There are plenty of abdominal exercises that can make you feel a little silly when you’re doing them at the gym, but it’s all in the name of flat abs, right? Here’s one of those exercises–the Wicked Wiper straight from an Olympic trainer as shown in Women’s Health. Only thing is, if you can actually pull this exercise off any snickering will be replaced by worship. Something to work towards…I’ll try it tomorrow, I swear.

If you’re up for the challenge, hang from a pull-up bar (you may want to enlist a friend to spot you) with your arms shoulder-width apart and palms facing outward. As you continue to hang, raise your hips, back and shoulders as much as you can to try to get your body parallel to the floor. Lift your legs up into a pike. Now like a windshield wiper, lower your legs to the right, raise them to the center and lower to the left. Amateur variation: Do the same action on a mat.

With the vast array of Pilates moves and crunch variations out there, it’s easy to forget that a lot of other activities strengthen your core too. That’s why I love this plyometric exercise from Runner’s World that proves bursts of cardio can work your abs.

Here’s an abdominal exercise from Denise Austin and Prevention that targets your core from every angle.

Start on your back with your arms at your sides. Bend your knees and lift them up so they’re over your rib cage.

Now for the hard part–pull your navel in toward your spine, contracting your abs and slowly start circling your knees.

Bring your knees down to the right, extend slightly out to the front bringing them around to the left and back to the starting position. Then reverse the circle. The smaller the circle, the easier it will be.

Go back and forth a total of ten times. Rest and repeat.

Moving your ab session from the ground to an incline bench will recruit different muscles. Give it a try with this simple exercise.

Lie on your back on the incline bench, holding the top with both hands beside your head. Keep your body steady in that position. Pull your navel in toward your spine and lift your legs until they’re parallel to the floor, keeping your legs together. Now, use your abs to bring your knees to your chest. Slowly lower your pelvis and extend your legs to the start position. Keep your abs tight for 10 reps. Do 2 to 3 sets.

Last week I took a sculpt class and we did these silly (or so I thought) exercises where we were standing and bending side to side. The instructor warned us that we’d feel it the next day, but it didn’t really seem hard at the time. And oh boy did I feel it the next day. It was incredible! So this week, I introduce you to the “harder than it looks” Standing Side Crunch. You’ll feel this one in your obliques and glutes.

Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent pulling your navel in to your spine. Next, lift your right leg with your knee bent at 90 degrees and turned out to the side. Put your hands behind your head and bend your right elbow toward your right knee. Do 15 reps on each leg. Aim for 3 sets

Here’s a tough 2 minute sequence from Violet Zaki, a top NYC fitness instructor. It’s a string of several classic ab and pilates moves that will help you work toward that six pack. Think it’s easy? Do it twice. I promise you’ll feel it!

Here’s a killer ab exercise from Shape’s Best Tested Ab Moves Workout: The Bridge with Leg Extension.

Lie on your back with your knees bent and both feet on the floor. Anchor yourself with your hands at your side. Pull your navel toward your spine, contracting your abs. Lift your body up so only your shoulder blades are touching the floor, making sure your body forms a straight line. Hold this pose for 30 seconds.

Then, while you’re still in the lifted position, extend your left leg out at hip height. Hold, then switch to lift your right leg, keeping your hips elevated the whole time. Alternate back and forth 8 times. Rest, then do another set. You’ll feel the burn in your abs (including your obliques) and lower back.

Here’s one of my favorite ab moves that has stood the test of time in my arsenal of abdominal exercises. I first learned this in kickboxing back in college, but it works so well that I still do it today.

Start with your feet flat on the floor and lean back until you start to feel your abs working. Punch your right fist toward your left knee as you twist slightly to the left. Reverse to punch your left fist toward your right knee as you twist slightly to the right. Repeat 12 times. Do three sets. You’ll work your entire core, especially your obliques.

For an added burn, lift you feet off the ground so you’re balancing on your sit bones. Pick up your pace to double time–twist and punch left to right until you have to stop.

Have you ever wondered what you’re supposed to do with those foam rollers in the gym? For one, you can use one to give yourself a massage. If your muscles are tight, say your quads, you can lie on the foam roller and slowly roll your body back and forth along the roller to work out the kinks. When you get to a knot, you can stay put until the pressure eases and then continue rolling.

But if your muscles are feeling fine, you can use rollers to add instability and variety to strength building moves. Here are a couple ideas from Diet.com.

I took a new class the other day that incorporated the Body Wedge–basically it was sculpt on an angle. The Wedge is like an incline bench except it’s made out of soft foam material which adds a challenging level of instability (and it’s more comfy to lay on!). With it, you can work pretty much every muscle in your body (back, butt, triceps, shoulders, etc.)

During the class we stood and sat on the wedge, lifting weight with dumbbells and body bars. We also laid on it for ab work. If you’ve ever done ab exercises on the incline bench after months of doing crunches on the ground or tried lifting weights while standing on the Bosu, you’ll know what I mean when I say the extra incline and instability really helps you feel the burn!

The Wedge didn’t seem like a dramatically different fitness tool, but it will work your muscles in different ways, so try it the next time you want to mix up your strength routine.