Abs · Cables · 15 exercises

Ab workouts with cables

A cable ab workout: kneeling crunches, reverse crunches, twists and side bends, all easy to load heavier over time.

Your abs do two jobs: they bend and rotate the trunk, and they brace it to stop movement. A full core workout trains both, with crunches and leg raises for bending, twists for rotation, and planks, dead bugs and Pallof presses for bracing.

A cable keeps tension on the muscle through the whole range, including the ends of a movement where a dumbbell goes slack, and moving the pulley up or down changes the angle of resistance. Cables make it easy to add a little weight at a time.

Cable ab workout

Cables let you add weight to ab work in small steps.

Cable Kneeling Crunch
Sets
4
Reps
10–15
Rest
60 s
Cable Reverse Crunch
Sets
3
Reps
12–15
Rest
60 s
Cable Twist
Sets
3
Reps
12 each side
Rest
60 s
Cable Side Bend
Sets
2
Reps
12 each side
Rest
60 s

Can’t do one of these?

Machine taken or training somewhere else? Each of these has substitutes that work the same muscles.

Tips

Curl your spine on crunches and leg raises. If only your hips move, your hip flexors do the work instead of your abs.
Treat abs like any other muscle: pick a rep range, and add load or reps over time once it gets easy.
Breathe out hard as you crunch or brace. It pulls the ribs down and makes the abs work harder.
Step far enough from the stack that the weight never touches down between reps; that keeps the tension on the whole set.

Run this workout in SPLYT

Every exercise here is in SPLYT’s library. Save the workout as a template, log your sets on iPhone or Apple Watch, and next time your weights are already filled in from what you lifted.

Get SPLYT on the App Store

15 ab exercises with cables

Every one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration. Swap any of them into the workouts above.

All ab exercises →

Questions

How many ab exercises can you do with cables?

SPLYT’s exercise library has 15 ab exercises you can do with cables, including Cable Twist, Cable Side Bend and Cable Reverse Crunch. Each one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration.

How often should I train abs?

Two to four short sessions a week is plenty. The abs recover fast, but they also work in every heavy squat, deadlift and press.

Will ab workouts give me a six-pack?

They build the muscle, but whether it shows depends on body fat. Training them makes the abs more visible at a given body fat, and diet decides the rest.

Are cables as good as free weights?

For building muscle, yes. Free weights let you go heavier on the big lifts, while cables keep tension through the whole movement. Most good programs use both.