Incredible Isometric Abdominal Strength Training With Counterbalance Levers

Some of the best abdominal exercises don't involve much movement at all! This is one of those exercises.

I call this one a Counterbalance Lever. And it will challenge your core and your lats very strongly.

The idea is to support your body on your forearms by counterbalancing with a kettlebell or dumbbells held out in front of you.

To do this one, you'll need a power rack rail (or other similar height rail or solid object) to set your forearms on.

The rack rail should be about 4 feet or so off the ground. Mine are square shaped so they have a flat surface. If yours are rails, you may want a towel for padding.

I'll show you the kettlebell version first, then the dumbbell version. I'm using a 90 lb kettlebell here.

Hold the side handles of the kettlebell then approach the rack rail. It's critical to have a neutral grip here as this puts your elbows in the best position during the exercise.

Lift the kettlebell over top of the rail then set your forearms on the rail, close to the elbow where most of the meat is.

Now lower it forward a bit and walk your feet forward as you lean back a bit.

Now the fun begins...take your feet off the ground and lean back.

It may take a few seconds to get the contraction solid enough in your body to straighten out as much as you can. Then just HOLD...until you can't hold anymore.

This position fires up the core and lats very strongly.

When you can't hold anymore, set your feet down.

Then switch the kettlebell to just your right hand, then reach under the rail and grab it with your left hand to set it on the floor.

This is the best way I've found to finish the exercise.

Doing Counterbalance Levers With Dumbbells...

The main concept here is exactly the same...you'll be doing a static lever-type hold with weights to counterbalance.

In this case, you'll be using a pair of dumbbells. This allows you to use more weight and/or actually do the exercise if you don't have a heavy enough kettlebell.

I'm using a pair of 65's here, which is 130 total...40 lbs more than the heaviest kettlebell I've got.

Get the dumbbells up and over the rail. I actually like to set the rail a little lower when going heavier, so that it's a bit easier to get the dumbbells over it.

Set your forearms on the rail. Again, make sure you're holding them with a neutral grip.

Take your feet off the ground and lean back into a straight body position and hold.

To finish out this exercise, set your feet on the ground and lean forward.

Since you can't transfer the weight to just one hand, you'll need to get one dumbbell up and over.

Set it down while still holding the other arm over the rail.

Then reach under and transfer the other dumbbell and set it down.

This is an incredibly challenging exercise...definitely not for beginners!

I like to pair this exercise with Weighted Chinese Planks to balance out the loading on the body and bring in the posterior side of things.

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Want 90 more unique and challenging exercises to SHRED your core? Check out The Best Core Exercises You've Never Heard Of!

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Want Another Plank Variation You Can Do In The Rack?

This exercise is called the Weighted Chinese Plank and it'll help tighten up your abs, using the opposite position that this exercise puts you in.