8 Minute Ab Workout Devised by Jamie Alderton

Everyone wants great abs, and if you’re a bodybuilder then the abs are what will really round out your physique and make you look ripped and healthy rather than just ‘hulking’. Unfortunately though abs are also one of the least enjoyable and most difficult muscle groups to train. That’s because you can’t ‘lift’ anything with them (unlike the arms) and it’s because training them can sometimes be uncomfortable and cause stomach pain.

 

Jamie Alderton from Team Grenade has the answer with an 8 minute workout for the abs that’s super-efficient and will provide you with adequate training even in this very short time frame.

 

Click Play the Video Below for this Incredible 8 Minute Ab Workout:

The Rules

How is this possible? Simple: the workout consists of only four exercises, but no rest…

 

Those four exercises are ‘half sits’, ‘leg raises’, ‘plank’ and ‘knee crunches’. Each one is to be performed for a total of thirty seconds following straight on from one another. Once you reach the end of one, you will go on immediately to start training the next. When you get to the end of the last exercise after two minutes, you simply carry on from the beginning again.

 

In total you’re going to perform each exercise four times, but the constant movement will ensure maximum time under tension, maximum microtears and ultimately maximum hypertrophy.

 

The Moves

To ensure you perform this correctly, let’s take a look at each of the exercises in detail.

 

Half Sits

Half sits are sit ups that you perform by getting into sit up position, but then just sitting up half way while keeping your arms straight to avoid helping yourself by generating momentum.

 

The great thing about half sits is that they force you to focus on the point of the movement that provides the most resistance. At the same time, you’ll be performing partial reps, which means you need to stop yourself mid movement, which itself requires power and control.

 

Leg Raises

For your leg raises you’re going to lie flat on your back and raise your legs up slightly. This is a great exercise for training the lower portion of the rectus abdominis which often gets overlooked.

 

Plank Position

Plank position is a crucial movement in this routine as it’s essentially your chance to rest and recover while still keeping the heat on and making the whole thing fast and intense. Plank position is great for training the transverse abdominis – the band of muscle that surrounds the rest of your core providing stability and helping to pull your abs in. Training this area will strengthen your core, support your posture and give you flatter abs.

 

Knee Crunches

Lastly you’re going to get into press up position and then raise your knees one at a time up to your elbows. Because these focus on one side at the time they’re great for involving the obliques which make this into a fantastic routine for hitting the whole core.

After eight minutes you’ll have no question in your mind that this is more than enough time to get a fantastic abs workout. Give it a go!

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