To add some heft to your ab workouts, try this crunch with weights from certified trainer Mark Harari, who teaches at Barry’s Bootcamp in West Hollywood and Sherman Oaks, Calif.:
Works on: Abdominal muscles.
Setup: One light dumbbell is needed. Begin this exercise on your back with your legs up, knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Place the dumbbell on your ankles.
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Step 1: With your hands behind your head for neck support and elbows out to the sides, raise your shoulders off the floor using the upper abdominal muscles. As you “crunch” your upper stomach muscles, the dumbbell will pull down on your lower stomach muscles for a complete midabdominal workout.
Step 2: Slowly release and return your upper body to the starting position. To increase the tension of this exercise, extend the legs with the dumbbell farther out from the body and continue the same crunching motion.
Repetitions: Three sets, 20 repetitions per set.