An Intense Ab Workout You Can Do at Home Even When You’re Busy
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This week we’re focusing on one of our favorite workouts: abs! This ab workout can be done at home, with or without weights, which means that it the perfect core routine to fit into your weekly workout rotation. Of course, many of these ab exercises can be modified to increase or decrease the difficulty, so if you’re a beginner when it comes to workouts, feel free to jump right in!
Should You Workout Your Abs Everyday?
Just like any muscle group, your abs need rest days, too! However, you can still get in daily exercise for your abs by performing workouts that challenge the strength and stabilization of your lower (transverse) abdominals. While doing abs on consecutive days might not give you an instant shredded six-pack, (sorry!) this routine can be easily condensed into a daily 10 minute ab routine that you can incorporate into your morning or night.
What is the Goal of this Workout?
Of course, the abs are aesthetically pleasing. However, the abs play a crucial role in the strength of your entire core, including the pelvis, hips, and the lower back. These muscles help to support the vertebrae of your spine, preventing back pain and leaving you less vulnerable to injury and strain.
Your core is also crucial in your everyday life, since the core engages during most daily activity, such as: walking, twisting, bending, balance and posture.
This workout is easily modified, which makes it perfect at-home full body workout with beginner ab exercises or for advanced athletes.
See our full workout series here.
The Essential 30 Minute Ab Workout
Watch the video:
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Suggested:
5-10 Minute Warmup + cool down of your choice.
Optional:
You can include a mini band around your legs for the leg lowers and pulses!
Increase the difficulty!
Still not challenging enough? Grab a set of light dumbbells and use them for the exercises in Round 3!
Need a modification?
If you find that you can’t do many of the exercises without your lower back coming off the mat, simply reduce the range of motion until you grow stronger.
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Ab Exercise List:
25 reps for each exercise.
Round 1:
Leg Lowers
How-to: On your back, lower back pressed into the mat, hands at your sides for support, press your legs together. Slowly lower the legs to your lowest point and then raise back up.
Form tip: To optimize the work of the lower abs, make sure to only lower as far as you can control, continuously engaging the ab muscles. Exhale as you lower and inhale as you bring the legs back to center.
Scissor Lowers
How-to: As you lower the legs in the previous exercise, alternate switching the legs over each other, bringing the right over the left and vice versa.
Form tip: As with the leg lowers, make sure to press the lower back into the mat to prevent arching. Focus on crossed the legs at the thighs, not at the ankles for a better inner thigh workout.
Modification: Keep the scissor lower or higher.
Reverse Crunch
How-to: On your back, with your legs extended at 90 degrees, use the muscles of the lower core to lift the butt from the mat and slowly lower down.
Form tip: Height is not important here. Avoid rocking by pressing the feet directly upwards, not swinging your legs to get more movement. The bottoms of the feet should be pressing upwards, directly above the hips.
Pulsing Leg Lowers
How-to: As with the leg lowers, start on your back, lower back pressed into the mat, hands by your sides for support. As you lower, open and close the legs. Open and close as you lift back up.
Form tip: Keep the movement small to work the outer glutes as you open and close.
Challenge: Add a mini band over the thighs or at the ankles for a resistance challenge.
Round 2:
Alternating Mountain Climber Shoulder Taps
How-to: Start in a quadruped position, shoulders stacked over hands, and hips over knees. Bring each knee into the chest and then tap the opposite hand to the opposite shoulder on each side.
Form tip: Avoid rocking in the hip during the shoulder taps by squeezing the core and glutes.
Challenge: Speed it up for a cardio burst.
Side Plank Twist
How-to: Start in a forearm side plank with your elbow underneath your shoulder and hips lifted. Place the top hand behind your head, elbow wide. Twist from the shoulder and core to bring the elbow parallel with the mat, without letting the hips drop. Return to the starting position. Perform all exercises on the same side before switching.
Form tip: This oblique exercise requires strength and control as you twist to bring the chest and shoulders parallel with the mat. The twist should come from the core so avoid moving the feet.
Bicycle Hold
How-to: On your back, stack your knees over your hips, knees at 90 degrees. Place your hands behind your head, elbows wide, and lift your upper body from the mat. Press one leg out and away from your body and twist your core, bringing your opposite knee to touch the opposite elbow. Hold for one second and switch sides.
Form tip: Make sure to bring your elbow to your knee to deepen the crunch. This causes your shoulders to lift more and the abs to work harder.
Modification: If you can’t touch your elbow to your knee, that’s ok! Just reach as far as possible.
Challenge: Add a mini band over the feet for added resistance and increased difficulty.
Round 3:
Alternating In-N-Out Twists
How-to: Sitting on your butt, hands behind you in line with hips, fingertips pointed towards your body, bring your knees into the chest. As you extend your legs long, bend the elbows, creating a scoop in the tailbone. As you bring your knees back to your chest, twist your body to bring them to the right side. Extend the legs long and switch, bringing the knees into the left side for an oblique crunch.
Form tip: Keep the tailbone scooped as you extend the legs to work the lower abs.
Scissor Reaches
How-to: On your back, extend the legs at a 45 degree angle. Lift one leg towards the ceiling and touch your toes. The opposite leg hovers just above the ground. Switch sides.
Form tip: Keep the core engaged and the lower back on the mat.
Challenge: Add a mini band over the knees for added resistance and increased difficulty.
Ab Rope Climb
How-to: On your back, legs stretched to the ceiling, sit up, grabbing one hand behind the knee and the other hand touching the toe. Slowly lower back down and switch sides.
Form tip: Keep the chest tall and pull towards the sky.
Challenge: Adding more “climbs” up your leg to touch your toe will increase the the difficulty.
Push Aways
How-to: On your back, stack your knees above your hips, knees bent. Press the legs out and away to 45 degrees and return to center.
Form tip: Press that lower back into the mat!
Challenge: Place the hands behind the head and lift the shoulders from the mat for added core work.
Flutter Kicks
How-to: On your back, arms and legs outstretched, roll your shoulders off the mat and lift the legs. Slowly flutter the arms and legs in the hollow body hold position without dropping.
Form tip: Avoid bending the knees. Start the kick from the hips.
Modification: Place the hands behind the head for added neck support.