The 3 Secret Exercises for the abs that you've never heard of

By Hamish Shephard
Rather than sling you a rehash of the same old exercises for abs like sit-ups and crunches, leg lifts and what not... I've discovered three kick butt movements for a sexy midsection that deliver an awesome full body workout at the same time as toning your abs.

Below I've detailed an easy outline of my secret ab workout (it's secret because people at the gym won't know you're working your abs). I've laid it out in what's called a "mini-circuit". Simply put, a mini-circuit is when you perform three or more exercises in a row with no rest - when you complete all the exercises you have completed one circuit... Simple enough? Cool!

Your secret ab workout:

1st exercise: Renegade Row with dumbbell

2nd exercise: Barbell Front Squat

3rd exercise: Mountain Climber

I'd aim for about 3 to 4 sets of around 8 reps per exercise. You could do fewer reps for more sets, like 5 sets of 5 reps if you wanted to. You can do your Mountain climbers for a time (30 seconds for example) rather than reps.

To perform the Renegade row, get into the pushup position with your hands tightly gripping 2 dumbbells. Stabilize your body on one dumbbell while you row the other dumbbell back to your hip. Continue to hold the pushup position while you alternate arms - rowing each dumbbell back to your hip. You'll notice straight away how keeping your body stable while you row requires your abs to work super hard - it's a killer!

A front squat is similar to the trusty ol' back squat with the slight difference of having the bar rest on the front of your shoulders. The best way to keep the bar in position is to cross your arms, lift your elbows to shoulder height and push your hands against the bat to stop it slipping forward. This exercise definitely takes a bit of getting used to so get a trainer at your local gym to help you get the movement right. Keeping the upper body stable with the bar resting on your shoulders during the front squat is an awesome challenge for your core (and therefore your abs) even though it's often classed as a leg movement. Don't worry you'll feel it in the abdominals the next day!

The Mountain Climber sees you once again in the pushup position. To start, shuffle your feet back and forth so your alternate tucking each knee, one at a time, under your chest and then extending the opposite leg back behind you. Imagine you're shooting up a mountainside with each step. To kick up the intensity a notch, alternate hand position 8 to 10 inches forward and back in time with your legs. Switching your hands gets the whole body moving and makes the mountain climber one of the best exercises for abs.

Give yourself around 30 seconds between exercises and around 1-2 minutes after each mini-circuit then hit it again for the prescribed rounds.

So there you go 3 secret exercises for abs that you've never heard of that will give you the hard, toned midsection you're looking for. Now get to work!