date is the weight-gained Hanging Leg Raise.
Start by placing a medicine ball or dumbbell between your feet.Grab a sturdy one
Pull-up bar
You will fall into a dead hang while holding the weight between your legs or lower limbs. Slowly and controlfully raise your legs parallel to the floor so that your body is L-shaped and slowly lower.
To fix it, instead of straightening your legs, you can try a heavy hanging knee tack with your knees closer to your chest.
If exercising is too difficult, lose weight. Even your weight is strong enough to feel a burn. Athletes of other physiques, such as bodybuilder Dr. Sunny Andrews, vow to raise their 6-pack abdominal muscles with a weight-free hanging leg raise.
Burpees work throughout the body, including the abdominal muscles, helping to burn calories for the definition of more muscles
Earrings also like to incorporate the burpee, everyone’s favorite love-hate movement.
“The burpee is one of the best moves to move your abdominal muscles and make them pop,” she said.
Burpee variations not only function core muscles such as the abdominal and gluteal muscles, but are also high strength and include multiple muscle groups to maximize calorie burning. This is important when you need a visible abdominal muscle, Pierce said.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that you think abdominal exercises only dissolve the fat in your stomach. You can build and strengthen the muscles underneath, but they don’t show up without losing body fat. Hmm, “she said.
Hollow body hold is an underrated foundation for strong abdominal muscles
According to Pierce, one of the most effective and underrated core exercises is also one of the simplest.
With a hollow body hold, you lie on the ground, press your hips against the floor, and lift your legs and shoulders with your arms extended overhead. This is seemingly difficult.
The perfect hollow hold allows you to maintain tension and stability in a variety of other exercises and allow your core to function more effectively.
“They are very difficult, but they are the foundation of V-ups, tack-ups, and bikes,” says Pearce.
Beginners can start with variations such as dead bugs and other scaled exercises to improve their fitness.
