How Often Should I Train Abs: Everything You Need to Know

Have you ever asked yourself, “How often should I train abs?”

This certainly is a controversial topic with many opinions and ideas.

To that end, I’ve put together this guide. In it, we’ll go over what you need to know about your abs, how often you should train them, and what exercises you might want to consider.

Let’s dive in.

This myth is everywhere. It has been around for so long that everyone has believed it at some point or another. And that's normal. Repeat a lie enough times and it becomes the truth.

But it doesn't work that way. When it comes to lifting weights, facts are facts, and lies are lies. No amount of repeating is going to make it work.

Doing sit-ups to get nice abs can’t be further from the truth, and here is why:

The premise behind this myth is simple. The core receives enough stimulation from deadlifts and squats, so direct work is pointless.

Yes, your core works during most compound lifts. It keeps you stable and connects your upper body to your lower body. But that doesn't mean it receives enough work to grow stronger and develop. For example, this study examined various muscles and their activation during some exercises:

The barbell back squat, the overhead squat, the front & side plank, swiss ball jackknife, and straight leg sit-up. Researchers found significant difference in trunk activation in favor of a simple sit-up, when compared to the overhead and back squat.

You don’t skip shoulder workouts because they get worked during chest, right? So why does it have to be any different with your core?

I'm betting this myth is a by-product of the first one we went over.

Many people are convinced that sit-ups are all it takes to develop the core, and the notion that your abs don't need extra resistance makes sense to them. Because of that, the only resistance that gets applied to core training is doing more repetitions. How exciting. If you thought that 30 minutes on the treadmill was engaging, boy are you in for a treat!

But all jokes aside. As we already know, the core muscles are the same as every other muscle in the body. Because of that, the same rules for training apply to it. You need to progressively overload your core muscles if you want to further develop them.

I've dedicated an entire point to progressive overload below, so make sure to read it.

This myth kind of ties in with the rest. You see, there are so many “ab programs”, ab-training gadgets, ab exercises, and “rules”. The misinformation is immense.

Why?

Because everyone wants to have that defined six pack. And since products that promise a six pack are so popular, there are tons of scammers out there, selling their 'programs.' But the truth is, your abdominals are like any other muscle group in the body. They need recovery and progressive overload.

Without these two factors, you cannot hope to develop them. No amount of "6-minute ab-blasters" or "foods that burn belly fat" are going to help you get a solid six-pack.

This is the last ab-training myth we’ll cover today. I don’t know where it came from, but it doesn’t make sense.

One group of people swears by daily core training, and the other says abs don't need direct work. This is a perfect example of the contradicting information I mentioned above. We’ll dive in the optimal training frequency below, but I like to say something:

If you want to strengthen and develop a muscle group, training it more often will likely result in quicker progress. But, training that muscle group daily is too much. You’re not giving it any time to recover and your performance will likely start dipping.

Knowing what muscles you are trying to target, can help you form a better mind-muscle connection and have much more efficient workouts.

Often referred to as the six-pack, the rectus abdominis is a muscle sheet that covers the area from your pelvis to the sternum. 

The abs have a thin band of connective tissue that gives it the washboard appearance. Depending on your genetics, your abs might look symmetrical or slightly crooked.

The rectus abdominis’ basic function is to flex the trunk and stabilize the pelvis. It also contributes to trunk rotation, such as during Russian twists.

External Obliques

The external obliques are broad and thin muscles that lie on the side and front of your abdomen.

Their basic function is to rotate and laterally flex the trunk - a movement also known as side bend. They also help flex the spine and compress the abdominal wall.

Internal Obliques

These muscles lie beneath the external obliques. They run diagonally up your body toward your rectus abdominis.

Contraction of the internal obliques rotates and bends your torso sideways by pulling the midline and ribcage toward the hip and lower back.

The transverse abdominis runs beneath your obliques and it is the deepest of the abdominal muscles. It wraps around your entire core for protection and stability, resembling a weightlifting belt.

Training Frequency: What is Optimal

Some say training each muscle group once a week is enough. Others think a higher training frequency is a better option for muscle growth. But who is right and who is wrong? Let’s dissect three popular training frequencies and come up with an unbiased answer.

If you’ve spent any time in the gym, you’ve come across this frequency the most. It is the popular kid at school, and the common bro splits have you focus on each muscle once per week.

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:

As you can see with these examples, you get to train each muscle group once per week, making them low-frequency routines. The problem with such low-frequency training is the fact that you’re not using your week the best way you can. Think about it:

Training each muscle group once and then waiting 6 days before training it again gives you a lot of downtime. Much more than what your muscles need to recover and do the work again.

There are other factors that you need to consider for muscle recovery. But, the general rule that applies to most people in normal circumstances states:

A muscle won’t need more than 72 hours of recovery time before you can train it again. Look at it from this perspective:

If you were to train your abs once a week for an entire year, that would be 52 workouts and 52 opportunities to stimulate growth. But, if you were to train your abs two times per week, it adds up to 104 opportunities to stimulate growth within a single year. Twice as much.

Assuming that everything else stays the same, which one do you think is going to cause more growth and strength development? That is right, the twice-per-week frequency.

And I said above, waiting for seven days before training a muscle again is not needed, and it’s more than enough recovery time.

You’re only leaving time on the table which could be better-spent training more often. And while low frequency is the easiest one to schedule, it doesn’t make it, in any way, better.

Can it work, though? Sure. As long as you’re doing everything right, a low-frequency program will produce results for you.

But is it optimal? No. And while you might have fallen into a comfortable routine you like following, remember:

It’s not only important to know if something works, but is it the optimal way. A low-frequency program can work in two particular scenarios I can think of:

But, I can’t proceed without saying a few words about who this type of frequency is not suited for:

This is the middle ground for training frequency. It’s generally accepted to be the best one for guys and girls at the intermediate-advanced level.

Let’s take a look at a couple of splits using this frequency:

With this classic split, you’re hitting every muscle group twice per week. Meaning that each muscle works every 3rd of 4th day as opposed to every 7th day.

But, there is another way to set up a higher frequency program where you’re not training everything twice per week but about twice per week. The first time I came across this idea was from an article written by Jay over at AWorkoutRoutine and I loved it. It’s simple, yet few people ever talk about it.

We often think of a single week as a measuring unit for our programs. Yet, there are no rules to suggest that jumping onto a second week is bad. This is where this split comes:

And the second split example:

As you can see, with these two splits, each muscle group is trained every 4th or 5th day for a total of three times every two weeks. This is a great transition split to do for a while, before jumping into twice-per-week training.

This way, you can dip your toe into the water and get a good feel of what higher frequency feels like. You can also adjust your training volume to what feels optimal and allows you to recover.

There is a third alternative for setting up a higher-ish training frequency split:

You do most of your volume for a given muscle on one day and then provide extra stimulus to that same muscle days later:

Example:

A split such as this one is trickier to design in a way that is not going to sabotage you but it’s a viable option to consider.

Now, why would this frequency be in any way superior to the once-per-week?

Depending on the impact of the workout, muscle protein synthesis is usually elevated for 24 to 36 hours after training. After that point, it declines to baseline levels. Now, let’s apply this to the real world:

If you train your core muscles on Monday’s workout, you will elevate muscle protein synthesis for 36 hours or so. By Wednesday, it’s back to normal. If you don’t train your core again within that week, you are waiting an extra three or four days before training it again. You are losing the opportunity to cause more muscle damage and potential growth.

This might not seem like much but look at it from the perspective of an entire year:

52 workouts will likely result in much less progress compared to 104 workouts.

With this frequency, you train each muscle group three times per week or every second to third day. Let’s take a look at a split example:

There are other ways to set up this kind of frequency but they would need more training days every week.

The main difference between this and low frequency is with this one, your goal is to cause less stimulus to each muscle. That way, you’ll be able to recover faster. In contrast, your goal is to cause much more damage within a given workout with a lower frequency.

See, your total training volume for each muscle group can be the same in both frequencies but individual workouts are not the same.

Where most people fail with transitioning from once-per-week to two-times-per-week and beyond is they assume their work volume for one workout… should now be the volume for every workout.

That is why calculating your total volume and then spreading it within the week is better. So long as you recover between workouts and continue to make progress, you’re on the right track.

Who is a three-times-per-week frequency best suited for?

If your primary goal is to improve your main lifts, a higher frequency approach will allow you more variation and more chances to get stronger. Many strength athletes follow this approach. Very few of them perform the bench press, squat, and deadlift once per week.

If you don’t fall into the category, you shouldn’t use this training frequency.

Will it work? Yes.

Any well planned and applied training protocol will provide results but we’re not looking for ‘providing results.’ We want the best possible way to train for our goals.

There are many mixed opinions about ab training frequency. It can be quite confusing, frustrating and downright infuriating. I used to wonder quite a bit.

How often should I train abs? How many reps, sets, should I add resistance?

I would read three articles or watch a few videos and I’d get all possible 'right' answers for these questions. And then be left with one choice: experiment and see what works for me. And over the years, I’ve experimented a lot with my training.

I’ve tried once-a-week and I’ve tried two-three-four days a week. While the core muscles are like any other in the body, I’ve found that training them once a week didn’t deliver much results for me. Sure, I had some visibility and separation, but my core wasn’t defined or strong.

I started training it more, up to three days a week, and I found this type of higher frequency training produced best results for me. I’ve stuck with it ever since.

But, I don’t perform the same workout for my entire core three days out of the week. I split my lower and upper abs and obliques to emphasize two areas each workout.

My program looks something like this:

I add resistance to each exercise on Monday and Friday and keep my rep ranges between 6 and 15.

On Wednesday, I focus on higher rep sets (anything between 20 and 30) with no extra resistance for my lower abs. I also do weighted exercises for my obliques.

Training my core within different repetition ranges has helped me strengthen it and build enough training volume to force growth.

I train my core at the end of my workouts by adding 6-10 working sets for my selected areas for that day.

By no means am I saying you should jump straight into ab training three, four, or five days a week. You should start small and, as your core develops and strengthens, increase your training frequency. But if you’re a beginner or intermediate lifter, core training frequency shouldn’t be your main focus.

You should shift your focus on progressive overload. Pick a few effective exercises and get better at doing them. More weight, more repetitions, slower tempo, cleaner execution. You can pack this into a single core workout each week.

"But what exercises should I do?"

Glad you asked.

There are many exercises for your core that overcomplicate the whole process. When it comes to lifting weights, building muscle and losing fat, simplicity is key.

You don’t need any fancy machines to hit your core and you don’t need cookie-cutter programs to develop an awesome six-pack. You need simple and convenient exercises.

Once you know what they are, you should focus on getting better at doing them and improving your performance. Whether that means doing more repetitions over time, resting less between sets, or adding extra resistance.

I’ll split the exercises into three categories: for newbies, intermediates, and advanced lifters.

How to Get Your Ab Muscles to Show

By now you know that spot reducing fat is a myth. It doesn’t work that way. You cannot do crunches and oblique crunches to “burn belly fat” and “get rid of love handles”.

Scammers make millions of dollars by selling programs, exercises, machines, and pills that people fall for. They promise you a ‘shredded core’ with their training programs, but the reality is that your abs and obliques won’t be visible if your body fat percentage is too high.

You can develop a strong and functional core but you won’t be able to see it until the fat comes off. Depending on how well you've developed your core, you can start seeing it anywhere between 10 and 15% body fat.

To measure your body fat percentage, read this article by Steve Kamb over at NerdFitness.com. It’s in-depth and has a lot of information on body fat and the many ways you can go about measuring it. You can also read my guides on training and eating for fat loss, as well as how to do a body recomposition (and this one about fat loss motivation).

The key to developing a great core is to train it as you would any other part of the body. But, to reveal it, you need a low enough body fat percentage.

Conclusion

No matter what anyone tells you, there is no optimal training frequency that is going to work well for everyone. It’s up to you to find your optimal frequency and stick to it.

Some people need more volume to develop certain stubborn areas, such as calves, forearms, and core.

Because of that, I encourage you to find what works best for you by starting small, tracking your progress and working your way up from there. Couple that with a moderate caloric deficit to lower your body fat and you’ll be rocking a great six pack in no time.