IFBB Bikini Pro Anna Starodubtseva

Six-pack Secret: Slow-burn Crunches

Why it’s Her Fave: “Keeping tension on the muscles during each rep maximizes the amount of work your abs do.”

How to do it: Perform a crunch, taking three counts to come up while fully exhaling. Squeeze and hold at the top for three counts, then inhale and come back down to the start position in three counts.

Quick tip: “Control your breathing throughout the exercise, squeezing your abs hard at the top. To work the obliques, add a slight twist to the movement on each side.”

IFBB Figure Pro Francine Sablan

Six-pack Secret:Total-body Circuits

Why it’s Her Fave: “I try to kill calories on the gym floor using total-body circuit workouts rather than ab-specific exercises or a cardio machine.”

Quick tip: “Get enough sleep. It keeps cortisol levels low, so the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin stays in check.”

IFBB Figure Pro Sasha Brown

Six-pack Secret: Plyometrics

Why it’s Her Fave: “Injecting some plyometrics into your cardio program allows you to quickly boost your total calorie burn. I usually follow this routine with some superset ab exercises to work my muscles hard in a short period of time.”

Quick tip: “No two workouts should be the same. I use a combo of different moves or change the order of exercises to keep my muscles guessing.”

Topics: