This Ultimate Abs Exercise Upgrades Your Core Workout With a Dumbbell
TOO MANY ABS exercises depend on nothing more than your bodyweight to train your core. Sure, those moves will hit some of the main functions of the muscle group—but to make real progress, you need to work against resistance , just like you would do for any other type of exercise targeting other muscles.
That’s what makes this move from trainer Ben Feiden, ACE-CPT so useful. It’s just one of the novel exercises you’ll find to upgrade your core training in the new Ultimate Abs Challenge program, now available for Men’s Health MVP Premium members.
“This move lets you finally challenge your abs with load, which can be the key to building a truly superhero core,” says Feiden. If you do the movement properly, you’ll strengthen your rectus abdominis —the muscle in your core most associated with the six-pack look so many guys aim to achieve.
You’ll need a dumbbell to do this exercise, and you can use a mat as well.
How to Do the Dumbbell Situp to Overhead Press
- Sit on the floor holding a dumbbell with both hands at your chest. Plant your heels firmly on the ground.
- Lie back so that your shoulders are on the floor, keeping your knees bent and heels planted.
- Sit up while simultaneously pressing the dumbbell directly overhead. Feiden notes this is important; make sure your track is straight up “like Superman flying.”
- Reverse the movement slowly under control.
How to Add the Dumbbell Situp to Overhead Press to Your Workouts
Feiden recommends implementing the dumbbell situp to overhead press into your core routine as a timed exercise. Start with a light weight dumbbell, with 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest for 3 to 4 total sets.
Want more next-level core moves to upgrade your workout? Join MH MVP Premium to check out the rest of the Ultimate Abs Challenge.