First, I think one of the best ways to work your abs is with large full body compound movements. Squats and deadlifts are going to do a lot to develop your core. If you're not doing those I'm not sure how far a bunch of crunches are going to take you.
I have been training for 36 years and have gone through a lot of ab exercises over time. However, since rupturing a few discs in my back a couple of decades ago, I have had to become much more choosy with my movements. The spinal flexion in things like crunches and standing/kneeling ab pulldowns caused me more harm than good.
The one exercise that never bothered my back was ab wheel rollouts. I think I avoided them early on in my training because they are just brutal. Go figure, a brutal exercise being highly productive. Who would have thought.
A bunch of years ago hanging at Wendler's, we ended up discussing hanging leg raises. His back is jacked up also. So if they were working well for him, why not me.
First, they are almost as brutal as the ab wheel. Second, I felt the added benefit of hanging and the traction on my spine. These immediately became a staple in my program.
I program the hanging leg raises on deadlift day. If any day could use an exercise with traction, that's the one. Ab wheel rollouts are done on squat day.
As you can see from my Instagram videos there are ways to add resistance to both the rollout and leg raise. I have however since figured out I can attach the band to the ab wheel instead of my body, duh. It's much better that way.
I'd be remiss if I didn't ad this, these exercises only work if you make them work. Focus on the movement and contracting the muscle. Don't use momentum.
As always, thanks for checking out my log.
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