Being an Endomorph is a body type that many people have. With this body type, it usually refers to someone who has a rounded physique and is the opposite of someone who is considered an Ectomorph, those who have a lean and fast metabolism. An Endomorph has a slower metabolic rate and has the ability to gain weight easily, whether that weight is muscle or fat. Endomorphs also tend to have a wider waist/hip to shoulder/upper body ratio. Many people who have the “hour glass” figure are usually endomorphs.
How To Work Your Core As An Endomorph
In order for someone to have the best ab/core workout being an endomorph, they should want to focus on two main areas of the workout. The first is to make sure that the abdominal exercises being performed, and this goes for all body types, are targeting the abs directly and in every angle possible. This is to ensure that as you are performing ab exercises, you are creating a stimulus to the entire abdominal and oblique region, and not just performing ab exercises that are putting more strain on your back vs your core.
The next biggest thing for Endomorphs to focus on for training abs is to make sure that your workout is performed at the highest intensity for the longest period of time. This is to help speed up that slow metabolism Endomorphs usually carry to help burn more calories and increase fat loss. So for this ab workout, I recommend completing it after your cardio to ensure that most of your energy is expended to burn calories at a higher rate, and for doing so, cardio performed at a high intensity that increase your heart rate will do just that.
Now we want to train the abs and we want to make sure that we are applying proper tension to the entire abdominal region and not just a small portion. For this routine, no equipment will be needed. These exercises will be super setting in pairs of 2 exercises at a time, back to back with no rest transitioning between exercises. What this means is that after you finish exercise A, instead of resting, you will perform exercise B, followed by a rest after you finish the 2nd exercise.
The Upper Abs
For the top abs, you can perform lying knee crunches. Lay on your back, lift your knees up to a 90 degree angle, hands behind your head, and perform the standard crunch by bringing your back off the ground while squeezing your abs. Perform 30-50 of these before transitioning immediately to the next exercise of cross elbow-knee crunches. Cross Elbow-Knee crunches are similar to what you just did, only know as you crunch, you will bring your right elbow to your left knee, followed by releasing back down and bringing your left elbow to your right knee. Complete for 30-50 reps as well. Each elbow-knee touch is one rep.
The Lower Abs
Next we rest for 1-2 minutes before moving on to focus on the lower abs. While still lying on the ground, you will perform leg raises. Keep you back flat on the ground, arms/hands by your side, feet together, and lift your legs up in the air as high as you can while keep them as straight as possible. Once you reach maximum height, hold and squeeze for 1-2 seconds before lowering your legs. Do not lower to where your legs touch the ground, keep them about 2” off the ground at the lowest point. Repeat for 20-30 reps.
After leg raises, move straight into Scissor kicks. This is when you remain on the ground on your back, hands under your butt, and legs lifted about 1-2” off the ground. Raises one leg at a time up in a scissor like fashion to where your leg is now as high as it can go, release back down to start position of 1-2” off the ground, followed by lifting the other leg and repeating the process for a total of 30-50 reps. For this entire set of reps, do not let your legs touch the ground, keep them suspended in the air the entire duration to ensure tension on your abs for as long as possible while each rep is performed.
The Plank
The last exercise to perform is the plank. This is a stability exercises that targets the entire core region. Performed on the ground as well, in a push up like position. Only for this, you will keep your body/weight elevated by lying on your arms/elbows with them bent at a 90-degree fashion to support your upper body, while your lower body is supported by your feet, which are on their toes. Squeeze your abdominal area as tight as you can and hold this position for target time of 1-3 minutes. It is important to squeeze your abs as tight as you can while performing this to ensure a proper contraction of the abdominals and oblique’s.
After you finish holding for your target goal, release and relax your body. Repeat the entire ab workout from the beginning exercise of the knee crunches for the top abs as mentioned previously. You want to perform this entire workout 2-3x through. This will create a large stimulus on your core, which as with training any muscle group, is the goal at focus.
