A weight bench can do more than just chest presses and seated bicep curls. If you want to spice up your usual ab circuit or level up your at-home core routine (literally), try bench ab training.
Brett Durney, certified personal trainer and co-founder of Fitness Lab, explains that there are many benefits to using a bench during core training. “Using a bench provides a good level of stability so you can focus on loading and building strength,” he says. “There’s no need to spend time and energy focusing on balance and stability.”
Working out at altitude also increases your range of motion. If your bench is adjustable, you can increase the intensity of some exercises by setting the bench at an angle. “For example, doing bench ab crunches is a great exercise,” Durney says.
Ready to build your own bench ab workout? Check out the list of core exercises below, demonstrated by BODi Super Trainer Joel Freeman, to find the moves that work best for you.
1. Reverse crunch
- Lie on your back on a flat bench with your legs raised and knees bent at 90 degrees. (Make sure your thighs are perpendicular to the bench and your shins are parallel.)
- Raise your arms above your head and grip the underside of the bench.
- Keeping your neck neutral and upper body fixed on the bench, contract your abdominal muscles and bring your knees toward your chest.
- Slowly return to the starting position.
2. Iron cross crunch
- Lie on your back on a flat bench with your knees bent and feet together. Stretch your arms out to your sides. This is the starting position.
- Keeping your hips pressed against the bench, contract your abdominal muscles to lift your shoulders and upper back off the bench, bringing your ribs closer to your hips.
- Squeeze your abdominal muscles at the top of the movement, then return to the starting position.
3. Copenhagen Side Plank
- Lie on your side on the ground with your feet facing the bench and perpendicular to a flat bench.
- Place the inside of your upper leg on the bench and lift into a side forearm plank position. Place your forearms on the floor, stack your shoulders over your elbows, and lift your hips so your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
- Lift your bottom leg so that it is above the ground. To change, place the soles of your feet on the ground.
- Hold for the specified time, then repeat the exercise on the other side.
- Get into a push-up position with your hands on the ground and the balls of your feet on a flat bench. Keep your feet together, core engaged, body straight from head to heels, and hands in line with and slightly wider than your shoulders.
- Raise your right leg off the bench, pull your right knee toward your chest, keep your back flat, butt down, and keep the rest of your body still.
- Return your right leg to the starting position and immediately repeat with the other leg.
- Alternate legs and do the same number of reps on each side.
- Sit sideways on a flat bench. Place your hands behind your hips and grip the underside of the bench for support.
- Keeping your spine neutral, lean back and extend your legs in front of you, lifting them off the ground.
- Contract your abdominal muscles and lift your chest and knees at the same time, forming a V shape with your torso and legs. (For increased difficulty, keep your legs straight.)
- Pause and lean back as you lower your legs in front of you and stretch them out.
6. Leg raises
- Lie on your back on a flat bench with your legs dangling from the front of the bench. Grasp the sides of the bench with your hands for support.
- Pull your legs together and lift them to bench height. This is the starting position.
- With your legs straight and your back pressed against the bench, contract your abdominal muscles and lift your legs so they are perpendicular to the bench.
- With control, lower your legs to the starting position.
7. Weighted Straight Leg Crunch
- Lie on your back on a flat bench with your legs straight, arms extended overhead, and each hand holding a dumbbell, medicine ball, or weight plate. This is the starting position.
- Keeping your lower back pressed against the bench, engage your abdominal muscles and straighten your legs and arms toward the ceiling, lifting your shoulders and upper back slightly off the bench. (Make sure it’s at a right angle in the center of the bench so it doesn’t lean to one side.)
- Slowly lower your arms and legs back to the starting position.
- Sit on the edge of a flat bench and lean back, keeping your spine neutral. Grasp the edge of the bench with both hands for support.
- Contract your abdominal muscles and lift your legs to bench level.
- Alternately raise your legs while keeping your legs straight.
- Complete the same number of repetitions on each leg.
- Lie on your back on a bench and place your feet flat on the bench. Place your fingertips behind your head and turn your elbows outward to lift your shoulder blades off the bench. This is the starting position.
- Keep your neck neutral, bring your left knee toward your chest, and extend your right leg as you rotate your torso to bring your right elbow toward your left knee.
- While keeping your left leg straight, reverse the movement by rotating your torso to the right, pulling your right knee toward your chest, and pulling your left elbow toward your right knee.
- Alternate sides and repeat the same number of times on each side.
