Do the abdominal exercises first in your workout. After that, it’s up to you how to fit in exercises for other muscle groups. Here are some suggestions.

BEGINNER :    Do a total-body workout two or three times a week. After you finish your abdominal exercises, you can try one set of eight to 12 repetitions of the following exercises:

1. Lat pulldown
2. Squat or leg press
3. Leg curl
4. Dumbbell chest press
5. Cable or dumbbell row
6. Cable triceps extension
7. Dumbbell biceps curl

INTERMEDIATE  :   Divide your program into two workouts, one for your upper body and one for your lower body. Perform your abdominal exercises on the day you do your lower-body workout. Alternate between the two workouts, taking a day off after each. Upper-body workout Choose one exercise each for chest, back, biceps, and triceps. Do two or three sets of the chest and back exercises and one or two sets of the exercises for the arms. Lower-body workout After doing the
abdominal program in this installment, choose one “hip-dominant” lift—an exercise that emphasizes the hamstrings and gluteals (examples include stepups and deadlifts). Then choose one “kneedominant” exercise, meaning the emphasis is on the quadriceps muscles of the front of the thigh (squats, leg presses, and lunges qualify). Do two or three warmup sets and two work sets. (A work set means you’re using the most weight you can for that number of repetitions. The warmup sets should be percentages of that weight—maybe 40, 60, and 80 percent. Do fewer repetitions in each warmup set.) Add your choice of calf exercises.

ADVANCED  :   Divide your workout into four parts. Do each one once a week; don’t work out more than 2 days in a row.

1. Shoulders and arms
2. Abdominal and knee-dominant exercises (described above), plus calves
3. Chest and back
4. Abdominal and hip-dominant exercises (also above), plus calves again