Don’t let this one fool you: It may look and sound a little silly, but it’s hard work. And it’s foundational stuff: Rolling over is a skill that babies have, but many adults have lost. Get it back with this roll. HOW TO DO IT: Lie on your back with arms extended overhead, legs straight out. Lift into a “hollow” position -- arms and legs lifted, lower back pressed into the ground, head in line with the arms. Engage your core and roll to your left using your abdominal muscles, not your hips. Roll until you’re on your stomach and are in a Superman “flying” position. Roll back the way you came. Now roll to the right onto your stomach and return to start again.
2 BARBELL HIP THRUST
While this exercise doesn't target your abs, per se, it does target other core muscles like the glutes and hips. This move -- a favorite of Bret Contreras, CSCS, aka “The Glute Guy” -- is one of the best exercises for challenging and strengthening your backside. HOW TO DO IT: Start seated on the ground with a bench behind you and a loaded barbell over your hips. Your upper back and shoulders should be on the bench. Drive through your feet and extend your hips by contracting your glutes, raising the bar until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Return to the starting position and repeat.
3 BARBELL FLOOR WIPER
No list of advanced core moves would be complete without an example from the “300” workout. This variation on the classic supine move involves a challenge: holding a loaded barbell straight in front of your chest throughout the move. HOW TO DO IT: Grab a barbell loaded with one 45-pound plate on each side. Get on your back and hold the bar directly over your chest with straight arms. Keep your feet together and legs straight as you bring both feet up to the left plate then return them to the floor. Next, bring your legs up to the right plate and return them to the floor.
4 BODY SAW
Holding a plank -- especially on your forearms -- is probably a piece of cake by now. Instead of hanging out statically for five minutes, change the length of the lever to challenge your core. HOW TO DO IT: Assume a forearm-plank position on a slick floor with a towel or slides under your toes. Slide your body forward and back slightly by hinging at your elbows and shoulders, maintaining a rigid body line from head to heels throughout the move.
5 CABLE PUSH-PULL
To get the form right on this move, imagine you’re the Karate Kid: When he punches his right arm, he rows his left toward his waist. HOW TO DO IT: Stand in the center of a cable-cross setup, with the cables set just above waist height. Face one side of the cables, with your left leg in front of your right. Grab the cable in front of you with your left hand and grab the one behind you with your right and stand as if you’ve just thrown a punch with your left. Your right hand should be by your right hip, your left arm extended. Now push and pull simultaneously -- pull your left arm toward your left hip as you punch your right arm forward. Return to start, repeat, then switch sides.
6 CROSS-CLIMBER WITH FEET ON SWISS BALL
Keeping your hips stable and body aligned gets a whole lot tougher when the ground can roll. Throw in a ball and you add even more instability -- that’s the idea behind many of the moves on this list, including this one. HOW TO DO IT: Start in push-up position, but with your shins on a Swiss ball. Your body should form a straight line from ankles to head. Without rounding your lower back, lift your left leg off the ball and bring that knee toward your right elbow. Return to start, then bring your right knee up to your left elbow.
7 DRAGON FLAG
If this move is tough enough for the Italian Stallion, it’s tough enough for you. While you may not rock the dragon on a farmhouse wooden table with a fire burning in the background while you train to avenge the death of your friend and formal rival, you can pretend that’s why you’re working on this punishing move. HOW TO DO IT: Lie faceup on a bench and grab the bench next to your ears so that your elbows are bent and your upper arms are next to your head. Your hands are there simply for support -- don’t pull with them or you’ll wrench your neck. Use your core to roll up onto your shoulders until your body is straight and perpendicular to the ground --basically, you’re stacked on top of your shoulders. From here, slowly lower your body using your core, maintaining a straight body line. Work toward bringing your body down until it’s hovering just above the bench. Then bring it back up to the start and lower slowly again.
8 FIRE HYDRANT
Mimicking a dog marking his territory might not sound like an efficient ab exercise, but this move will prove otherwise. You’ll also work on your hips, which are (surprise!) part of your core. HOW TO DO IT: Start on all fours, knees below your hips, hands below your shoulders. Keep your knee bent and lift your left leg out to the side until your thigh is parallel to the floor -- you’ll look like a dog visiting a fire hydrant. Kick your leg straight back and return to start. Repeat with the right leg.
9 FRONT LEVER
10 GLUTE BRIDGE MARCH
Your glutes -- and hips and back -- are all part of your core. This move works all of those muscle groups much as they function together in real life, while still ripping that six-pack area you can’t stop obsessing over. HOW TO DO IT: Lie on your back with your arms at your sides, palms down. Bend your knees so your heels are on the floor, feet flexed. Squeeze your glutes so your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders. Maintaining this straight line and keeping your hips square, lift your right foot off the ground and bring your knee to your chest. Return it to the floor and lift your left knee to your chest. Continue “marching” in this way.
11 HANGING LEG RAISE
Lots of people crank out leg raises, but they’re not getting the full benefit. By concentrating on keeping your torso perpendicular to the floor, you’ll add difficulty to this move and reap greater benefits. HOW TO DO IT: Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your torso perpendicular to the ground and don’t lean back as you pull your knees toward your chest by bending your hips. To make it more difficult, keep your legs straight as you raise them and work toward raising your straight legs all the way up to the bar.
