Why core training matters for athletes
If you are serious about sport, an effective ab workout for athletes is more than a way to chase a six-pack. Your core is the link between your upper and lower body. It stabilizes your spine and pelvis, helps you transfer force, and protects you from injury every time you sprint, jump, cut, or lift.
A strong core, which includes your abs, obliques, lower back, and hip muscles, helps you:
- Maintain better posture and alignment during training and competition
- Reduce the risk of lower back, hip, knee, and ankle injuries
- Produce more power in movements like throwing, hitting, and sprinting
- Stay balanced and stable when you change direction quickly
Visible abs mostly depend on body fat percentage. Many athletes need to be in the 6–15% body fat range for men and 10–22% for women to see a clear six-pack, along with smart nutrition and recovery. Core workouts support this goal, but performance and durability should come first.
Understand your core muscles
When you think of ab training, you might picture sit ups. In reality, your core is a full 360 degree system of muscles that wrap around your spine and pelvis.
Key core muscles to know
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Rectus abdominis
The classic “six pack” muscle on the front of your torso. It flexes your spine, for example when you perform a crunch. -
Internal and external obliques
Run along the sides of your torso. They rotate your trunk and help with side bending and resisting unwanted twisting. -
Transverse abdominis
A deep, corset like muscle that wraps around your midsection. It helps create intra abdominal pressure and acts like a natural weightlifting belt to stabilize your spine during heavy lifts. -
Quadratus lumborum and psoas major
Deep muscles that connect your spine and hips. They play a major role in stabilizing your lower back and pelvis when you run, jump, or cut.
When you train your core, you want to involve all these muscles, not just the ones you see in the mirror.
Move beyond endless sit ups
According to strength coach Brandon Robb, many athletes overemphasize sit ups and similar movements that only train the rectus abdominis in one plane of motion, the sagittal plane (flexion and extension). This can create imbalances and even increase the risk of low back pain.
To build a complete, sport ready core, you need to train your trunk in all three planes of motion:
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Sagittal plane
Flexion and extension, for example crunches and supermans -
Frontal plane
Lateral flexion and resisting side bending, for example kettlebell teapots and side planks -
Transverse plane
Rotation and anti rotation, for example Russian twists and Pallof presses
You also need exercises that teach your core to resist movement, not just create it. This “anti movement” style of training is very effective for performance and injury prevention.
Focus on anti movement patterns
Modern athletic core training often centers on anti movement patterns. Instead of repeatedly flexing or twisting your spine, you brace your core and resist forces that try to pull you out of position.
Four key anti movement patterns are:
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Anti flexion
Resisting your torso folding forward, important in heavy squats or deadlifts. -
Anti lateral flexion
Resisting side bending, which keeps you stable when cutting or carrying loads on one side. -
Anti rotation
Resisting twisting forces, essential for deceleration and protecting your spine from awkward torque. -
Anti compression
Maintaining spinal alignment under heavy loading, for example in scrums or tackles.
Exercises like Pallof presses, side planks, and loaded carries all teach your core to stay locked in while your arms and legs move or while external forces act on you. This is exactly what happens in most sports.
Train across the three planes of motion
To design a well rounded ab workout for athletes, include movements that challenge you in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes.
Sagittal plane: Flexion and extension
These exercises train your ability to flex and extend your trunk, but you should still prioritize control and neutral spine rather than aggressive crunching.
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Planks
Classic anterior core exercise. Start with 10 second holds and progress to 30 seconds or more as you build strength. -
Deadbugs
You lie on your back, arms and legs in the air, and slowly extend opposite arm and leg while keeping your lower back neutral. Robb considers deadbugs a staple for athletes, often used 2 to 3 times per week for core bracing and low back protection. -
Supermans
You lie face down and lift your arms and legs off the floor. This targets spinal extension and the muscles along your back.
Frontal plane: Lateral stability
Here you strengthen your ability to bend and, more importantly, resist bending sideways.
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Side planks
Excellent for the obliques and deep stabilizers. Side planks train anti lateral flexion, which supports posture and reduces injury risk in dynamic sports. -
Kettlebell teapots
You hold a weight in one hand and slowly bend to the side then return to neutral. Focus on control and avoid rushing the movement.
Transverse plane: Rotation and anti rotation
Rotational strength is critical in sports such as tennis, baseball, golf, and even sprinting.
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Russian twists
Sit in a V position, lean back slightly, and rotate your torso side to side. You can add weight to increase difficulty, which builds your obliques and transverse abdominis. -
Cable woodchoppers and landmine rotations
These weighted rotational patterns help you produce and control rotation. They are especially useful if your sport involves throwing or swinging. -
Pallof presses
With a band or cable anchored to your side, press the handle straight out and resist rotation. This is a key anti rotation exercise that teaches your core to stay solid when external forces try to twist you.
Use a three phase progression
Experts in athletic training often recommend building your core in phases. One 2024 training blueprint suggests three main stages:
- Stability phase
- Focus: Motor control and holding neutral spine and hip positions
- Exercises: Deadbugs, bird dogs, basic planks, side planks
- Goal: Learn to brace your core, breathe, and maintain alignment while limbs move slowly
- Strengthening phase
- Focus: Higher intensity, heavier loads, and longer isometric holds
- Exercises: Weighted Russian twists, Pallof presses, cable woodchoppers, kettlebell teapots, ab wheel progressions
- Goal: Increase your ability to create and resist force with good control
- Chaos phase
- Focus: Reactivity and stability in unpredictable situations
- Exercises: Landmine rotations, squats with shifted bars, band resisted lunges with rotation, unstable surface holds
- Goal: Prepare your core for the randomness of real sport, such as unexpected contact, cuts, and landings
You can cycle through these phases across your training year or rotate them week by week, keeping the base movements similar while changing how they are challenged.
Sample 15 minute ab workout for athletes
You can perform this core workout 2 to 3 times per week after your main strength or field session. It combines stability, strength, and rotational work with no special equipment required.
Perform 3 rounds with 45 to 60 seconds rest between rounds.
- Deadbug
- 8 to 10 reps per side
- Focus on keeping your lower back gently pressed toward the floor and breathing steadily.
- Side plank
- 20 to 30 seconds per side
- Keep a straight line from your head to your feet, and do not let your hips sag.
- Bird dog
- 8 to 10 reps per side
- Extend opposite arm and leg, pause briefly, then return with control. Research from 2019 and 2021 highlights bird dogs as excellent for core stability and lower back function.
- Bicycle crunches
- 12 to 15 slow reps per side
- The American Council on Exercise ranks bicycle crunches among the best ab exercises for engaging your obliques and deep transverse abdominis, while requiring no equipment. Move with control rather than speed.
- Russian twists
- 12 to 16 total twists
- Sit tall, lean back slightly, and rotate your torso. Lift your heels or add weight to make it more challenging.
If you are new to core training, start at the lower end of the rep ranges and focus on quality before adding volume or load.
Progress to sport specific core work
As you become comfortable with basic and intermediate exercises, you can adjust your ab workout for athletes to match the demands of your sport and position.
Examples of sport specific focus
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Field and court athletes (soccer, basketball, rugby)
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Prioritize anti rotation, anti lateral flexion, and anti compression
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Use exercises like side planks, loaded carries, Pallof presses, and landmine rotations
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Rotational athletes (tennis, baseball, golf)
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Emphasize controlled rotation and deceleration
-
Incorporate Russian twists, cable woodchoppers, medicine ball rotational throws, and isometric lunge banded rotations, which mimic catching or swinging in a staggered stance
-
Strength and power athletes (weightlifting, powerlifting, sprinting)
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Focus on anti flexion and anti compression to support heavy loads
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Use ab wheel rollouts, heavy front loaded carries, planks with added resistance, and deadbugs for bracing
Core training should evolve based on your competition schedule as well. You may push intensity higher in the offseason and shift toward more stability and lighter loads during a busy in season period.
Combine training with smart recovery and nutrition
Core workouts are most effective when you support them with the right habits.
-
Frequency and volume
Many athletes do best with 2 to 3 dedicated core sessions per week. You can also sprinkle in low volume core work as part of warm ups or cooldowns. -
Recovery
Treat your core like any other muscle group. Allow rest between intense sessions, and pay attention to sleep and stress. -
Nutrition
To maintain and build core strength, you need enough protein and key nutrients like magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Limiting highly processed, high sugar foods can help you manage body fat levels, which affects how visible your abs are as well.
Putting it all together
To build an ab workout for athletes that actually boosts performance, think in terms of function, not just appearance:
- Train all major core muscles, not only the visible abs
- Include movements in all three planes: sagittal, frontal, and transverse
- Use anti movement patterns to protect your spine and improve force transfer
- Progress from stability to strength to chaos as your control improves
- Adjust exercise selection to your sport, position, and time of year
Start by adding one or two of the exercises above to your next training session. With a consistent, balanced approach, your core will become a reliable source of strength, power, and resilience in every part of your sport.
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