1. Core = everything but your limbs

Your abs are your abs, your core consists of all but your limbs. This means the glutes; hips; back; chest and abs are all part of the core. If your core isn’t strong, don’t expect your arms and legs to be.

2. Heavy carries are the best for adding thickness and increasing overall strength

Waiters, suitcase, and farmers walks are some of the best exercises you can perform to increase size and strength of all the core muscles. Just grab a heavy weight in one hand, or both, and take x amount of steps. Make sure to keep your chest proud, back up straight, and shoulder blades together.

3. Train your abdominals like any other muscle group

Planking for days or performing hundreds of crunches is boring and no good long-term; it also isn’t a true determinate of core strength. 2-4 sets of 8-12 reps of weighted exercises such as cable crunches, reverse cable crunches; barbell pull-over leg lifts and landmine 180s are your best bet.

4. Heavy deadlifts and squats aren’t enough

I took a break from direct ab training taking on the notion that performing heavy squats and deadlifts every week were enough. Wrong!! I noticed the definition in my mid-section slowly diminishing and soon realized that isolating the rectus abdominus through weighted crunching exercises, and activation of the deep transverse abdominus with the use of such exercises as the weighted plank are absolutely vital to a good, strong core.

5. Both anti-rotation exercises AND crunches should have a place in your program

A lot of trainers seem to be on the “anti” high when it comes to ab training, and for some clients using anti-flexion and anti-extension exercises may be the best thing for their abilities or current condition. However, in order to work a muscle effectively it should be worked in all the planes of motion it is capable of; therefor crunching is necessary!

6. 6 packs aren’t impressive – thick, bulging 6 packs are impressive

I was younger and naïve once, I used to be so impressed with 6 pack abs. Now I’ve realised that crack heads have 6 packs; which means your body fat just has be low enough to see them, not that you’re in great shape. Now what impresses me most is a nice, thick, bulging 6 pack that can be seen even with a higher percentage of body fat. What gets me even more than this however are back muscles that are so well developed and defined I could label them.

I hope these tips save you some time and frustration if you’re on the quest towards solid and impressive core muscles. Keep Moving!!!