Sculpt Your Abs Into a Six-Pack in Six Weeks
Carve up your midsection with these tried-and-true abdominal moves
Joe Wuebben
We’re as into working the core as anyone, but save the planks and transverse abdominus training for an- other day. it’s time to get a six-pack the old-fashioned way—with a workout
that brings to mind Rocky Balboa and bodybuilders of the ’60s and ’70s. the following routine—which was designed by Jim Ryno, personal trainer and owner of Lift Enterprises in Alpine, NJ—is as brutally effective as it is nostalgic.
“This is an old-school abdominal routine just like i did with my dad in the garage growing up,” Ryno says. “Rather than choosing a crazy number of exercises, you need to select just a few and train them intensely. these four moves will definitely do the trick for helping you obtain that chiseled six-pack.”
The Routine
Ryno’s six-week plan consists of exercises you’ve undoubtedly seen before. He’s not reinventing the wheel, nor does he need to. “This is an advanced ab workout to increase the size of your abs, making them more defined and visible,” Ryno says. These four exercises not only cover all the major areas of the midsection (upper and lower abs, obliques) but also are excellent for loading with weight. Building muscle requires increasing resistance. You should train your abs like you would your biceps. You wouldn’t do 100 curls consecutively, so why would you do 100 crunches?”
You’ll see two separate ab workouts below: One you’ll do twice a week for the first three weeks, and another will take you through the three weeks after that. The major difference between Weeks 1–3 and 4–6 are lower rep ranges in the latter, a product of increasing resistance. “While this program provides the much-needed variation in reps in order to keep progress coming,” Ryno explains, “the focus is really on Weeks 4–6, when the reps are executed in the lower range with added weight to really build serious strength and size. You’ll do the most difficult moves first in the routine, as a muscle is always weaker on subsequent exercises.”
The Basics
You’ll do two 3-week phases back to back.The movements will be the same in all weeks but volume and resistance increase in Weeks 4-6.
Perform each routine twice weekly, allowing at least 48 hours between workouts.
In Weeks 1-3, rest 45 seconds; in Weeks 4-6, rest 60 seconds.
Weeks 1-3
Cable Crunch
Kneel a couple of feet in front of a cable weight stack with a rope attached to a high-pulley cable. grab the ends of the rope and hold them at the sides of your head. Begin slightly bent over, then contract your abs to lower your torso toward the floor. As with a crunch, the range of motion here is slight; your head shouldn’t reach the floor. the key is a full contraction of the abs.
RYNO Says: "When performing this move, you must round your back to effectively target the abs. The movement here should occur at the waist, not the hips.”
*Don’t drive your arms forward to help initiate the movement—focus on isolating the abs.
Weeks 4-6
The Workout
Hanging Knee Raise
Hang from a chinup bar or vertical bench with your legs
straight and perpendicular to the floor. Bend your knees and lift them straight up in front of you until your thighs are just past parallel with the floor. Concentrate on contracting your abs, not your hip flexors, through- out the movement. Slowly lower your legs back to the hanging position.
RYNO Says: “It’s important that while lift- ing the knees up you go into an anterior pelvic tilt (tuck- ing the knees up toward the chin). When lowering the legs, control your swing using your core stabilizers.”
*To keep constant tension on the abs, don’t lower your knees to where they’re pointing at the floor. Keep them pointing in front of you at the bottom of each rep.
**In Weeks 4–6, this becomes a weighted exercise. Add resistance by either holding a dumb- bell between both ankles, squeezing a medicine ball between your knees, or wearing ankle weights.
Carve up your midsection with these tried-and-true abdominal moves
Joe Wuebben
We’re as into working the core as anyone, but save the planks and transverse abdominus training for an- other day. it’s time to get a six-pack the old-fashioned way—with a workout
that brings to mind Rocky Balboa and bodybuilders of the ’60s and ’70s. the following routine—which was designed by Jim Ryno, personal trainer and owner of Lift Enterprises in Alpine, NJ—is as brutally effective as it is nostalgic.“This is an old-school abdominal routine just like i did with my dad in the garage growing up,” Ryno says. “Rather than choosing a crazy number of exercises, you need to select just a few and train them intensely. these four moves will definitely do the trick for helping you obtain that chiseled six-pack.”
The Routine
Ryno’s six-week plan consists of exercises you’ve undoubtedly seen before. He’s not reinventing the wheel, nor does he need to. “This is an advanced ab workout
to increase the size of your abs, making them more defined and visible,” Ryno says. These four exercises not only cover all the major areas of the midsection (upper and lower abs, obliques) but also are excellent for loading with weight. Building muscle requires increasing resistance. You should train your abs like you would your biceps. You wouldn’t do 100 curls consecutively, so why would you do 100 crunches?”You’ll see two separate ab workouts below: One you’ll do twice a week for the first three weeks, and another will take you through the three weeks after that. The major difference between Weeks 1–3 and 4–6 are lower rep ranges in the latter, a product of increasing resistance. “While this program provides the much-needed variation in reps in order to keep progress coming,” Ryno explains, “the focus is really on Weeks 4–6, when the reps are executed in the lower range with added weight
to really build serious strength and size. You’ll do the most difficult moves first in the routine, as a muscle is always weaker on subsequent exercises.”The Basics
You’ll do two 3-week phases back to back.The movements will be the same in all weeks but volume and resistance increase in Weeks 4-6.
Perform each routine twice weekly, allowing at least 48 hours between workouts.
In Weeks 1-3, rest 45 seconds; in Weeks 4-6, rest 60 seconds.
Weeks 1-3
The Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Hanging Knee Raise | 2-3 | 15-20 |
| Roman Chair Situp | 2-3 | 15-20 |
| Cable Crunch | 2-3 | 12-15 |
| Dumbbell Side Bend | 1-2 | 20 |
Cable Crunch
Kneel a couple of feet in front of a cable weight
stack with a rope attached to a high-pulley cable. grab the ends of the rope and hold them at the sides of your head. Begin slightly bent over, then contract your abs to lower your torso toward the floor. As with a crunch, the range of motion here is slight; your head shouldn’t reach the floor. the key is a full contraction of the abs.RYNO Says: "When performing this move, you must round your back to effectively target the abs. The movement here should occur at the waist, not the hips.”
*Don’t drive your arms forward to help initiate the movement—focus on isolating the abs.
The Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Hanging Knee Raise (weighted) | 3 | 8-12 |
| Roman Chair Situp (weighted) | 3 | 8-12 |
| Cable Crunch | 3 | 8-12 |
| Dumbbell Side Bend | 2 | 12-15 |
Hang from a chinup bar or vertical bench with your legs
straight and perpendicular to the floor. Bend your knees and lift them straight up in front of you until your thighs are just past parallel with the floor. Concentrate on contracting your abs, not your hip flexors, through- out the movement. Slowly lower your legs back to the hanging position.RYNO Says: “It’s important that while lift- ing the knees up you go into an anterior pelvic tilt (tuck- ing the knees up toward the chin). When lowering the legs
, control your swing using your core stabilizers.”*To keep constant tension on the abs, don’t lower your knees to where they’re pointing at the floor. Keep them pointing in front of you at the bottom of each rep.
**In Weeks 4–6, this becomes a weighted exercise
. Add resistance by either holding a dumb- bell between both ankles, squeezing a medicine ball between your knees, or wearing ankle weights.
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