A Full Body Workout that Shreds Your Abs Without Ab Isolation Exercises

A lot of effort and thought is placed into ab exercises that isolate and work the abs. But, the good news is that there are many exercises that work your entire body AND your abs intensely at the same time.

This workout is perfect if you're busy as well as economical. I like to call this training economics: do only what works very effectively and gives you the most bang for your buck.

Check out some of my favorite exercises that will work your entire body AND your abs intensely. On the flip side, this does NOT mean to skip exercises that target your abs deeply.

All you need is 1 or 2 dumbbells for the exercises below. These exercises can be performed at the beginning of a workout or at the end.  You'll see at the bottom that we added a sample workout for how to incorporate these tough full body and ab training drills into a great workout.

Exercise 1:  1-Arm Overhead Dumbbell Walk:

Press 1 dumbbell overhead and lock out your arm. Keep your arm close to your ear, tighten your entire core, shoulder and back. This exercise is to be performed slowly and under complete control.

Walk for distance, anywhere from 100 – 200 feet with the dumbbell overhead. A heavier dumbbell will cut down on the distance you can walk and should be reserved for those who are experienced under heavy weights. Start light and be smart. Switch hands mid way through the walk to ensure equal work is done for each side.

Your arm should be perfectly vertical when carrying the dumbbell overhead. Often times people will allow the dumbbell to sway slightly forward which will NOT strain the abs intensely.

Try 2 sets for each arm, 100 – 200 feet for distance in total for each set.

Exercise 2:  Dumbbell Farmer Walks:

Stand in between two moderately heavy dumbbells and deadlift them up. Grip the dumbbells tightly, brace your abs and lower back and squeeze the weights all the way up. This intense squeezing forces the abs to contract intensely. Not only will your abs become very strong and tight from all this squeezing, but it also strengthens the back and reduces your chances of lower back injuries.

Once you have the dumbbells at your sides, make sure your posture is tall and your shoulders and tight. Speed walk the dumbbells 100 – 200 feet in distance, come to a complete stop and slowly deadlift the weights down.

You can carry the dumbbells in a straight line or in a zig zag fashion which can also strain the obliques very intensely.

2 sets of 100 – 200 feet per set is great. You can perform these exercises at the beginning or end of a workout. Or, begin your workout with 1 arm overhead dumbbell walks, then perform your regular workout, and finish the workout with 2 hard sets of dumbbell farmer walks.

Try this workout with the two exercises I just explained:

1) Arm Overhead Dumbbell carry 2 x 100 feet each hand

Superset all 3 below:
2A) Pull Ups 3 x max reps
2B) Walking Bodyweight Lunges 3 x 10 each Leg
2C) Push Ups w/Feet Elevated 3 x max reps

3) Dumbbell Farmer Walks 2 x 200 feet

Superset both exercises below:
4A) Plank 1 x 30 seconds
4B) side plank 1 x 30 seconds each Side

Enjoy the killer workout!

Zach Even–Esh is the owner of The Underground Strength Gym in Edison, NJ and the author of The REAL Man Muscle Building System.

Check out Zach's badass website here:

Underground Strength Gladiator Training

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