What's The Best Way To Get 6 Pack Abs? 

Dr. Mike thank you for the info on how to get abs. Can you do a video on penile hypertrophy? It's a weak point for my physique

Jeez, you make jokes that go through a complete range of motion and emotion. Love it.

The random tirade about dragonslaying around 4:45 got me crying with laughter. Your sense of humor and good info is the main reasons why I watch every video. 😂

Listening to Dr Mike talk abs while eating a snickers icecream bar. Feeling accomplished

I’ve been subbed for 2 days and already learned how broken my “near perfect” program was. Been binge watching. Thanks Doc! Hopefully I can implement your information and break into the advanced level.

Yes train your abs and obliques. It's like having a strong lower back. Really helps keep the spine more safe during lifts.

i can say personally that training abs consistently over the past 2 yrs has made a HUGE difference in how good they look/pop and show thru even at higher bf%. i only have to diet down to a dexa scanned 12% now to have a full 8 pack now that theyve hypertrophied well from consistent training, whereas before it was

I recently found your channel and man not only is your knowledge easy to digest for people without a degree in a physical therapy, but you have a great comedic touch. Thanks for your content!

Highly insightful and informative. Thanks for the amazing guide! 💪

As a guy with 2x bulging discs, degenerative changes, and an annular fissure, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND to train your core! Keeps everything locked in place, and potentially can actually make you lift more by having a better foundation!

Thanks Dr Mike I’m a boxer/kickboxer and core work is part of every session we do But rarely do you still rock hard abs that are aesthetically pleasing too - function over form every time Love ya work mate

Short personal experience testimony When I cut down to 180lbs once i did not have even a slightest sliver of abs because I didn't work them out Currently I'm at 230lbs and "flabs" are clearly visible, and this summer I had a six pack at 200lbs because I work them out just a little bit, 4x10 of leg raises at the end of each workout is all it took for me

Some ab exercises and how to perform them would be great. I loved all the bodybuilding videos with mike, jared and charly and learned a lot by how they execute their sets but I haven't seen ab exercises from them !

Hi Mike. I'm 57 years old and I have been training in my bedroom with dumbbells and bands for just over a year and have cut more than a stone and a half in weight. (13.6 stone to 12 stone now) When I started taking my workout seriously (every day) in January this year and eating a calorie controlled diet, I started doing heel touches and hollow crunches for my abs and within 5 months my belly went from 40 inches to 36 inches and my abs are popping out nicely. I do a 20 minute abs workout every other day and the more belly fat I lose, the more defined they look. Anyway, I am planning to join a gym soon, now that I have been made redundant, and I will be starting a youtube channel to document my training. My body has developed a nice definition since I started training and now I want to try and bulk up and put on more muscle mass using information I am learning from you, Jeff Nippard and Kassem Hanson of N1 Education. Keep educating us Dr Mike. I enjoy watching your videos.

Finally!! I've been waiting for this video for years thank you Dr.Mike!

As someone who just graduated with a degree in dietetics, thank you for providing factual and educated information. Favorite fitness RU-vid channel.

I want 1 large ab that can be seen through my shirt, my coat, and I grow by over eating!!!

I appreciate the nod to Brazilian jiu jitsu specific strength. Ab strength and/or endurance is often a movement limiting factor and safety imperative.

Yes because A. Abs can grow like any other muscle in the 5-30 rep range (optimally above RPE 8) and B. Core stability is integral to heavy compound injury prevention.

I would mention, since I've trained some long distance running, it does take a toll on your abs. Having some muscle endurance on core helps. So the abs a marathon runner has are also partially because all that running requires some abdominal muscles

I didn't skip leg day, but I skipped ab day. Maybe I didn't like doing the ab exercises because they often aren't loaded, just lots of reps. I was hoping just to rely on the compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, etc..) to build core strength without targeting them specifically. What you explain in this video is a relief. I don't feel as bad for skipping ab day.

Jim can't seem to catch a break 🤣

This guy is the funniest wisest and most blunt physical educator on RU-vid. 🙏🏾👍🏾😊

I’ve only recently stumbled across your channel but I fucking love it. Very education and when you go off the deep end with your metaphors it cracks me up haha keep up the good work, homie 🙌🏻

Dr Mike... you're not right in the head! 😂 Never change, informative and always extra laughs!

After years of hearing that abs are made in the kitchen and that they are useless to train, I decided to give them a try. I’m starting to see lines in my abdomen I’ve never seen before. I don’t intend to stop now lmao

TY for the website from central hub, thats so much info

I do 4x2-3RiR Leg Raises and then 3x2-3RiR High Crunches ("upper abs version") I'm really good at isolating abs in leg raises and usually do 10 10 8 8 (for I do left right Leg Raises often times) I go as high as possible without losing tension and I focus on the connection to the abs, so it's initiated and stabilized through the abs

*acute voice* but Dr Mike!! if I train my abs so much that I end up non-functionally overreached and then overtrained, eventually I'm going to lose muscle and make my waist smaller!!! Yaaayyy!!!

Dr. Mike always has the best videos, you get to learn cool shit and laugh your ass off

Brilliant explanation dr. Mike!

I love this channel. Remember when Greg and, well, a whole big ass group of other fitness people did training videos and not ads?

I train my abs on my push and pull days for a total of four days a week. Honestly it means that at 20 % or more body fat I have visible abs. It’s worth it for the low amount of work compared with other workouts

Another great and interesting video. Thanks !

Caught me every time with cerebro. Was just priming for the hub, which comes after this channel

I tell my clients pretty much all these points; many of them dismiss these (especially people of a certain sex).After a while you end up not believing in yourself! Thanks Dr Mike for helping me believing in myself again!

Ab endurance is excellent for climbing, especially bouldering. Lots of body tension required.

I'm glad you've addressed your head.

Awesome video! Informative and entertaining!

Damn, He caught me! 😆

I have wide iliac crests so I've embraced that I look better with blocky abs. Spent a long time not training them and it did very little for my physique. I'll never have the best V taper because of this, and it actually looks better if my obliques are developed so I don't wind up with an hourglass figure.

Very informative, and that ending was 10/10 comedy! Liked and subscribed.

I’m here for your humor, my flavor and of course the education! 😂❤

I lost 110lbs over the course of the past two years so I have a little excess skin hanging around my belly button area. I train abs like a maniac in hopes of dealing with that so I'll definitely take this video as gospel lol

People literally argue with me saying training abs doesn't make your waist bigger and I started to doubt myself recently and even started training them every once in a while. Thanks for clearing that doubt and helping me maintain my tiny waist

Do you know what the best ab workout is??? Watching your videos. Jesus I laugh enough that they hurt. Started watching 4 or 5 yrs ago because of your clarity in the science of exercise. However the humor is a great bonus. I’m no athlete but I listen for practicality and safety

this video was very helpful!

1:02 you heard it right there Dr Mike sums it up. Tren hard, eat clen anavar give up. Test your limits, synthol as that.

Great video, as always. You mentioned a lot of full range of motion movement similar to other things. Do you think you could cover what exactly that means when it comes to ab training specifically?

Love the humor in this one!

Dr. Mike with all due respect any runner worth his salt trains his core.

What do you think about ab wheel rollouts for ab hypertrophy and bracing strength?

Great video! One other topic I'm curious about are your thoughts on the need to have strong abs to support your spine to prevent lower back injury or pain. I think Louie Simmons was a big believer that powerlifters (and probably to a lesser extent bodybuilders) need to have very strong abs to support their spines. This has long been my reason for training abs, since I've long known spot fat reduction isn't much of a thing.

Hands down he’s great and full of wisdom but not lame and hilarious keep it up

I fell into the trap of doing crunches too, I think it's because feeling the burn somehow translated to me that I'm doing good "work." I'm just so happy I discovered the channel, I'm more confident in building muscle now and for the first time I feel the pump in the biceps XD Previously I was just doing a ton of running with no weight lifting but always felt exhausted as hell, and I always gave in to the temptations since I had no energy left. Anyway, Cheeeeeers!!!!

I've been keeping track of my daily steps and calorie needs this year. Almost done 11 million steps, which did include a marathon and a 20 mile race up a mountain. Can confirm, stomaching the amount of calories even on days I don't run but do stupid step counts (37,050 steps today) is nigh on impossible. Can't do my usual race next year so I might actually gain some muscle from the gym for a few months. That will be nice.

Gotta admit. I feel quite accomplished on my fitness knowledge journey when I hop into a video by someone great like Dr Mike Israetel or Dr Andy Galpin and learn nothing. Not because they aren't teaching me anything, but because my personal research is paying off. Even though they are probably the one who taught me it years ago in a different video/podcast.

Another home run, with a heartwarming fairy tale thrown in!

This is so true and I learned it through trial and error, which is for the best as I’m not sure I would’ve accepted this advice. For those unsure, believe it. I’m not saying don’t do ab exercises, but, if you’re diet ain’t conducive, you’ll never see those abs you work so hard on. It wasn’t until I embarked on a hardcore cardio and diet regimen, with reduced weight training (because of the net negative calories) that I uncovered what I’d been working on all those years.

I’ve always trained abs, at higher bodyfat levels my abs still show fairy well, especially compared to when I didn’t train them, not too mention my abdominal endurance has increased a lot e.g high rep circuits

Hey Dr. Mike, great video. When doing my own research on ab isolation I've encountered a lot of discourse surrounding flexion-based movements and whether they're safe for your spine, most notably from Dr. Stuart McGill. That being said, there seems to be a bit of a trend that these studies that come out are frequently: 1. Presented in the context of physiotherapy rather than hypertrophy training 2. Methodologically dubious (as I see it), testing on pig cadaver spines with no muscular support Is damaging your spine through ab isolation something your average healthy lifter needs to be worried about? Thanks!

Great description of Hayley Atwell in Captain America at the end there

You are saving me so much heartache. 🎉

Awesome stuff. Would love to see same kind of video on neck training.

I’m super big on strict kneeling cable crunches. Load that weight up and hit it for 15-25 reps, 3-4 sets couples times a week. Been doing it all year. 100% recommended.

i was struggling with lower back pain for a while, falsely blaming rows, squats an DDLs. it was actually due going to heavy on sit ups (3 rep range). i stick to the 10+ range to avoid the sheer force on my spine. My weighted sit ups were predominantly flexing at hips instead of spine so maybe i was too heavy for my 'perfect form 3 rep range'.

When l was in my teens and twenties I had a metabolism like a furnace and with it a full set of visible abs and obliques. This without doing a single crunch or leg raise. The spill over from the likes of squats, chins and even pushdown was all the work they needed. Now I am much older with a slower metabolism I can only get abs by diet and direct work. The moral of the story is enjoy your youth while you can.

Due to loose skin fully visible abs don't seem to be in the books for me. Still I'm training them occasionally as I sit long hours every day for work and I have the feeling that "stronger" abs and hip flexors help preventing/reducing lower back pain.

Instant sub. Wow. Not your everyday fitness RU-vidr. You've got a sharp mind Dr.

Thank you sir !!

Agreed with everything said, diet is 70% for abs. Most people not willing to give up on pizzas and beer then think that abs is a rocket science. I went from 36 to 8 bf% in 8 month with heavy diet (1300ckal a day) and an easy'ish cardio. Boy, I had never seen that much attention in my entire life on the beach from women, men and even kids )) Sheer satisfaction of this totally worth the hard work. People will start to respect you, ladies be eager to get to know you. This in return gives enormous boost of confidence and self esteem. Total magic.

For me, it was to lose weight and do the heavy lifting for Olympic weightlifting. My abs would poke through sweaters at one point. It was also my first time not doing ab training period.

i needed this

Thanks Dr Mike! Mike is the Professor X of the fitness community!

0:34 turn on captions

The dragon scenario is literally just the plot to Beowulf

Great video, informative and funny too. Knock it off Jim! 😂

6:48 "Do infinity number of crunches" You got it Dr.Mike!

as a 6 pack having individual I can confirm that random women wanting to lick chocolate form your belly is a very annoying backward of crispy abs that people very rarley talks about, Thanks for bringing this up, Dr Mike.

This video taught me nothing new but opened my eyes lol. Why didn't I think of training abs in the 1-6 reps range for strength if that's what I do with all the other muscles

this information is all i needed for that +90 motivation

Every muscle can and should be trained. For a tall person (1.95m) the best thing for my movements has been regular abb training. For aesthetics it might not be absolutely neccesary but for function they are crucial.

Hey Dr. Mike, have a question for you. If your singular goal is to maximize hypertrophy in the long run, is it a better approach to focus on strength training with lower reps in the short-to-medium term so that you can increase your baseline load variable in the load x reps x sets = volume equation of your training and then swap to higher reps once you can lift more, or should you focus on sticking to higher reps from the start and use progressive overload to get the job done? Love the channel.

Gotta love when you see people doing full on abs circuits for 30 minutes like they're doing much of anything. The holding a weight in one hand and leaning to the side is my favorite to see, build those obliques and thicken up that midsection 😂 Like literally just find an ab machine you like or do a back supported hanging leg lift for 4x15-20 at the end of your workout a few times a week.. just keep it simple and efficient.

Thanks Dr Mike. I thought I should add that striking combat sports like boxing need ab endurance as the abs act as your armour when taking hits to the stomach. Once you run out of endurance, a good punch to the gut will wind you as you can no longer tense them to protect yourself. For most people though not fighting I can't think of a reason why you'd want more abs endurance.

This guy is fucking hilarious. Liked and subbed.

Those Instagram girls who think planks and crunches make your waist thinner 😏

I trained my abs for months and months. And nothing really changed. Weighted, non-weighted, I have a lot of personal trainer friends because I worked at a gym. They critiqued my form because at first I was mainly using hip flexors and getting V's. Which did work, I had flying V's. I truly have terrible insertion points, and my ribs are too large. So you cannot even see my top 2 abs, even at sub 10% body fat. The best I was able to get was a 4 pack with the bottom 4. Long story short, months of ab training did make them more defined. However, the time and effort put in was nowhere near worth the effect. Some peeps just don't have good ab genetics 🤷‍♂️

Very good and informative video.

16: 30 yeah, This applies very greatly to calisthenics. If you want to get the L-sit or V-sit, it makes sense to just do L-sits and V-sits

Could you make a similar video on the vacuum exercise and making your waist smaller? I’m sure it’s a lot of the same points but it’d still be interesting

My name's not Jim...

Planks are great for training your brain. Also, as a swimmer, tightens up the mid section, so you can hold a tighter streamline.

Thank you!!!❤❤❤❤

I used to work my abs all the time. No abs. I don't tain my abs at all anymore but I do a lot of squats and deadlifts and I've got abs.

i used to train them like crazy 3 years ago and recently started training abs again and i think because of muscle memory and training, my abs look bigger and more visible even tho im still around the same body fat percentage.

Funny and informative! Go Mike!

love ya man

Pretty funny cut away regarding the dragon and fam. Great honest and accurate info. Oh and really...Jim...put it away.

Ab mat sit ups for the win. Load them and you got a great exercise