EXERCISING THE CORE HELPS TO INCREASE THE BALANCE AND POSTURE. YOU CAN DO THIS WORKOUT BOTH AT HOME AND AT THE GYM, BE CREATIVE! LET´S GET OUR ABS WORKOUT ROUTINE GOING!

20 min

SIT UPS

By doing sit ups, you strengthen your abdominal muscles and improve your body control and stability. This exercise can also help to improve your posture and reduce the risk of back injuries.

• Lie down on your back on a mat or soft surface with your legs bent and your feet on the floor.
• Place your hands behind your ears with your elbows pointing outwards.
• Exhale and lift your head, neck and shoulders off the floor until you feel a tension in your abdominal muscles.
• Hold the position for a few seconds before slowly lowering your head, neck and shoulders back to the floor.
• Repeat.

RUSSIAN TWIST WITH WEIGHT

Russian twist is an exercise that focuses on strengthening the abdominal muscles and lateral stability. Adding weight of a medicine ball, dumbbell or kettlebell can increase resistance and intensity of the exercise.

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold the weight in your hands and have it close to your chest.
• Lean back slightly and lift your feet a bit off the floor so that your body forms a “V-shape”.
• Move slowly and controlled from side to side while tensing your abs.
• Repeat.

REST

LYING LEG RAISES

Lying leg raises is an exercise that primarily trains your lower abdominal muscles.

• Lie down on your back or a mat or soft surface with your arms at the side, palms down.
• Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor.
• Tighten your abs and press your lower back into the mat.
• Extend your right leg straight up towards the ceiling and hold it in the air.
• Slowly lower your right leg back to the floor without touching the mat. You can also stop when the leg is close to the floor without touching it and then lift it again.
• Alternate between the right and left legs until you have completed the desired number of repetitions.

THE PLANK

The plank (also called a front hold, hover, or abdominal bridge) is one of the most popular and effective exercises for strengthening the core muscles, which includes the abdomen, back and hip flexors. By performing the plank correctly, you can also activate your arms, shoulders and legs.

• Lie on your underarms and have the elbows under your shoulders.
• Put your toes in the floor and place you in a straight posture.
• Keep your legs and feet apart.
• Tighten the core to facilitate the straight line of the body.
• Breathe all the time while doing the static exercise for about 1 minute

The exercise can be completed at different levels:

The simple version – Rest on your knees and lower leg, on straight arms.

Moderate version – Support yourself with your toes and forearms.

Difficult version – Support yourself with  yours toes and on straight arms.

REST

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SIDE PLANK

The side plank is a challenging bodyweight exercise that focuses on training the obliques, as well as activating your hip, back and shoulder muscles.

• Begin by lying on your side with your feet together and resting on your forearm.
• Lift your hips off the mat, stretch your body and tighten your core.
• Extend your upper arm toward the ceiling and hold it there
• Hold static exercise on each side for about 1 minute.

PLANK WITH DUMBBELL ROW

Dumbbell rowing is effective for strengthening and toning the muscles of the upper back, shoulders and arms. By activating these muscle groups, you can also improve your posture and support your upper body strength.

• Start by placing a pair of dumbbells about shoulder width apart on the floor.
• Grab them and get into a stable plank position.
• Tighten your abs, then pull the right dumbbell up by your side so that your elbow lift toward the ceiling.
• Return to the starting position and repeat with the left arm.
• It’s important to choose dumbbells that suit your strength level and to perform the movement properly to avoid injury.

REST

THE HEEL TOUCHER

The heel toucher is an exercise that focuses on strengthening the side muscles of the core. By activating these muscles, you can help increase stability and strength in your body and improve the posture.

• Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, about hip width apart.
• Tighten your abs and then bring your right hand to your right heel.
• Hold this position for one second before returning to the starting position.
• Repeat on the left side.

MEDICINE BALL SIT UP

A medicine ball si tup is another variant of a sit up where a medicine ball is used to increase the intensity and let several muscle groups work out at the same time.

• Begin by lying on the floor with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your toes pointed toward the ceiling. Hold the medicine ball in front of your chest with your hands.
• Move upwards and place the medicine ball on the shins.
• Holding the medicine ball on your shins, slowly lower yourself and tighten your abs and perform a sit up.
• Move up and take the medicine ball.
• Take the medicine ball and perform a sit up – the legs should still be at 90 degrees.
• Repeat this for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Be sure to exhale when going up and inhale when going down. This helps prevent you from holding your breath and tensing up.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

Mountain climbers is a body exercise that requires strength and coordination while raising the heart rate. By combining a high-intensity exercise with muscle strength, mountain climbers are considerd a very effective full-body exercise.

• Stand on your arms and toes (as if you should to a plank) with a tight core and a straight neck.
• Lift one knee and bring it towards the chest.
• Return to starting position and then lift the other knee.
• Feel free to do the exercise at a fast pace to get your heart rate up, but make sure you don’t lose your posture.

NOTE: The butt should not be up to the ceiling!