Standing ab exercises don’t “need” to be your typical core movements like side bends, kettlebell swings, or standing crunches. In fact, you might already be working many core muscles hard during workouts without even realizing it.
Your core muscles help stabilize your trunk during exercise, so engaging them properly during all movements is crucial for balance, coordination, injury prevention and driving powerful movement. Where possible, always try to actively engage your core and think about drawing your belly button toward your spine while bracing.
With that in mind, these three ab exercises sculpt strong core muscles while strengthening and conditioning your entire body. Here’s how to do them, and a short dumbbell workout to try. Grab one of the best adjustable dumbbells, and read on.
What are the 3 standing ab exercises with dumbbells?
Get ready to set your muscles alight with these three midsection-melting moves. The ones we’ve plucked from our extensive core exercise library drill down on your obliques — a group of superficial (external) and deeper internal muscles that run down your waist, help stabilize your torso, and support rotation and lateral movement — no Russian twists in sight.
They also target your abdominals, lower back, hips and deep stabilizers like the transverse abdominis.
1. Dumbbell "slams"
You don’t need a medicine ball for this variation on the medicine ball slam. Instead, pick up a dumbbell and keep hold of it. As mentioned above, focus on driving this exercise using your core power. Follow the movement pattern in the video above without dropping the weight.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width distance apart
- Hold a dumbbell in both hands
- Keep your back flat and chest lifted, hinge forward at your hips and softly bend your knees, then tap the end of the dumbbell to the floor between your feet
- Keeping the weight close to your body, bend your elbows and drive the dumbbell overhead
- Lock out your arms as you punch upwards
- Rinse and repeat.
2. Dumbbell standing twists
Standing dumbbell twists have a lower impact than seated twists. If you’re hesitant about rotation, go light on the weights and always move with full control.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and brace your core
- Lift through your spine and avoid arching your back
- Hold a dumbbell in both hands close to your chest
- Twist from side to side keeping your hips forward-facing and knees softly bent
- Twisting left and right is one rep.
3. Dumbbell snatches
Snatches rely on plenty of power as you drive the weight into the air from the floor. Try to drive upward in one move and exchange the weight at the top of the exercise. If you don’t feel confident exchanging overhead, do it on the way down or the floor instead. Here's how to snatch correctly.
- Place a dumbbell between your feet
- Grip the weight overhand with your knees bent, lift your chest and keep your back flat
- Engage your core
- Drive through your feet and pull the dumbbell upward
- Keep your elbow bent and the dumbbell close to your body as it travels
- Shrug the shoulders slightly and punch the weight overhead, snapping the hips into extension as you stand
- For a variation, catch the weight overhead with knees softly bent, then straighten up.
Perform each exercise for 45 seconds and take a 15-second rest between. Aim for 8-12 reps per exercise each round and repeat for 5 rounds.
Are standing ab workouts as effective?
Developing strength and muscle across your midsection can help you build definition in the area and standing exercises are great for developing posture. Whether you’re kneeling, standing, laying, or sitting, exercises that target multiple core muscles and move your body in various directions are effective strengthening exercises.
Develop a strong core and build explosive ab power using three standing ab exercises and minimal equipment.
If your goal is to develop “tone,” you’re really talking about definition, and this comes from balancing a low body fat percentage with growing muscle. Unless you’re genetically gifted, most people find building midsection definition the most difficult to achieve; be patient and focus on factors you can control like sleep hygiene and a balanced diet and remember to aim for consistency in the gym.
Here are 5 reasons you can’t see your abs yet, despite working out, so you can learn more.
More from Toms's Guide
- 5 best kettlebell exercises for beginners to build muscle and strength
- Physical therapists say this is the one 90-second exercise you should do to reduce lower back pain and release tension
- You don’t need the gym to build strength, try this 10-minute kettlebell workout instead
