Top 8 Worst Ab Exercise Mistakes To Avoid
How To Fix These Common Ab Exercise Mistakes
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing the top 8 worst ab exercise mistakes to avoid.
These are the top ab training mistakes that I’ve been seeing in the gym.
But before we get into it, I want to make this a very interactive video post.
This means you need to participate.
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In celebration of my Live Lean Abs 2.0 ab training program, I’m going to show you short video clips of the top 8 worst ab exercise mistakes to avoid.
In other words, these are the ways to NOT train and build your abs.
By the way, I put my reputation on the line by looking like a fool in the gym, while performing these ab exercises incorrectly.
Wait a minute, do I even have a reputation?
Here’s How You Can Participate
Click here to watch the video of me doing the ab exercises wrong.
After watching each clip, click the pause button on the video, then in the comment box below, tell me what you think the funny looking dude in the video is doing wrong.
I will then tell you the answers to what ab exercise mistakes were being made.
Cool?
Alright, money.
Let’s roll it.
Top 8 Worst Ab Exercise Mistakes To Avoid
You’re doing it wrong if you’re making any of the following 8 mistakes.
Ab Exercise Mistake #1: Using Momentum
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #1.
The ab exercise mistake being made is using momentum to complete the rep, rather than initiating the move by contracting the abs.
Do not use momentum or swinging to complete your ab exercises.
The movement begins by contracting your abs, not using momentum.
Here’s how to properly complete a hanging leg raise:
- Grip a pull up bar with a just outside shoulder width, overhand grip.
- Hang from the pull up bar with your arms fully extended and your legs straight down below you.
- Exhale and contract your abs hard, as if you’re about to get punched in the stomach.
- Next, raise your straight legs up as you flex and curl your hips until your knees are above your waist. This really targets your abs. When you only go to a 90 degree angle, it mainly target your hip flexors.
- Under control, lower your legs back to the starting position.
- Repeat for reps.
Ab Exercise Mistake #2: No Forward Pelvic Tilt Or Rounding Of The Back
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #2.
To properly engage your abs during the hanging knee raise, you need to bring your knees up towards your chest, by tilting your pelvis forward and rounding your back. When you just lift your knees up, without curling your hips, it primarily targets your hip flexors, not your abs.
Here’s how to properly complete a hanging knee raise:
- Grip a chin up bar with a shoulder width, overhand grip, and hang with extended arms and your legs together.
- Contract your abs, bend your knees, and raise your thighs towards your chest by curling your lower back underneath you, while squeezing your abs.
- Don’t just lift your knees straight up. This will primarily target your hip flexors, not your abs. Also try not to lean back to create momentum.
- Once the front of your thighs come close to your chest, under control, slowly lower your legs back to the the start.
- Repeat.
Ab Exercise Mistake #3: Dropping Hips, Shoulders Not Over Elbows, Butt In The Air
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #3.
The goal is to create a straight line with your body, from your head to your heels.
To turn your body into a straight line, like a board, make sure to contract your glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings, while pressing your forearms into the ground.
Here’s how to properly complete a forearm plank:
- Get into a traditional pushup position, then bend your elbows and plant your forearms into the floor by shifting your weight from your hands to your forearms.
- Once you’re in the forearm plank position, your body should be in a straight line from your feet to your head.
- If you notice your hips are sagging or your butt is higher in the air, make sure you’re contracting your abs as if you’re bracing for someone to punch you in the stomach.
- Hold this movement for the desired time.
- If you can’t reach your desired time, do it in intervals by planking for 10 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, etc., until you hit your time goal.
Ab Exercise Mistake #4: Focusing On Sloppy Quantity Rather Than Quality Reps
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #4.
Rather than focusing on quantity, focus on quality by increasing the time under tension by exhaling and contracting hard for each rep.
Here’s how to properly complete a crunch:
- Lie down on the floor, face up, with your knees bent, feet planted into the floor, and your hands behind your head.
- Contract your abs and breath out as your raise your shoulders off the floor. The movement is short and is initiated by the abs, not from pulling on your neck.
- Contract hard at the top of the crunch by exhaling all the air out of your lungs.
- Under control, lower your shoulders back to the floor and repeat.
Ab Exercise Mistake #5: Pulling On The Back Of Your Head
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #5.
This is a very common mistake.
Do not pull on the back of your head to initiate the sit up. Contract your abs to begin the movement.
Here’s how to properly complete a sit up:
- Lie down on the ground with your feet firmly planted into the floor. I prefer to lock my toes in place under a stable object.
- With your hands behind your head, contract your core as raise your upper torso towards your knees.
- Do not pull the back of your head to assist with the sit up, all the movement comes from contracting your abs.
- Breath out hard to really contract your abs hard at the top of the sit up.
- Then under control, slowly lower your upper torso back to the ground while taking a deep breath in.
- Immediately repeat for another rep.
Here’s an in-depth video post on how to do sit ups correctly for beginners.
Ab Exercise Mistake #6: Not Controlling The Lowering Of The Movement
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #6.
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Bad tempo. No focus on controlling the eccentric or lowering of the legs.
Here’s how to properly complete a lying leg raise.
- Lie down on the floor with your arms to the sides, palms pressed into the floor.
- Contract your abs then raise your straight legs up while curling your pelvis and raising your hips off the floor to get a maximum contraction.
- Under control, lower your legs to just a few inches off the floor.
- Repeat for reps.
Ab Exercise Mistake #7: Not Keeping Tension On The Abs
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #7.
Do not rest on the bench in between reps, since it’s important to keep your abs engaged throughout the entire movement. When the range of motion becomes too much, it removes the tension from your abs.
Here’s how to properly complete a decline sit up.
- Using a decline bench, place your shins underneath the pads.
- Place your hands behind your ears and lean back until your back almost touches the bench.
- Engage your abs and breath out as you raise your upper torso until it is almost vertical, without pulling on your ears.
- Slowly lower your upper torso back down towards the bench, but do not rest on the bench, as it’s important to keep your abs engaged throughout the entire movement.
- Repeat for reps.
Ab Exercise Mistake #8: Rest Breaks Are Too Long
Click to watch ab exercise mistake #8.
If you’re talking on the phone between your ab exercise sets, you better be talking to a cute girl.
Abs recover quickly, so it’s important to keep your rest periods short.
If you want to make sure you are not making these 8 worst ab exercise mistakes, check out my Live Lean Abs 2.0 workout program.
Check Out My Live Lean Abs 2.0 Workout Program
This ab training workout program manual and videos showcases my most effective ab training workouts and secrets, as well as a belly fat blasting meal and supplement plan.
Do you want to strengthen, condition, and build upper and lower abs, and obliques that pop?
The sweat will be coming down after just one of these ab circuits.
Damn that’s good!
Go get it all here: Live Lean Abs
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Question Of The Day:
- How many of these top 8 worst ab exercise mistakes did you guess correctly?
Share your experiences in the comment section below.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
hello dudes I finally reached the point where my lower abs are showing!!
see my last video i have the way and some proof!
wow sorry I stoppd commenting because I do all of this maybe that is why
my lower back hurts
mistake 3 – he is not flexing abs he is putting all his weight on lower
back.
mistake 2 – he is not curling his abs he is just working his hip – again I
do this but no more but I kinda cheated on this one since I watched one of
your videos to get to this one.
Mistake 1 – my guess is he is swinging, I know I do this and I feel it is
wrong when I do it but its hard not to
too much swinging for the first 3 and improper form for the remainders
some years have 366 days i dont wanna work hard 365 days a year and then
the last throw it all away. jk
Nice vid
gyno
1. swinging?
2. not lifting legs high enough?
3. dipping the belly, bad form
4. not completing the sit up
5. looks like the neck is going to hurt later
6. bending legs? and dropping them to the groud?
7. it’s wrong but I’m not sure what part it is.. arms? lol phone!
Thanks for all the great advise brad, love your videos and and ideas! One
question I’ve never taken protein powder which brand or specific protien do
you recommend??
1. swinging your body
2. movement is not controlled, knees should go higher
3. body should be straight
4. movement is not controlled
5. straining your neck and back, using your legs for momentum… everything?
6. movement is not controlled, sloppy form
7. i don’t have the slightest idea about those machines…
Close for someone who can’t see her abs…
Half lol
Haha… I’ve seen worse than both #7 & #8. Imagine on #7, the person also
lifting their hips when their head is down then using the momentum of the
hips dropping back to the bench to start the motion. It even sounds ugly.
And for #8, I saw someone do a short set of “abs” then watch 3 minutes of
some TV show!! What the heck??
Nice videos
Almost all of them i am guilty!
Thanks for this vid, but is there any specific exercises focusing mainly on
obliques? I mean i cant really get rid of my love handles… Please tackle
some appropriate exercises for it. Thanks.Godbless!
mistake 4- not really squeezing the abs and lack of muscle mind connection
mistake 3-spine isn’t neutral
mistake 2 -hip flexors not abs
mistake 1 – momentum
Another awesome video! My abs are consumed by Baby Itz these days, but eventually I’ll get ’em back! 🙂
#1 Using inertia to help lift the legs.
#2 Letting the legs drop by gravity and not lifting enough with spine
bending.
#3 Bad posture for a plank position. This would be a lazy plank.
#4 dropping the body till it hits the ground.
#5 curving the spine and lifting the legs
#6 Dropping the legs and opening them
#7 Resting in each point relaxing the abs
#8 Bad posture and taking an unneeded break
Thx bro
Was the #hatbackwards a way of you prevent people recognising you in the
gym? BTW! Great video! Not just from a topical point of view Overall
presentation was awesome friendly AND professional!
I got them all right 🙂
1 making balance
2 no lifting his knees high enough”
3 bad form , not straight , arms elbows too forward
4,5 not using something to hold your legs ?
6 letting gravity do the work for you on the negatives
7 bad tempo , spots in the motion when the abs are not engaged (when he
touches his legs with his torso and lies on his back)
balancing your body, going to fast with momentum, back isn’t straight, not
doing the full motion, holding the head, i dont need to comment this one
lol, putting your back on the bench, answering the chixx haha
How many of these Abs Workout mistakes are you guilty of?!?