Whether you’re looking for your fastest mile ever, itching to cook your friends on the court in pickup or pickleball, or cooking through a sprint workout on the track like an Olympian, you need a rock-solid abs.
“If you have a straight stick, and you throw its end on the ground, it’ll bounce back up; but if there’s bend in the stick, it might bounce in any direction,” says Team USA’s Noah Lyles, a favorite to win gold in the 100m at the Paris Olympics. "It’s the same thing when you’re running. If you don’t have a tight midline—a stable, well-structured core—when you make contact with the ground, you’re not using all the power you’re producing.”
Few athletes know more about building power and speed than Lyles. To create the explosive stride that's led him to eight track and field world championship and Olympic medals—including double gold in the 100 and 200 meters at the 2023 world champs—the 27-year-old sprinter spends four days per week in the weight room, doing workouts that focus on building power: Exercises like cleans, hex bar deadlifts, front squats, back squats, and power throws.
To make sure he’s converting his power into speed with each step, Lyles also sweats through a core workout in just about every session, building that springy, power-saving stiffness in his middle that lets him unleash the power he builds through his barbell work and track sessions.
As part of his partnership with CELSIUS energy drinks, Lyles spoke with Men’s Journal to share one of the core routines he uses to help build gold medal abs. There are also some easier alternatives for each exercise for non-Olympians who need to scale down.
Try this workout at the end of your next strength training session, or as a workout on its own. For each move in this six-exercise routine, rest 1 to 2 minutes between sets.
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You may have done hollow holds before on the floor, but Lyles’ version adds an extra challenge: Instead of on the ground, this move is performed on the glute-ham developer bench. A staple in CrossFit gyms, this machine can be used for butt and leg development, as the name suggests, but is also popular for intense, full-range situps and other core moves.
Justin Steele
The closer your torso is to perpendicular, the easier the move will be. And if you don’t have access to a GHD machine, you can perform hollow holds on the floor.
James Michelfelder
Toes to bar does more than just build a six-pack: Studies have shown this type of move is one of the most effective for strengthening the obliques, even when done without twisting. Lyles does the full toes to bar variation.
For someone as strong as Lyles, this advanced sit-up might seem easy. To keep it challenging, he says, he’s uncompromising on form: “It has to be that V shape in the middle, and you have to be touching your toes,” he says, in order to get the full benefit.
If you’re flailing and throwing your torso up and down, split the move in two: Perform the upper body portion of the V-up, doing a situp with a straight back. Then do the lower body portion, raising your legs from the ground while your upper body is flat on the ground.
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This move, Lyles says, is probably the most important in his core routine because it engages the core and the glutes at the same time. Running requires front and posterior muscles to work together in balance, and this trains just that.
To help fire up your glutes in this move, try getting into the side plank in a different way: Instead of lifting your hips off the floor laterally, do so from a position where your knees are slightly bent, and your feet are a little closer to your waist than they will be in the full side plank position. As you raise your body up, squeeze your butt to press your hips forward and take the bend out of your knees. As you do this, your feet will slide a bit on the ground into position.
Too hard? Skip the star shape. Stop at step 3, and perform the four 15-second holds on each side.
Beth Bischoff
Don’t just hang out in a plank, Lyles says. Engage your core by drawing your belly button towards your spine. Feel your lats in your back firing. Squeeze your glutes. And grip the floor with your fingers. This, he says, will turn this “easy” move into a challenge.
You can also perform planks on your knees. Instead of a rigid line from head to heels, maintain a rigid body line from head to knees.
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Note: This image depicts cable glute kickback, which is an alternative if you don't have access to a glute kickback machine.
“A lot of people think that this machine is about how far you can throw the weight up using your hamstring, but they’re missing the point,” Lyles says. “Your core should be more turned on than your hamstrings.”
Lyles says to concentrate on doing this move with purpose. “Go at a slower pace, and push the weight up and down with the same intent and same speed. You should feel every muscle working,” he says.