“People think ab training is different, but it’s the same as training other muscles,” said Dr. Mike Israetel. Abs, like any muscle, respond to fundamental hypertrophic principles: contract and lengthen muscles against resistance with progressive overload.
Building an impressive core with hundreds of daily crunches and planks is akin to 100 bodyweight squats for massive legs…not happening. In May 2025, Dr. Israetel applied exercise science to explain how to build washboard abs.
Ab Training Truths
- Training abs won’t shrink the waist. Weighted ab training may enlarge the waist.
There is no mechanical way by which bigger muscles can get you smaller anything.
—Dr. Mike Israetel
- Crunches don’t spot-reduce belly fat. Fat burning doesn’t occur in specific, targeted regions, and core work isn’t a productive fat-burning activity. (1)
- Impressive abs take time to realize. Avoid six-pack shortcut gimmicks.
Unless already somewhat lean, abs won’t show, no matter how much muscle is underneath. “You’re not going to have a six-pack with 20% body fat,” Dr. Israetel asserted. Physical activity and a caloric deficit are the key to enhancing aesthetics, if the abs are developed.
How to Train Abs Properly
- Two to four ab workouts weekly (1)
- Three to six working sets per session
- Five to 30 reps per set
- Push close to failure
Exercises should emphasize controlled negatives, as loaded stretches may boost the growth response. Training more than once weekly is key for strength and subsequent muscle gains. Rep variety, including failure sets, is a favorable hypertrophic combination. (2)(3)
Best Six-Pack Strategy
Endless crunches and planks are unlikely to build a shredded core. Choose exercises that allow a full range of motion and progressive overload. This can be achieved with some bodyweight techniques, but adding resistance is paramount for continued gains.
Who Shouldn’t Train Abs
Do you care about looking ripped? If not, isolated ab work isn’t necessary, but “If you want slightly bigger abs that, at a leaner body fat, protrude more, then train them,” Dr. Israetel affirmed.
Abs will develop from isometric tension via heavy compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bent-over rows. However, they lack deep flexion and extension, which can only be achieved with ab-specific exercises.
Overnight six-pack programs? “First-rate nonsense,” Dr. Israetel concluded.
More Training Content
- The 8 Decades-Long Mistakes This Elite Strongman Coach Made in Training
- New Study for Bigger Biceps Says to Curl How You Want
- Abs Are Overrated — the Mirror Muscles You Must Train to Look Jacked
References
- Vispute SS, Smith JD, LeCheminant JD, Hurley KS. The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat. J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Sep;25(9):2559-64. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181fb4a46. PMID: 21804427.
- Krzysztofik M, Wilk M, Wojdała G, Gołaś A. Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 4;16(24):4897. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244897. PMID: 31817252; PMCID: PMC6950543.
- Robinson ZP, Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Refalo MC, Jukic I, Steele J, Zourdos MC. Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions. Sports Med. 2024 Sep;54(9):2209-2231. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02069-2. Epub 2024 Jul 6. PMID: 38970765.
Featured image via Shutterstock/oneinchpunch
