A 45-minute ab workout typically consists of a series of exercises focused on strengthening and toning the abdominal muscles. It usually involves a mix of exercises targeting different areas of the core, including the upper abs, lower abs, obliques, and deeper core muscles.
Ben Rilinger takes this targeted abs workout one step further by engaging all major core muscles through simple bodyweight exercises. Try this quick yet effective circuit as a finisher during any full body workout session.
1. Side Plank
A variation of the standard plank, this move targets your obliques – or side abdominal muscles – for better posture, spine protection and to prevent back injuries. Simply lie on your right side on a mat while propping yourself up on one forearm while stacking hips and shoulders so they are directly above each other for 30-60 seconds and hold this position.
If you’re new to exercise, begin slowly and increase reps as your confidence builds. For optimal results, incorporate this ab workout three to four times per week into your schedule.
This ab workout is perfect for all fitness levels – from complete beginners to veteran exercisers alike! Although its movements may appear straightforward, all four exercises provide enough challenge that results will become evident over time.
Are You Seeking Extra Challenge? Consider Participating in a Timed Plank Challenge: Set a one minute timer, and attempt to complete as many repetitions within that minute as you can – it will keep your core engaged while moving you toward reaching six-pack in just a month!
Exercise can help improve both your physical health and sense of well-being, but before beginning an intensive regiment it’s wise to check with a healthcare provider to see which activities best suit you and your medical history – this is particularly relevant if you have heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes; taking medications; being treated for cancer or another serious illness.
2. Bicycle Crunch
Bicycle crunches are often underestimated as a highly effective core exercise that strengthens abs, improves posture, and train obliques (the muscles that run down your sides). When performed correctly, this bodyweight exercise can prove challenging enough to provide maximum benefits.
Begin by lying on the floor and pressing your lower back against a mat while bending at the knees to bring feet flat on the ground. Place hands behind your head, interlacing fingers if desired. Gently cradle your head into your hands as legs slowly lift off of the floor until they float a few inches off of it; on an exhale twist torso left elbow over right knee for bicycle crunch action and repeat on both sides.
The bicycle crunch works to strengthen multiple abdominal muscles at once, including the obliques and rectus abdominis (“six-pack” muscles). Additionally, this exercise helps with hip stability and can ease back pain. Running workouts will benefit greatly from using this exercise to build stronger cores for enhanced performance.
As with any exercise, it’s best to perform bicycle crunches slowly so you can feel your core muscles working instead of depending on momentum and momentum-induced momentum. Doing crunches too quickly may actually reduce their effectiveness or lead to injury in the neck or back region; listen to your body and stop immediately if any discomfort arises; for those unsure how to start new workout routines or certain exercises safely for themselves, seek assistance from a personal trainer; they can show how best to perform this exercise so you achieve optimal results from bicycle crunches!
3. Marches
As one of your body’s heaviest lifters, your core muscles support essential movements like reaching, twisting, bending and balancing. To maintain strength in these key muscle groups, a variety of exercises that target them from different angles are needed – this workout includes both anti-movement exercises as well as bodyweight abs moves designed to target them from different directions.
This workout features a short yet intensive routine that you can perform as either an ab exercise on its own, or as part of a full-body routine. It consists of two sets of nine bodyweight ab exercises performed for 20 seconds at a time with minimal rest between sets – making this quick workout ideal for overloading ab muscles in pursuit of six-pack ab definition.
Standing with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and soft knees, you should use kettlebells or dumbbells held in both hands at chest height with your elbows bent in line with shoulders and parallel to ground surface. Brace your core by pulling back shoulders away from ears.
Perform 10 reps before switching sides.
This standing ab exercise is an excellent choice because it strengthens multiple core muscles – including your rectus abdominis, obliques and transverse abdominals – simultaneously. Furthermore, this standing ab exercise teaches your body how to stay stable when in an unstable situation, such as when walking up and down stairs or entering and exiting vehicles.
Attach a resistance band to an anchor point in your workout space (such as a doorknob or squat rack). Stand perpendicular with the right side closer to the anchor point for less resistance or further back for increased resistance, keeping left hand on hip and right arm out in front of you with chest lifted and arms parallel to floor; slowly rotate right while threading your left arm under you before returning back to starting position.
4. Back Bows
As its name implies, the back bow exercise is an ideal way to target lower abs. Commonly found in yoga poses such as Ustrasana (camel pose) and Chakrasana (wheel pose), this workout can also add an intense core workout into their home routines. Starting on the floor with feet and knees together and arms by your sides parallel to the ground; gradually raise and lower torso while maintaining tension in upper abs throughout movement.
Back bowing is not an effortless exercise. To achieve its intended effects, it requires engaging the erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles in order to arch your spine, with the latissimus dorsi pulling your shoulders downward toward your back and abdominal muscles providing stabilization between torso and pelvis.
Fagan suggests that while anti-movement exercises such as planks should form the bulk of your core workouts, movement exercises such as crunches that work to create movement can also be useful. This is especially true for sports such as golf and tennis which demand their core to move and rotate regularly.
Ben begins this six-move workout by performing decline crunches to work the rectus abdominis muscle while adding hip flexor and oblique movement, before switching into hanging leg raises that effectively target core and upper abdominals. He uses a barbell for added load to gradually overload abs muscles and promote muscle growth – for beginners this half hour routine may seem intimidating but you can easily break it into two tri-sets!
5. Russian Twists
Russian twists are an iconic core exercise that, when performed properly, target both your obliques (the long muscles running down each side of your torso) and transverse abdominus. Both these muscles play an essential role in building strong and balanced cores while also helping flex and rotate shoulders/torso/bodies for improved flex, balance, flexibility and overall health.
Russian twists require considerable stability to complete correctly; making sure to take your time and pay attention to form is key for successful performance. “One common misstep when doing Russian twists is speeding through multiple reps in quick succession – which may lead to lower back stress,” Hudock advises. Instead, aim to do several sets of high-quality reps instead.
Begin by sitting on the floor or mat and placing your knees on the ground. Lean back until there is a 45-degree angle between your upper body and bottom leg thigh, linking hands in front of chest, bracing core, slowly rotating shoulders and torso sideways, then back and pause in center for 15-20 reps before returning back to original starting position.
Once you’ve mastered the bodyweight version of this core move, adding load with medicine balls or kettlebells to increase difficulty can be exciting! Before doing this, though, make sure to gradually increase it over time and consult a qualified trainer as you go so as not to risk injury. Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel CSCSS and fitness editor Brett Williams NASM-CPT provide some more advanced advice for how to do weighted Russian twists safely and efficiently.
