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The ultimate barbell-only abs workout to sculpt a six-pack

Forget the crunches and situps—hammer your midsection with this barbell-only routine.

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Barbell Squat
MoMo Productions / Getty

It’s possible that you have abs already, but you just can’t see them. There’s a layer of fat over your six-pack that needs to be burned off before you can get any credit for the muscle beneath.

The answer? A workout that burns fat and trains the core. This routine covers both bases.

How it works

It’s true that front squats are a leg exercise and overhead presses primarily work the shoulders, but both are also major abs builders. Your core has to work hard to keep you from collapsing forward on the front squat and from bending backward on the overhead press. The suitcase deadlift, on the other hand, makes your core tense to prevent you from bending sideways.

These moves also double as great metabolism boosters. Because they’re so challenging and recruit so many different muscles, they’ll keep your body recovering for days, and that means you’ll burn more fat while resting.

Directions

Perform the exercise pairs (marked “A” and “B”) as alternating sets. So you’ll do a set of A, rest, then a set of B, rest again, and continue for all the prescribed sets.

Routine

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Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 1 of 6

Front Squat

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
4
Reps
6
Rest
90 sec.
Exercise 2 of 6

Wall Ankle Mobilization

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
3
Reps
10 (each side)
Rest
0 sec.
Exercise 3 of 6

Barbell Overhead Press

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
4
Reps
5
Rest
90 sec.
Exercise 4 of 6

Suitcase Deadlift

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
4
Reps
6 (each side)
Rest
90 sec.
Exercise 5 of 6

Straight-Leg Barbell Situp

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
3
Reps
8
Rest
60 sec.
Exercise 6 of 6

Barbell Rollout

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
3
Reps
8
Rest
60 sec.
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