There’s more to your body's core than just six-pack abs. The core is one of the most important parts of the body because its functions impact your ability to do daily activities and progress toward your fitness goals. It’s easy to overlook all of the work the core does for the body, because it may not always feel like the core is doing work. 

Understanding the benefit of a strong core and then targeting the core with the best ab exercises will help you supercharge your core to get the most you can out of your fitness. 

Why Do Men Need a Strong Core? 

There are many reasons men should pursue building a strong core other than aesthetics. It’s important to look at health and fitness holistically — a sum of parts — rather than individually. That’s because core strength and stability really does impact all parts of the body. 

Increased Fitness Ability

With a stronger core, you increase your overall fitness. Because the core provides strength and stability, when the core is strong, it allows you to better use your other muscles, thus improving overall fitness performance. We recommend that anyone looking to improve their athletic performance or more efficiently build strength to prioritize increasing their core strength. 

Prevent Lower Back Pain & Other Common Signs of Aging 

Healthy aging is so important to living a long, healthy life. With a strong core, you will prevent lower back pain, which is a common sign of aging. Often, a weak core is what causes lower back pain, so by increasing your core strength, you decrease the likelihood you might suffer pain. As you get older, not having to worry about pain will make a huge difference in your quality of life. 

5 Abdominal Exercises Every Man Should Do 

Understanding why you need strong abs is only part of the story. Now, you need to put your knowledge into practice. These five ab exercises are the best for men to do so they can build core strength. With these exercises you will be able to target all of your ab muscles and ensure that you are well-rounded in terms of your core strength. 

We recommend adding core exercises to your normal fitness routine at least 2-3 times per week. Since your core supports every other type of movement we do — both for athletics and daily activities — the more you can focus on building core strength, the better. 

Many of these exercises have modifications so you can up the difficulty if you find the exercises are getting too easy. 

Planks 

Planks are the bread-and-butter of ab exercises because they work all of your core muscles. To do a plank, start in the top of a push-up position with your hands stacked under your shoulders, your tailbone tucked, and your back straight. Many people have a tendency to either sag (their hips sink) or lift (their hips are up too high). If you’re unsure about your body positioning, consider doing this in front of a mirror so you can see. 

Once in this position, hold for at least thirty seconds. Make sure that your abs are activated. If you feel your lower back, then your abdominal muscles are taking on the work of the plank. Think about pulling your navel to your spine and see if that helps. 

As you build core strength, lengthen the plank to 45-60 seconds and beyond. To make it more difficult, you can also alternate lifting the opposite hand and foot off the ground for the duration of the plank. 

Twists 

Twists are a great workout for the traverse abdominal muscles.

For this exercise, sit on an exercise mat with your knees bent and ankles crossed. Again, be sure to tuck your pelvis and “activate” your core. Then, pick up a dumbbell and hold it with both hands. Twist from side to side, touching the dumbbell to the ground on each side. Repeat this for three sets of 20; count one rep each time the dumbbell touches the floor. 

You have two options to make this exercise more difficult:

1. Increase the weight of the dumbbell. This will make it harder and your abdominal muscles will have to work harder. 
2. Lift your feet from the ground, so you are in a modified v-sit. 

Side Plank 

The side plank is a variation of the traditional plank that targets the oblique abdominal muscles. For this exercise, stary by lying on your side with your hips stacked on top of each other and your legs straight. Then, keeping your forearm on the ground, lift your torso while your feet stay stacked on the ground. Hold this for 30 seconds. 

When you are ready to increase the difficulty, start adding more time to the exercise. 

Leg Lifts 

Leg lifts are great for strengthening the rectus abdominal muscles, which are the muscles we usually think of when we think about having six-pack abs. To do leg lifts, lie on your back with your legs stretched out, your foot flexed, and heels on the ground. Then, activate your abdominal muscles before lifting your right leg in the air. Repeat on your left leg. Do this exercise for three sets of 20; one rep will be each time you lift a leg. 

To make this more difficult, we recommend using ankle weights to increase the resistance and make your abdominal muscles work harder. 

Dead Bug 

The dead bug is harder than it looks. Start by lying flat on your back with your arms stretched out behind you and legs stretched out in front of you. Then, lift your left arm until it is perpendicular to the floor. At the same time, lift your right leg while bending your knee until it is stacked over your hip. Release with control and then repeat on the other side. Do this for three sets of 20, counting one rep each time you lift an arm/leg pair. 

For added difficulty, you can add ankle weights and/or dumbbells.

Using ZOZOFIT to Track Your Ab Training 

Now that you know what types of exercises that can help you get your abdominal training on track, be sure to use the ZOZOFIT app to see your progress throughout your fitness journey. You can scan your entire body with ZOZOFIT in less than two minutes right from your smartphone, which provides you with insightful details about your shape, but you can also monitor your body fat percentage, set goals for yourself, and so much more. Be sure to check out the ZOZOFIT app today to see how your abs are shaping up!