How to Feel Upper Abs in Workout

Why You Can't Feel Your Upper Abs (It's Not Your Fault)

To learn how to feel upper abs in workout, you must understand it’s not about doing more crunches; it's about initiating the movement from your ribcage, not your neck, a shift in focus of only 2-3 inches that changes everything. You’ve probably spent hours on the floor, doing hundreds of sit-ups, only to feel a strain in your neck, a pull in your lower back, or a burn in your hip flexors. It’s frustrating. You see others in the gym seemingly connecting with their abs effortlessly, while you’re left wondering if you even have upper abs to begin with. Here’s the truth: you do. The problem isn’t your abs; it’s your technique. Most people are taught to “lift their shoulders off the floor,” which is a recipe for disaster. This cue encourages you to use momentum and engage your neck and hip flexors, the very muscles that steal the tension away from your abdominals. The rectus abdominis, what we call the “six-pack,” is one single muscle that runs from your pubic bone up to your ribcage. While you can't truly isolate the “upper” or “lower” sections, you can absolutely emphasize one end over the other. Feeling your upper abs is about making the top of that muscle do the work. This is achieved by focusing on one simple, powerful action: pulling your ribcage down toward your pelvis.

Stop guessing if your workout works.

Track every rep and set. See your progress in black and white.

The Top-Down Secret: How Your Ribcage Unlocks Your Abs

The reason you feel crunches in your neck is because you're trying to lift your head. The reason you feel them in your hips is because you're using your hip flexors to pull your torso up. Both are wrong. The upper fibers of your rectus abdominis attach directly to your 5th, 6th, and 7th costal cartilages and the xiphoid process-fancy terms for the bottom of your ribcage and sternum. To contract these fibers, you must shorten the distance between the ribcage and the pelvis. The most effective way to do this is to pull the ribs down and in. Imagine your abs are a thick rubber band. To shorten the top of that band, you don't lift your head; you curl the top anchor point (your ribs) downward. Most people do the opposite. They keep their spine straight and hinge from the hips, turning an ab exercise into a hip flexor exercise. The secret is to think about curling your spine like you’re rolling up a yoga mat, starting from the top. This spinal flexion, specifically in your upper (thoracic) spine, is what forces the upper abs to engage. A standard sit-up gives you maybe 10% abdominal activation and 90% hip flexor strain. A proper, ribcage-led crunch flips that ratio. You get 90% abdominal tension, and the hip flexors are taken almost completely out of the equation. This is the difference between wasted effort and targeted, effective training.

That's the entire mechanical secret: pull the ribs down to flex the spine. It sounds simple. But knowing the cue and executing it perfectly for 15 reps when you're tired are two completely different skills. How can you be certain your 15th rep is as good as your first? If you can't track the quality and load of each set, you're just guessing if you're actually getting stronger.

Your ab workouts. Proven to work.

Log your exercises and weights. Know you're getting stronger every week.

The 3-Step Protocol to Force Upper Ab Contraction

Stop doing endless, sloppy crunches. Replace them with this three-step protocol designed to build a powerful mind-muscle connection and force your upper abs to work. Perform this routine 2-3 times per week at the end of your workout.

Step 1: The Activation (Floor Press Crunch)

Before you do any primary ab work, you need to teach your brain how to fire the right muscles. This drill isolates the upper ab contraction and takes your neck and hips out of the movement.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Press your lower back firmly into the ground. This is a posterior pelvic tilt, and it’s crucial for disengaging your hip flexors. There should be no space between your lower back and the floor.
3. Place your fingertips lightly on your lower ribs. Do not interlace your hands behind your head.
4. Exhale forcefully, as if fogging up a window. As you exhale, focus *only* on using your abs to pull your ribcage down and in. Think about your ribs sliding toward your belly button.
5. Your head and shoulders will lift off the floor as a *consequence* of this action, not as the goal. Your neck should be completely relaxed. The movement is small, maybe only a 20-30 degree curl.
6. Hold the peak contraction for 2 full seconds. You should feel a deep, intense squeeze directly under your sternum.
7. Slowly lower back down. Perform 2 sets of 15 reps.

Step 2: The Primary Builder (Cable Crunch)

Now that your upper abs are activated, we load the movement. The cable crunch is superior to bodyweight exercises because it provides constant tension and allows for easy progressive overload.

1. Set a rope attachment to the highest position on a cable machine.
2. Grab the rope and kneel about 2-3 feet from the machine, facing it.
3. Hold the ends of the rope on either side of your head, near your temples. Your hands are just anchors; do not pull with your arms.
4. Keeping your hips stationary and locked in place, exhale and perform the same movement from Step 1: curl your spine and pull your ribcage toward your pelvis. Your elbows should travel towards your knees.
5. Squeeze hard at the bottom for 1-2 seconds. You should feel an intense contraction in your upper abs.
6. Control the negative, resisting the weight as you return to the starting position. Feel the stretch in your abs.
7. Start with a light weight (e.g., 40-60 lbs) and perform 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Once you can do 15 perfect reps, increase the weight by 5-10 lbs.

Step 3: The Finisher (Isometric Exhale Hold)

This final step will exhaust the muscle fibers and solidify your mind-muscle connection. It’s uncomfortable, but it works.

1. On the final rep of your last set of cable crunches, hold the bottom position (peak contraction).
2. While holding this position, exhale *all* the air from your lungs. Force it out.
3. As you empty your lungs, you will feel your upper abs cramp and contract with an intensity you’ve never felt before. The transverse abdominis will engage, acting like a corset and deepening the contraction.
4. Hold this breathless, fully contracted state for 5-10 seconds.
5. Release. Your ab workout is done.

What to Expect: Your First 4 Weeks of Feeling Your Abs

Changing how you train your abs will feel strange at first. You have to unlearn years of bad habits. Here’s a realistic timeline of what you'll experience.

Week 1: Awkward and Weak

You will feel weaker. The weight you use on the cable crunch will be significantly less than what you thought you could handle. Your reps might be lower. This is a good sign. It means you're finally using the target muscle instead of cheating with larger muscle groups. The primary goal this week is not to lift heavy, but to feel that deep, specific contraction in your upper abs on every single rep. You will likely feel a deep muscle soreness right below your sternum 1-2 days after the workout. This is confirmation you've hit the right spot.

Weeks 2-3: The Connection Clicks

The movement will start to feel more natural. The initial awkwardness will fade, and the mind-muscle connection will become almost instant. You'll be able to initiate the crunch from your ribcage without thinking so hard about it. You can now focus on increasing your reps or adding a small amount of weight (5 lbs). You might also notice your upper abs engaging reflexively during other compound lifts, like an overhead press, as your core stability improves. The post-workout soreness will be less intense, replaced by a feeling of a well-worked muscle.

Week 4 and Beyond: Building and Progressing

By week four, the correct form is your new normal. You are no longer just “doing ab exercises”; you are training your abs. You can now confidently apply progressive overload each week, either by adding 5 lbs to the stack or pushing for one more rep than last time. The burn will be familiar and welcome. Combined with a sensible diet, this is the point where you may start to see visible changes in the definition and separation of your upper abdominals. The frustration of feeling nothing will be a distant memory, replaced by the confidence of knowing exactly how to make your abs work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why I Feel Neck Pain During Ab Workouts

Neck pain is the #1 sign you are initiating the movement incorrectly. You are trying to lift your head instead of curling your torso. Your neck muscles are weak and fatigue quickly, causing strain. Focus on keeping your chin slightly tucked and imagine your head and neck are just along for the ride, not leading the charge.

The Difference Between Upper and Lower Abs

The rectus abdominis is one muscle. There is no anatomical wall separating the “upper” and “lower” sections. However, you can emphasize one region. “Top-down” movements where the ribcage moves toward the pelvis, like cable crunches, emphasize the upper fibers. “Bottom-up” movements where the pelvis moves toward the ribcage, like hanging leg raises, emphasize the lower fibers.

How Often to Train Upper Abs

Your abs are a muscle like any other, and they need time to recover and grow. Training them with intensity 2-3 times per week is optimal for most people. Training them every day is counterproductive, as it prevents recovery and can lead to overuse injuries. Give them at least 48 hours of rest between sessions.

Adding Weight vs. Adding Reps for Abs

Both are forms of progressive overload. For building density and strength, focus on adding weight in the 10-15 rep range, like with cable crunches. For muscular endurance, you can work in higher rep ranges (15-25+). A good strategy is to use both: get strong with weighted movements, and chase the burn with higher-rep bodyweight finishers.

The Role of Breathing in Ab Training

Breathing is not just incidental; it's a tool. Always exhale forcefully on the contraction (the crunching part of the movement). This action helps engage the deep core muscles, including the transverse abdominis, and allows for a much deeper, harder abdominal contraction. Inhaling on the eccentric (the stretch) prepares you for the next powerful rep.