As any trainer worth their free weights will tell you, a strong core is key to pretty much a strong everything else. But there's one problem: Holding a plank for a minute-and-a-half for the sake of getting stronger is A) hard and B) boring as hell.
Thanks to Le Sweat founder Charlee Atkins, you can light that core afire without having to pop into plank pose for any longer than 30 seconds. In honor of our Trainer of the Month Club's week two ab challenge, she shares a no-equipment workout that will help you get a more powerful core in seven minutes flat.
After week one's no-equipment abs workout left our center's burning (seriously—we did them in the office every day for a week, and it was hard), week two's workout is meant to take that strength and apply it to your whole body. And, it's worth noting, Atkins' tips from last week still hold true. “In all of these core exercises, the focus is to stabilize the core around the spine,” she told us. “So in any supine (or lying) exercises the emphasis is pressing the lower back into the ground. And for any prone exercises the focus is on keeping a flat back, head in line with hips or heels, depending on exercise.”
Follow along with the workout below, and be sure to check out our Instagram every Monday for a new series of body-building moves from Atkins for the rest of the month. Then, when May hits, we'll be bringing an entirely new challenge your way from another trainer. Happy crunching!
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Complete each exercise for 30 seconds, 2 times through with no rest for 8 minutes total
Leg Lower + Reverse Curl
- Start on your back with both legs extended towards the ceiling.
- Slowly lower both legs down towards ground without letting your heels touch the ground.
- Lift your legs back up to the start.
- Bend your knees and curl them into your chest, lifting your hips off the ground.
- Return to start and repeat.
Triple-Triple Crunch
Plan to do three regular crunches and three reverse crunches:
- Regular crunch: Start with your back straight, hands behind your head and knees bent.
- Pressing your lower back into the mat, lift your chest up towards the ceiling until shoulder blades are off the mat.
- Return to start. Repeat three times.
- Reverse crunch: Extend legs straight up with your hands by the sides.
- Lift your hips a few inches off the ground.
- Return your hips to the mat in a controlled tempo. Repeat three times.
Sexy Spiders
- Start in push-up plank position with your head in line with your heels and shoulders in line with your wrists.
- Keeping your hips up, bring one knee towards the same side elbow, “crunching” the side of your core. Make sure your knee stays high.
- Replace your foot and repeat on the opposite side.
Hip Dip + Knee Drive
- Start in prone plank position, and rotate your hips slightly to one side.
- Bring the same side knee towards the opposite elbow, keeping hips low.
- Repeat on opposite side.
Plank + Reach
- Start in prone plank position.
- Keeping your body steady, extend one arm forward, tap the ground and then replace your elbow.
- Repeat on opposite side.
Down Dog + Mountain Climber
Plan to do one down dog and four mountain climbers:
- Start in push-up plank position, on your hands with your arms straight.
- Pull your hips up, keeping your legs straight and drawing the chest towards the shin (AKA a Down Dog position).
- Move back to push-up plank.
- Bring each knee in towards the chest, stopping when the knee is at the hip line, and repeat four times (each leg two times).
- Repeat for 30 seconds.
Plank Jack + Knee Drive
- Start in prone plank position.
- Hop both feet out and then back in.
- Bring one knee and then the other into towards your chest.
- Keep your hips low, back flat, and shoulders in line with the elbows. When pulling your knees, beware: Your hips will pull up naturally, so try to pull them down and straight.
- Repeat for 30 seconds.
Crunch + Leg Lower
- Start in supine position, knees bent and arms reaching towards your thighs.
- Lift shoulder blades up off of the ground, hold this position.
- Slowly lower your heels down to the ground.
- Bring knees back on, lower shoulders back down.
- Repeat for 30 seconds.
This deceptively easy workout targets all the muscles in your core (without you even realizing it!), and this yoga-based abs routine will leave your core quaking in less than 10 minutes.
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