The 5-minute ab smoker
If you look back at the Golden Era of bodybuilding in the 1970s, one thing stands out… those physiques were built on basics that actually worked.
One of those movements that stood the test of time is the Roman Chair ab exercise.
It’s not one of the flashy ab moves, but it can be highly effective for building a strong, stable, and ripped-up midline.
How to do them
Set up on a bench with your hips right at the edge. Anchor your feet with 40–50 lb dumbbells so you aren’t sliding around. As you lean back, slightly cave in your torso so you create tension through the abs before you even start moving. Go all the way down until your upper back is just above making contact with the bench, then come up.
The constant time under tension over 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 minutes will totally smoke your abs. The goal isn’t speed. The goal is control. Your back doesn’t fully relax on the bench, and you don’t sit all the way up. Doing this forces your abs to be under tension the entire time.
As you progress, you can up the ante with different variations such as the side-to-side variation. This adds another challenge for the obliques and forces your core to stabilize in multiple directions.
Start with 5 minutes. Take breaks when needed.