10 Best Ab Exercises with Dumbbells
By Marnie Kunz, NASM-certified personal trainer, USATF- RRCA-certified run coach
The best ab exercises with dumbbells will strengthen your core and give you a more intense workout than bodyweight exercises. Strong core muscles will improve your balance and stability, boost your athletic performance, and reduce your risk of injuries. If you’re a runner, a strong core can improve your running form, making you a more efficient runner. If you want to step up your core workouts, these are the 10 best ab exercises with dumbbells. Many of these movements are compound exercises, which means they work multiple muscle groups.
Related Post: 10 Best Compound Exercises with Dumbbells
Abs 101: The Different Ab Muscles
Before we delve into ab workouts, it’s helpful to know the basic anatomy of the abs. Your abdominal muscles cover many of your inner organs and support your trunk. Your deep abs muscles and back muscles comprise your core muscles. Your core muscles support your spine and help your body twist, crunch, rotate, balance, and hinge.
Here are the main types of ab muscles in your body that you’ll be working with these ab exercises with dumbbells:
Transverse Abdominis
The transverse abdominal muscles are your deepest abs. These muscles help keep your organs in place and stabilize your trunk.
Rectus Abdominis
The rectus abdominal muscles are the ones people most commonly think of as the “abs” because when they are defined, they can give the six-pack abs aesthetic. The rectus abdominis stretches from your ribs to your pubic bone. Their primary purpose is to move your mid-section.
External Oblique Muscles
The external obliques run along each side of your rectus abdominis. They enable you to twist your torso. Strengthening the external obliques will give you more defined-looking abs.
Internal Oblique Muscles
The internal obliques form a middle layer above your transverse abdominis and beneath your external obliques. These muscles help move and flex your trunk.
Getting Started with Dumbbells
To do these ab exercises with dumbbells, you need a pair of dumbbells. Usually, you’ll need a lighter weight for ab workouts than what you use for lower body or upper body workouts. You want the weight amount to be challenging by your last reps but not so difficult that you can’t maintain your form throughout the exercises. If you need to practice without weights first, this is an excellent way to train your body to use good form.
10 Best Ab Exercises with Dumbbells
These are the best ab exercises with dumbbells to strengthen your core and improve your ab definition.
1. Russian Twist with Dumbbell
Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis, hip flexors, shoulders.
How To Do It:
Begin from a seated starting position with your feet on the floor and knees bent.
Lean back slightly so your body forms a 45-degree angle with the floor. Keep your spine neutral (not hunched over or arched).
Hold a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest, elbows bent.
Lift your feet off the ground slightly.
Twist your upper body from side to side, bringing the dumbbell to each side as you twist in each direction. Each rotation should include one side and then the other for one set.
Repeat to do 10 to 15 reps. Do two to three sets.
Modifications: If you're having trouble, leave your feet on the ground to make the exercise less challenging. You can also do the twists without hodling a weight for a beginner-friendly ab exercise.
Related Post: 8 Hip Strengthening Exercises for Runners
2. Dumbbell Crunch
Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, transversus abdominis, hip flexors
How To Do It:
Lie on your back, holding a dumbbell in front of your chest.
Squeeze your abs and raise your chest upward. Keep your chin tucked and your head and neck in a neutral position.
Pause at the top of the movement.
Slowly lower your torso back to the starting position, keeping tension in your body.
Repeat to do 10 to 15 reps. Do two to three sets.
Modifications: If it is too difficult to maintain good form while holding a dumbbell during crunches, you can do them without one. Once you master crunches using your bodyweight, you can add a light weight.
3. Plank Rotation with Dumbbell
Muscles Worked: Internal and external obliques, transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, shoulder, hips.
How To Do It:
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and begin from a high plank position. Keep your head and neck neutral and your back straight, engaging your core muscles.
Twist your torso and lift one arm (straightened) up toward the ceiling, holding your dumbbell.
Slowly lower your arm to the start position, bringing your body back into a straight line.
Repeat on the other side.
Do two to three sets of 10 reps on each side.
4. Plank Row
Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, transverse abdominis, deltoids, back.
How To Do It:
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and start from a high plank position.
Engage your core muscles and glutes and maintain a straight line from your head down your back to your toes.
Pull one dumbbell up toward your side, bringing it to chest height.
Slowly return the dumbbell to the start position, straightening your arm.
Repeat on the other side.
Do two to three sets of 10 reps on each side.
5. Dumbbell Side Bend
Muscles Worked: External and internal obliques.
How To Do It:
Hold a dumbbell on your right side and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Maintain a neutral position for your head and neck and stand upright with your shoulders back. Keep your chin tucked.
Slowly bend to the right side, allowing the dumbbell to lower alongside your right leg.
Slowly straighten your spine and return to the starting position.
Then, slowly bend to the left side, repeating the movement, with the weight inching up your right leg as you bend to the left.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat on the other side with the weight in your left hand.
Do two to three sets of 10 on each side.
6. Wood Chop with Dumbbell
Muscles Worked: All ab muscles, glutes, shoulders, legs.
How To Do It:
Begin with your feet on the floor shoulder-width apart.
Hold a dumbbell with both hands.
Rotate your torso to the right and raise the dumbbell over your right shoulder. Squat, rotating your body to the left.
Bring the dumbbell across your body and by your chest as you lower it toward the outside of your left leg and hip. Think about chopping wood, making a swing as if you are chopping.
Repeat to do 10 to 15 reps on each side. Do two to three sets.
7. Squat to Overhead Press
Muscles Worked: Core, quads, glutes, shoulders, back.
How To Do It:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a pair of dumbbells by your shoulders with your palms facing forward.
Engage your abs and glutes and inhale, lowering your body toward the floor into a squat position.
Push back up to a standing position, exhaling and bringing the dumbbells from shoulder height to overhead into a press-up position, your arms fully extended.
Return to the start position.
Repeat to do two to three sets of 10.
8. Dumbbell V-Sits
Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, hip flexors
How To Do It:
Lie on a mat with your legs extended. Hold a dumbbell behind your head with both hands.
Contract your abs and lift your legs and body off the ground to form a 45-degree angle. Inhale and exhale.
Slowly lower to the starting position.
Repeat to do 10 reps. Do two to three sets.
Modifications: If the V-sit with a dumbbell is too difficult, ditch the weight and use your arms to help you balance, bringing them out in front of you as you do the V-sit.
9. Reverse Lunge with Twist
Muscles Worked: Internal and external obliques, abs, quads, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors.
How To Do It:
Begin from a standing position, holding a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest.
Take a step back with your left leg and lower into a lunge position so both knees are bent at 90-degree angles. Twist your torso to the right as you lower into the lunge.
Return to the starting position, straightening your legs.
Repeat by stepping back onto your right leg and twisting your body to the left side.
Continue alternating to do 10 lunges on each side. Do two to three sets.
10. Lying Overhead Reach
Muscles Worked: Shoulders, abs.
How To Do It:
Begin by lying on your back. Contract your abs to push your lower back into the floor.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand (or you can hold one dumbbell with both hands) with your arms extended above your chest. Bend your knees and raise your legs so your lower legs are parallel to the floor.
Slowly lower your arms to the floor behind your head, keeping your arms extended.
Return your arms to the starting position and repeat to do 10 to 12 reps. Do two to three sets.
Sample Ab Workout with Dumbbells
Want to add these exercises to your workout program? Download our free abs workout for sample workouts with the best ab exercises with dumbbells.
Let me know if you try this dumbbell abs workout - tag @Runstreet on Instagram to share your workouts and get cheered on.
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Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach based in Brooklyn, NY. Marnie likes helping people get and stay active to enjoy a better quality of life. When she’s not doing fitness things, Marnie enjoys exploring with her dog, a mischievous rescue Akita.
