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UberExercise — The Lower Abs Trifecta [Abs]

Posted by on Sep 18, 2012 in Abs, Featured Article, Lower Abs, Muscle It UP, UberExercises | 25 comments

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*Update, 10/12: We’ve released The Upper Abs Trifecta — the follow-up counterpart to the Lower Abs Trifecta, which emphasizes the upper portion of the abs. View it here.

 

The Lower Abs Trifecta, Quick Hits:

 

Primary Muscle:
Lower abs.

 

Secondary Muscles:
Rectus abdominis (middle & upper), Transverse abdominis, Obliques.

 

What You’ll Need:
Nothing mandatory. Bench and dumbbells are both optional.

 

Why They’re Über:
All 3 exercises in the trifecta directly target the lower abs, and in the case of reverse crunches & ab pulse ups, isolate the lower abs. Supersetting 3 different lower abs-focused exercises back-to-back absolutely tears up the muscle fibers and pushes them into robust new growth.


 

About The Lower Abs Trifecta

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If you want pancake-flat, carved-up lower abs and a razor-sharp V-cut, The Lower Abs Trifecta is my little secret weapon. I’ve tested this out of the past few months and all I can say is: wow — never has a sequence of exercises absolutely demolished my lower abs and produced crazy-fast results quite like this.

The Lower Abs Trifecta (LAT) isn’t an exercise per se, but rather a superset of 3 different lower abs exercises back-to-back, sans rest. LAT involves 3 consecutive lower ab-centric exercises in sequence:

  1. Ab Pulse Ups — detailed in depth here.
  2. Reverse Crunches
  3. Ab V Holds

The beauty and power of LAT comes from strategic supersetting. By supersetting 2 predominantly lower ab focused exercises (pulse ups & reverse crunches) you’re able to quickly isolate & fatigue the lower section of the abs. Normally you’d stop after just one lower ab exercise — we’re pushing out two INTENSE sets one after another.

That’s effective, crazy, and powerful in-and-of itself, but compounding a third set — Ab V Holds — is what separates 4-packers from 6-packers; we’re going for ABDOMINAL GLORY.

Ab V Holds are a comprehensive core exercise, meaning they recruit the upper abs, middle abs, lower abs, lower back, and even the quads/hamstrings. Even though your lower abs are probably in searing pain from the circulating lactic acid, fatigue, and preceding onslaught, the remainder of your core can help compensate and assist the beaten and battered lower portion.

The result? You’ll grind through the final set and actually push the lower abs even FURTHER past their natural point of fatigue, to a level they’d never, ever reach via lower abs exercises on their own. That equates to deeply torn muscle fibers and ultimately hyperaccelerated growth.

LAT also torches fat. Absolutely incinerates it, which is pretty important, considering that you’ll never see your lower abs if there’s a thick layer of chubby blubber lying on top. Unfortunately this doesn’t burn the fat directly from your belly — there’s no such thing as spot reduction.

 

How to Do the Lower Abs Trifecta

  1. Find an open floor space or grab a flat weight-lifting bench — that’s all you’ll need to start.
  2. Complete 15 Ab Pulse Ups, which I’ve explained in-depth here. Pictures also below. Once this gets too easy, hold a dumbbell in between your feet as you pulse upwards.
  3. Without resting, immediately do 12 Reverse Crunches. Description below. Once this gets too easy, hold a dumbbell in between your feet as you crunch inward.
  4. Without resting, immediately do an Ab V Hold for 60 seconds, or for as long as you can. Description below.
  5. Rest 1 minute and 30 seconds.
  6. Repeat steps 1-5 two more times, for a total of 3 LATs.

 

1. Ab Pulse Ups

 

2. Reverse Crunch

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Reverse Crunches, reverse crunch

 

3. Ab V Holds

 

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Precautions

Avoid LAT if you have lower back problems.

 

Love this? Try The Upper Abs Trifecta — the follow-up counterpart to the Lower Abs Trifecta, which emphasizes the upper portion of the abs.



 

Follow Lean It UP on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for real-time fitness/nutrition tips, advice, info and updates.

 

 

Bryan DiSanto

Bryan DiSanto

Owner & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP
Bryan DiSanto is the Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, a culinary student at Le Cordon Bleu – Paris, an ACE-CPT & CSN, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness/nutrition nutjob.

He also contributes to Men's Health Magazine.

When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.
Bryan DiSanto

Latest posts by Bryan DiSanto (see all)

  • Dance_Speaks

    How often do you do this workout a week for best results?

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan @ Lean It UP

      @Dance_speaks Add it in as one component of your abs workout — I recommend doing abs 3x per week, about every 3 days (2 days in between each ab workout)

  • rafletch

    @AubreySwanson decent routine… but what separates 4 vs 6 packs is BF % & muscular structure of your ab muscles.

    • AubreySwanson

      @rafletch Wow. lol

  • 1opinionated

    @jillconyers @LeanItUP I can tell you that the Reverse Crunch & V Holds are great. I’m definitely going to try those Ab Pulse Ups. #fitness

    • LeanItUP

      @1opinionated @jillconyers they’re killer, especially in succession supersetted. #nextlevel

    • jillconyers

      @1opinionated @LeanItUP V holds are a favorite. The reverse crunch done effectively is going to take a little practice.

      • LeanItUP

        @jillconyers @1opinionated It requires a lot of mental concentration to get right. Make sure you really focus on the lower #abs contracting

        • 1opinionated

          @LeanItUP @jillconyers I tried them out. They were incredibly hard and I hardly moved. Definitely going to do more of them!

  • LeanItUP

    @jillconyers let me know how it goes!

    • jillconyers

      @LeanItUP I will! I’m looking forward to seeing if it works. Is there a recommendation for how many a week?

      • LeanItUP

        @jillconyers I typically throw it into my ab routine and do it every 3 days (about 3x per week)

        • jillconyers

          @LeanItUP Perfect. That is the #plan. Thanks.

  • LeanItUP

    @PatriciaCPerez Thanks Patricia, I’m psyched you got through it!

  • LeanItUP

    @MtnsideFitness Thanks for the shoutout, it’s much appreciated!!

    • MtnsideFitness

      @leanitup Of course! You have some great articles!

      • LeanItUP

        @MtnsideFitness thank you!! Psyched to have you as a fan, spread the word!

  • LeanItUP

    @littlesis_probs That’s AWESOME!! I’m psyched it’s working out for you, it’s absolutely killer. #exercises #leanitup

    • littlesis_probs

      @LeanItUP Hahhah, thanks.

  • Nicole Cedervall

    Should i take a days rest after doing these for the best effectiveness? or would daily be better?

    • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

      Nicole/Shayaan — absolutely NOT daily. Just like any other muscle group, your core needs to time rest and recover in order to grow.

      Incorporate LAT into your ab routine (it’s designed as a major component, not a full routine) 2-3x per week. Here’s the link for all of Lean It UP’s ab-specific routines: https://www.leanit-up.com/category/muscle-it-up/workout-of-the-month/ab-workout-plans/

      I always recommend doing abs every 3 days. For instance — abs, OFF, OFF, abs, OFF, OFF, abs … however that falls in a given week, in addition to whatever other training you’re doing.

      • antifrustrati

        hey bryan, im doing abs workout for about 2 years, with some results(meaning upper abs 2pairs, some obliques and a small part of V cut) workout=30-40mins, 4-5/week, intens workout my opinion, with 3 sets few pause times no more then 15-20secs between sets but i have to work on my diet since i still didnt eliminated white wine in summer some beers lol, fat percentage is about 15% now i had more then 20, if i will go under 11-10% do you think it will be seen the rest, i mean lower abs and the rest of v cut and obliques?

        • https://www.leanit-up.com/ Bryan DiSanto

          You probably need to get in the 7-10% range to legitimately see your lower abs and V-cut. That’s obviously assuming you have the muscular built up, though.

          That’s exciting though! Keep pushing — they’ll get more and more visible & defined as you continue dropping BF%. Diet is ESPECIALLY important during this stretch — you won’t drop into the single digits if it’s not clean and on point.

          HIIT cardio post-lifting helps, too.

          • antifrustrati

            thx for imediatly reply, 7-10%area…wow, very hardif already have upper ones and some obliques i believe i already have the lowers also they just cant be seen cause of fat, about cardio im doing it already in the evening 30-40mins about 3-5km and football also, i forgot to tell you everything i had done is 100%natural no fatburners or any other suplimment, what is your opinion to rich 7-10%area faster with a fatburner? and wich is it …?

  • Shayaan Khan

    As Nicole said, how frequently should these be done?

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