Exercises for the Upper Rectus Abdominals

Upper Rectus Abdominals: 400+ exercises in the FitRay library, each with the muscles it works, step-by-step instructions, the equipment it needs and its own common mistakes.

What the upper abs do

The rectus abdominis is a single long muscle down the front of the belly; its upper part does the most when the ribs curl down towards the pelvis, as in a crunch. It also braces the trunk against forces that would arch the back.

How to train it

Crunches and their loaded versions (cable and machine crunches) curl the spine, and planks and rollouts train the bracing job. Curl the ribs towards the hips rather than pulling on the neck.

Five to start with

  1. 1
    BeginnerCrunch

    The basic exercise: curl the ribs towards the hips.

  2. 2
    BeginnerCable Kneeling Crunch

    A crunch you can load and progress.

  3. 3
    BeginnerMachine Crunch

    A fixed path that is easy to load.

  4. 4
    BeginnerPlank

    Bracing the trunk straight, the abs' other main job.

  5. 5
    AdvancedAb Wheel Rollout

    A hard anti-extension exercise. Start with short rolls.

All 400+ exercises that work the upper part of the rectus abdominis