10 Weight Bench Workouts for Abs That Deliver Killer Definition

Sure, you use your weight bench for bench press, Bulgarians, seated shoulder press, and rows, but if you're ready to elevate your core-training routine, it's time to turn your focus to weight bench ab exercises.

Ashley Boyer, ACE-CPT and master's candidate in Sports Performance and Conditioning at Southern Utah University, explains why using a bench during core work ups the ante. "A bench allows you to work through a larger range of motion and requires more stability and control since you're elevated off the floor," she says. "And you know how we love progressive overload? Well, even without adding weight you can still increase the challenge by adjusting the angle of the bench."

We'll cover the best abdominal bench workouts you can add to your routine — building strength, definition, and endurance in your mid-section. Plus, a quick 10-minute core workout you can do on your bench.

Ab Exercises with a Weight Bench

Pull out your weight bench and let's get ready to build a core that can handle athletic twists, heavy lifts, and anything life throws your way. We'll cover target muscles, technique tips, and proper form.

1. Reverse Crunch

Primary Muscles Worked: Lower rectus abdominis and hip flexors

Good For: Developing the lower abs while putting less strain on the neck and lower back than standard crunches.

How To: 

• Lie back on your bench and grab the bench above your head.
• Lift your kness, engage your core, and press your lower back into the bench.
• Bring your knees in, allowing your hips to lift off the bench.
• With control, lower back to start.

Pro Tip: Lower your hips back towards the bench nice and slow, really focusing on your abdominals bracing to control this movement.

2. Bench Crunch

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis and transverse abdonminis

Good For: Improving abdominal endurance.

How To: 

• Sit on the edge of your bench with your hands behind you, gripping each side.
• Lean back while extending your legs out straight.
• Simultaneously, bring your knees and chest in towards each other as you bend your legs.
• Return to start with control.

3. Incline Bench Leg Raise

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis and hip flexors

Good For: Making your reverse crunch more challenging and effective.

How To: 

• Set your adjustable bench so the backrest is angled, around 40-65 degrees.
• Take a seat and reach your hands over your head to grip the top of the bench.
• Pull your knees up towards your chest, allowing your hips and tailbone to curl up off the bench pad.
• Lower back to start with control, extending your legs at the bottom.

4. Copenhagen Side Plank

Primary Muscles Worked: Obliques and inner thigh adductors

Good For: Improving knee and groin stability for better performance in sports.

How To: 

• Lie on your side with forarm and elbow on the floor and your top legon the bench.
• Lift your hips up, creating a straight line from shoulder the heel.
• Lift your lower leg so it floats just below the bench.
• Engage your core and hold this position for a set duration.

5. Decline Mountain Climber

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis, hip flexors, shoulders, and arms.

Good For: Maintaining core stability while moving quickly.

How To: 

• Start in a push-up position with hands on the floor and kick your feet up onto the bench.
• Keep your hips aligned with your shoulders as you drive one knee in at a time.
• Engage your core throughout to limit any arch to your spine.

6. Decline Bench Twisting Sit-Up

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis and obliques

Good For: Improving stability while twisting under load.

How To: 

• Set your bench at an angle, take a seat, and hook your feet under the leg rollers.
• Place your hands wherever comfortable — across your chest or beside your head.
• Lower back, then explode up in a sit-up.
• Twist towards one knee at the top.
• Repeat the sit-up then switch the direction of your twist.

Weight Bench Ab Workouts with Additional Equipment

Adding additional equipment to you weight bench ab routine can help you utilize progressive overload, increase the transfer of force, and keep your workout feeling fun and fresh. We'll detail ways you can utilize a dumbbell, medicine ball, functional trainer, and resistance band to increase the challenge.

7. Decline Russian Twist with Dumbbell

Primary Muscles Worked: Obliques and rectus abdominis

Good for: Increasing rotational control and applying progressive overload during dynamic movements.

How To: 

• Set your bench at an angle, take a seat, and hook your feet under the leg rollers.
• Hold a dumbbell with both hands, just below your chest.
• Lean back on the bench about halfway.
• Twist from side to side, sending the dumbbell from one hip to the other.

8. Decline Bench Sit-Up to Medicine Ball Throw

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis, hip flexors, shoulders, and chest

Good For: Training explosive movement and power transfer.

How To: 

• Take a seat on a decline bench and hook your feet under the leg rollers.
• Hold onto a medicine ball and roll back, extending the medicine ball overhead.
• Swing your arms forward to explode up, tossing the medicine ball to a partner.
• Partner passes the medicine ball back, your catch, and repeat.

Pro Tip: Throw against a wall when without a partner

9. Seated Cable Crunch

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis

Good For: Improving bending and bracing motion while supporting a wider range of progressive overload.

How To: 

• Place a bench facing away from a cable machine.
• Attach a rope, take a seat and sit tall, and take hold of both ends of the rope attachment on either side of your head.
• Tuck your chin as you curl down and crunch.
• Return to start with control.

Pro Tip: Don't let the weight pull you out of the crunch as you come back up to sitting tall. Return to start slow and controlled.

10. Seated Pallof Press

Primary Muscles Worked: Internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and erector spinae

Good For: Resisting rotational forces during movement, like swinging a golf club or twisting to pass a basketball

How To: 

• Attach a resistance band to a fixed point and sit on the bench.
• With both hands on the resistance band, bring it to the center of your chest.
• Keep your torso unmoved as you work the resistance band in and then away from your chest.

Pro Tip: This is an anti-rotation move, so your goal is for your core to avoid the resistance band's pull, keeping your hips and torso unmoved.

10-Minute Ab Workout Using Bench

This 10-minute workout features dynamic, anti-rotation, and stabilization movements to hit your upper, lower, and oblique core, while also challenging balance and control.

All you need for this circuit is a flat weight bench and a resistance band attached to a door knob, power rack, or other secure point. The circuit has five moves: 45 seconds of work, 15 seconds of rest, repeated for two rounds. Once you've completed the circuit — and if you still have gas left in the tank — finish with a 1-minute plank hold on the floor, or regress by resting your forearms on the bench.

More Core Work

Looking for more core workouts? Check out these guides:

• Ring the Bell on Weak Abs With This Kettlebell Core Workout
• Dumbbell Core Exercises for Rock Solid Abs
• 9 Best Ab Workouts for a Strong Core

Takeaway

Weight bench ab workouts are versatile, letting you target every part of your core while making progressive overload easy with angle adjustments or added resistance. So next time you're recovering from a bench press session — or you want more range of motion than floor exercises allow — try one of these moves to build strength and endurance in your core.

FAQs

Should I use a flat bench or adjustable bench for core work?

An adjustable bench provides you with a wider range of core work than a flat bench does — like decline bench sit-ups with medicine ball throws, incline bench leg raises, and more. However, you can still utilize a flat bench for a wide range of core work.

Should I work abs everyday?

The frequency you train your abs depends on how you feel, how well recovered you are, and the intensity you use for training. More intense ab training may require rest days between sessions, while low-intensity sessions can be completed on consecutive days. Aim for 2-3 sessions a week, and if your core feels ready for more, work your way up from there.

What can I do to get a six-pack?

To carve out washboard abs, you'll want to focus on abdominal training and lowering your body fat. They say abs are made in the kitchen, but really, abs are revealed in the kitchen. So build strong abs, then dial in your nutrition and burn fat to reveal them.