Workout for a ripped six pack

IFBB pro and fitness model Tobias Young shares his workout for a ripped six pack.

Photos of Tobias Young by Alex Ardenti
• Abs have never been super hard for me to bring out. For me it’s all about my diet. Once that’s on track and I get lean, my abs pop. I also have a long torso, which makes my abs stand out in my physique. If you’re careless with your diet, you’ll definitely have a harder time seeing your abs.

• I prefer to use advanced training techniques for my abs rather than just doing straight sets. I do drop sets and supersets, but when I really want to blast them I’ll implement rest-pause. I’ll do as many reps as I possibly can, then I’ll stop and rest but still maintain tension in the muscle. I’ll take a few deep breaths, then kill another 5–10 reps. I do that once or twice per set and I’m toast. It beats endless sets of crunches.
• On occasion I use added resistance when training abs. I’ll hold a weight straight up over my face when I do crunches, or put one between my feet and do V-ups. But I still maintain my high-rep schematic so that I don’t get blocky or thick in my midsection.
• Each time I train abs I like to hit all the critical areas: the rectus abdominis, the obliques and the stabilizing muscles such as the transverse abdominis and hip flexors. Together, these all make up the core, your body’s powerhouse. When your core is strong, you can lift heavier and longer, which means more overall gains.
• Even though I do only 2–3 moves each time I train abs, I really, really focus on each rep. The more you can concentrate and direct all your energy and intention into your muscles, the better results you’ll have.

TOBIAS’ TRAINING SPLIT

Monday: Back, calves, traps
Tuesday: Chest, abs
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Shoulders, calves, traps
Friday: Arms, abs
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off
Off-season, Tobias does 20 minutes of cardio six days a week; around contest time that increases to 45 minutes six days a week. Pre-contest, he also adds another abs-training day for a total of three per week.

TOBIAS’ OFF-SEASON ABS ROUTINE

Tobias does 2–3 different moves each time he trains abs. “Each workout I do a move that crunches down, one that pulls up and something for my obliques,” he says. His workouts are never the same, but these four workout groupings represent one way he likes to arrange the moves.

Workout 1

Exercise                                Sets                 Reps
Crunch                                   4                      25, 25, 20, 20
Reverse Crunch                     4                      25, 25, 20, 20
Oblique Crunch                      4                      35, 35, 30, 30

CRUNCH

SET-UP: Lie faceup with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Lightly cup the back of your head with your hands, elbows flared.
EXECUTION: Contract your abs to lift your shoulders and upper back off the floor as high as you can. Squeeze your abs at the top as you exhale, then lower to the start.
TOBIAS’ TIP: Try putting your hands in different places to change the difficulty. Reaching them toward your knees is easiest, crossing them over your chest is a little harder, putting them behind your head is still harder and reaching straight up overhead is hardest.
REVERSE CRUNCH


SET-UP: Lie faceup with your legs bent and raised so that your knees are over your hips. Extend your arms along your sides.
EXECUTION: Contract your lower abs to curl your hips off the floor, bringing your knees in over your chest. Slowly lower to the start, controlling the descent.
TOBIAS’ TIP: I like to put my hands underneath my glutes on this lower-abs move to stabilize and support my lower back and spine.
OBLIQUE CRUNCH

SET-UP: Lie on your right side with your hips stacked and place your left hand behind your head. Extend your right arm along the floor.
EXECUTION: Crunch up in the lateral plane, lifting your torso as high as possible. When you’ve come as high as you can, pause a moment before slowly lowering back to the start.
TOBIAS’ TIP: This is one of my favorite moves for isolating the obliques and the serratus. For an extra challenge, lift your legs in the side plane as you crunch up.

Workout 2

Exercise                                Sets                 Reps
Double Crunch                       3                      30, 30, 25
Plank                                      3                      One Minute
Crossover Crunch                  3                      20, 20, 20
DOUBLE CRUNCH

SET-UP: Lie faceup with your knees bent and lifted over your hips. Place your hands lightly behind your head for support, elbows flared.
EXECUTION: Curl your head, shoulders and upper back off the floor, while simultaneously lifting your hips and bringing your knees back toward your chest. Hold the peak contraction for a count, then release.
TOBIAS’ TIP: Remember to open all the way back up before you crunch together again to get a full range of motion and stronger contraction.
PLANK

SET-UP: Get into a push-up position with your elbows on the floor directly underneath your shoulders. Lift your hips and tighten your abs so that your head, hips and heels are all in line.
EXECUTION: Hold and pull your abs into your lower back, breathing deeply. Don’t let your hips sag or rise.
TOBIAS’ TIP: I like to do variations of the standard plank, like putting both feet on a stability ball, putting one foot on the ball and one foot in the air, or putting my arms on the ball. I’ll do a minute of each variation to mix it up.
CROSSOVER CRUNCH

SET-UP: Lie faceup with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Place your hands lightly behind your head for support, elbows flared.
EXECUTION: Curl up and simultaneously twist to the side, bringing your elbow toward your opposite-side knee, “wringing” out your waist. Lower to the start and repeat on the opposite side.
TOBIAS’ TIP: Remember that this move is flexion plus rotation and not just moving side to side. Really crunch that muscle to make it work — don’t just flap your elbow across your body.

- Muscle Mag