Before we get into the exercises, let's get one thing straight. If you have a layer of fat around your midsection then you'll never see your abs. You could have the best six-pack in the world, but no one will ever know it if it's obscured by fat. If this is the situation you're in, you need to first focus on losing fat by cleaning-up your nutrition and getting on a solid muscle building program.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let's get to some ab-ripping exercises!
Exercise #1: V-ups
Lie on your back on a semi-soft surface. A thin mat on a hard floor works well. Straighten your legs and raise your arms overhead. With your knees straight, raise your feet a few inches off the floor. This is your starting position.
From this position you are going to simultaneously raise your legs up and sit up with your upper body. This is basically a combination of a leg raise and a crunch. In the top position you should touch your toes with your fingertips, or at least come very close.
From this position you reverse the motion and go back to the starting position. Remember that in the starting position your feet are off the floor. This keeps constant tension on the muscles, making this exercise even more effective.
Exercise #2: Hanging Knee Raises
You'll need a chin-up bar or other object you can hold on to without your feet touching the floor. Your starting position is simply hanging from the bar with your arms straight.
From this position, bend the knees and bring them up towards your chest. You want to bring your knees as high as possible. In fact, if you are strong enough you should curl up into a ball by leaning back slightly and bringing the knees up as high as possible.
Don't make the mistake I see most people in the gym making. Most people bring the knees up and then stop when the thighs are parallel to the floor. If you do it this way you only get about 10% of the benefit from the exercise!
When you get really advanced you can do these with the knees straight. From the starting position you raise your feet up all the way until they touch the chin-up bar. You should see the looks you get at the gym when you do these!
Exercise #3: Ab Wheel Rollouts
Remember those "ab rollers" that used to be on all the late-night infomercials? Well, these were just knock-offs of the old school ab wheel you can buy for $10 at any fitness store. If you haven't seen this before it just looks like a small wheel with a stick through it. If you can't find one of these, you can simply use a bar with a plate on each side.
Kneel on the floor with the ab wheel in front of you. Hold on to the handles and put the wheel on the floor directly in front you. From here you simply roll the wheel out as far away from you as possible.
The key here is to make sure you don't roll-out so far that your back arches. If your abs aren't very strong then you won't be able to roll-out very far without this occurring. This puts all the stress on your lower back and off of your abs. This is dangerous and ineffective. Only go as far as your current abilities will allow you to maintain the proper position.
When this becomes easy, you can move on to the super-advanced version. For this version you stand on your feet and bend-over to hold the handles of the ab wheel. From this position you roll-out as far as possible. This is much more difficult from the kneeling version.
Summary
These exercises should be complimented by a well-designed muscle building program for the entire body. Remember that one exercise isn't the answer to achieving your goals. A complementary training and nutrition program must be designed with your goals in mind.
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