Take Your Ab Routine To The Next Level
Without trying to over generalise and stereotype an entire sporting population, many individuals who train their abdominal region independently neither give their abs the time nor attention they deserve or require in order to strengthen and develop.

Most abdominal workouts are half-heartedly undertaken at the end of an intense training session, or in between exercises while you’re waiting for the next piece of equipment to free up. Is this painting a familiar picture to anyone so far? Abdominals are just like any other muscle group in the human body: in order to achieve developments and progressions you have to provide them with the necessary stimulus to grow.
When it comes to developing and implementing a training regime for a particular body part or muscle group, the sky really is the limit. Ultimately, it’s only your levels of imagination and willingness to try new ideas that will hold you back.
With this in mind, we’re set to showcase advanced abdominal techniques that can be completed using a pull up bar. Normally, your abs are tried and tested through various exercises in which you will find yourself in a horizontal position. However, incorporating a simple pull up bar will help add a further dimension to your abdominal workouts with relative ease.
Within this article three exercises will be considered, each a progression of the last, including their prescription and an exercise demonstration video, so you can implement one or more of these exercises into your current abdominal regime. It should be noted, the selected exercises featured within this article demand a great deal of core strength and stability and as a result should not be attempted by novices or those suffering with any form of musculoskeletal injury.
3 Key Pull Up Bar Abdominal Exercises
Before moving on to contemplate the exercises, it should be noted that although the article makes reference to utilising a pull up bar throughout, in reality this can be anything that allows you to fully hang with your feet from the ground.
For the more adventurous and outdoors-orientated, this could be a piece of play equipment at your local park or a suitably positioned branch on a tree. Just always ensure that whatever you select can withstand your full body weight prior to attempting any exercise. Without further ado, let us now consider the first of three exercises…
Toes Above Bar
Execution
  • Initially, position yourself into a dead hang, with your hands shoulder width apart.
  • Keeping your legs straight, bend at the hips bringing your feet upwards.
  • Maintaining your core activated throughout, bring your feet up towards the bar.
  • Just before you reach the top of your movement, ensure that your feet are clear of the bar.
  • This is one repetition. Slowly return to the starting position before repeating for reps.
Exercise Video

Windscreen Wiper
Execution
  • Initially, position yourself into a dead hang, with your hands shoulder width apart.
  • Keeping your legs straight, bend at the hips bringing your feet to the bar.
  • Maintain your core activated throughout the entirety of this movement.
  • Keeping your feet positioned together, lower your legs ninety degrees to one side.
  • Slowly return them to the start position before repeating on the opposite side.
Exercise Video

Around The World
Execution
  • Initially, position yourself into a dead hang, with your hands shoulder width apart.
  • Keeping your legs straight, bend at the hips bringing your feet to the bar.
  • Maintain your core activated throughout the entirety of this movement.
  • Keeping your feet positioned together, rotate your legs in one continuous circle.
  • Once a full rotation has been achieved, reposition yourself and reverse the action.
Exercise Video

Final Word
You will notice that with each exercise above the difficulty increases ever so slightly, demanding just that little bit more from you. For this reason, it is worthwhile mastering each exercise independently before moving onto the next.
The purpose of this article was not only to introduce three alternative abdominal exercises that can easily be implemented into your current abdominal regime, but to also get those creative juices flowing when it comes to your abs workout. All too often I observe lacklustre abdominal regimes which omit both enthusiasm and variety. You wouldn’t dream of subjecting your chest or back to a session of this sort, so why should your abs be any different?
Before signing off it’s important to note that there’s much more to an abdominal workout than a nice and defined ‘six pack’. Building your core region and being able to activate it throughout all of your workouts provides you with a strong, solid base from which to build upon. Previous research has also linked a strong core with a reduction in the likelihood of sustaining a lower back injury.
So next time you find yourself lying down in anticipation of a monotonous abdominal routine, why not get to your feet instead and go and find yourself a pull up bar?