The key to getting a stronger core is pretty simple: spend more time strengthening your abdominal muscles. No, you don’t have to schedule hour-long ab sessions, but your workouts should contain a core proponent. Whether you’re doing abs before a workout or after you crush your treadmill workout, you’ve got to commit to working your core if you want it to become stronger – and weighted ab exercises can be a great tool to do so.

As a trainer, I think your ab workouts should entail stability aspects, strength aspects, and some explosive work. Having those variations will help stabilize your spine and prevent injury. I love bodyweight exercises like planks and hanging leg raises to work my abs, but I also like to up the intensity with weighted ab exercises.

If you’re a beginner, don’t let these moves intimidate you. The key is to select a weight you can work with. You can do weighted ab exercises with dumbbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, or even a cable machine – no matter what, my recommendation is no more than 10 pounds. Don’t be afraid to decrease the weight if your form is falling apart; better safe than injured.

If you’re inspired to do an ab workout with weights once you finish reading this post, go ahead: Add a few of these moves to your next workout, but I don’t recommend doing more than eight exercises from this list in one session or else you will be extremely sore. Now get ready to blast your abs with these 18 moves.

Source: Pop Sugar