Weight plate workouts can offer you impressive benefits for many muscles but what are some ab exercises you can do with weight plates?
Weight plates are flat, heavy, weights that are usually made of metal. They are generally used to make barbells heavier. These then play a role in a wide variety of other exercises.
Even though weight plates are not the first thing most people think of when looking into ab exercises, you can use this gym equipment to build bigger abs if you choose the right exercises.
Keep in mind that even though there are upsides, your injury risk is generally also higher when you do exercises with more weight/resistance. You may want to talk to your primary care provider before starting a new workout routine. That being said, here are 10 ab exercises with weight plates.
Table of Contents
1. Weight plate crunches
Crunches are one of the most popular ab exercises out there and for a good reason, they are slightly better than sit-ups for building abs (1). By adding resistance with a weight plate you can build even more muscle with crunches. One repetition of a crunch involves the following steps:
- You start lying down on your back with your legs bent at the knees and your feet flat on the ground. Hold the weight plate in your 2 hands with your arms slightly less than stretched and pointing upward.
- Raise your head and shoulders from the ground as much as possible while keeping your lower back on the floor. Make sure you don’t use your arms but your ab muscles to do this movement.
- Lower your head and shoulders until you are back in the starting position.
You can describe the crunch more or less as half a sit-up. To build the most muscle mass you want to do about 4 sets of 10-40 crunches depending on how advanced you are.
2. Weight plate windshield wiper
This next exercise is another creative way to implement a weight plate in your ab workout routine. One repetition of a windshield wiper involves the following steps:
- Lie down on your back with your legs right next to each other. Both your hips and knees should be at a 90-degree angle. Your arms start resting on the ground at 90 degrees out from your shoulders for stability. Clamp the weight plate between your knees.
- Slowly lower your feet and legs to one side until just above the ground while keeping your hips and knees at a 90-degree angle.
- Slowly return your legs back to starting position and repeat for the other side.
Due to the twisting movement, windshield wipers work a wide variety of core muscles.
3. Weight plate Russian twist
The Russian twist is another exercise that involves twisting. To do two repetitions take the following steps:
- You start sitting down on the ground with your legs bent at the knees and your feet hovering above the ground. Make sure your back is straight and at about a 45-degree angle with the ground. Your hands which are holding the weight plate start together at your chest.
- Slightly twist your upper body to one side and then the other.
- Return to starting position.
Make sure you don’t twist too far and keep your back straight to avoid any injuries. Even with the right technique Russian twists are not for everyone. If you have any back, neck, or shoulder issues you likely want to pass on this exercise.
The theme of this list is weight plates but if you prefer you can also hold other types of weights like a dumbbell, medicine ball, kettlebell, etc. during the Russian twist.
4. Weight plate V-ups
To do a v-up take the following steps:
- Lie down on your back with your legs stretched and right next to each other on the ground. You can hold your arms against your chest if you are relatively new to ab training, stretched above your head if you are more experienced. Hold a weight plate in your hands.
- Keep your legs slightly less than stretched while you move them up slowly. At the same time curl up your upper body starting with your shoulders and continuing with the rest of your back until your upper body makes a V-shape with your legs. Make sure your abs and not the momentum of your arms power the movement.
- Slowly lower your legs and upper body again. If you will do more repetitions you can keep your feet hovering just above the ground and your lower back pressed against the ground with the help of your abs. If you are done you can lower your legs to the ground..
Like with all of these exercises make sure you use the right technique for V-ups to avoid any injuries. If the described angle is not yet within your capabilities you can start with repetitions with smaller angles and build up from there.
5. Weight plate side bend
To do a side bend take the following steps:
- Start standing up with your feet shoulder-width apart, an upright posture, one arm hanging by your side with a weight plate in your hand, and the hand of the other hand behind your head. Let gravity do its work on the hanging arm so it points downward.
- Slowly tilt your body sideways so that the weight plate moves down as far as you comfortably can.
- Return your body to starting position and do the same number of repetitions with a weight plate in the other hand.
The side bend may not look very impressive but it can be a helpful exercise to work out your obliques.
6. Weight plate sit-ups
Sit-ups are a very popular ab exercise so you may already have had the idea to add a weight plate. Even so, sit-ups definitely deserve a spot on this list. One repetition of a sit-up involves the following steps:
- You start lying down on your back with your legs bent at the knees and your feet flat on the ground. Hold the weight plate in your 2 hands with your arms slightly less than stretched and pointing upward.
- Curl up your body until your chest is close to your knees. Start with your shoulders and as you get closer to your knees more and more of your upper body gets off the ground. Make sure your abs and not the momentum of your arms power the movement.
- Slowly curl down your body again. Your lower back goes first and gradually more and more of your upper body touches the ground again.
Similar to crunches, to build the most muscle mass you want to do about 4 sets of 10-40 sit-ups depending on how advanced you are.
7. Weight plate overhead side bend
To do an overhead side bend take the following steps:
- Start standing up with your feet shoulder-width apart, an upright posture, your arms slightly less than stretched and pointing upward. Hold one weight plate in your hands.
- Slowly tilt your body sideways as far as you comfortably can.
- Return your body to starting position in a controlled motion and repeat for the other side.
The overhead side bend is mainly focused on your obliques but it engages your ab muscles too.
8. Kneeling Russian twist with weight plate
To do a kneeling Russian twist take the following steps:
- Sit on your knees with your hands holding the weight plate in front of your chest. Tilt your upper body backward until comfortable and at an angle where you can still do the rest of the exercise.
- Slightly twist your upper body to one side and then the other.
- Return to starting position.
Similar to the regular Russian twist, you don’t want to twist too far. If you have a history of back, neck, or shoulder issues you likely want to skip this exercise.
9. Weighted plank with plate
This next exercise is another popular way to work out core muscles. To do a plank take the following steps:
- Start lying on the floor on your stomach. Ask for the help of a friend to put the weight plate on your lower back or do it yourself if possible. Placing the weight plate on your shoulder will not make a big difference.
- Raise your body so that you are on your elbows and feet and your body is in a straight line.
- Hold this position for an extended period of time.
Planks are a type of isometric exercise. In simpler words, this means that you engage your muscles in a more static way, without moving a lot. On the other hand, you have isotonic exercises where you engage your muscles in a dynamic way, by moving.
Isotonic exercises are generally more useful for building muscle. That means that the other isotonic exercises on this list are likely better than planks for building bigger ab muscles.
10. Weight plate lying leg hold
To do a lying leg hold take the following steps:
- You start lying down on your back with your legs stretched and right next to each other on the ground. Your arms start resting on the ground at your sides for balance. The weight plate is located on your shins.
- Raise your legs a small amount so that they hover right above the ground.
- Hold this position or make this exercise more dynamic for more ab gains by slowly moving your legs up and down.
While you can certainly use a weight plate for this exercise, investing in ankle weights can be a good idea if you want to do weighted lying leg holds.
