Some people seem to think that it’s silly to overly focus on the abs. It seems a bit too vain to just want great abs. For most people who join gyms like World Gym, it’s all about building strength, losing weight, and keeping the heart healthy.
But the truth is that it helps you a lot when you strengthen your core muscles. When you work out so that the muscles in your abdomen, hips, lower back and pelvis all work together effectively, then you’re also boosting your balance and stability.
This is great not just for sports, but also for lots of other daily activities. Sure, you can swing a golf club easier when you’ve strengthened your abs. But it also makes it easier for you to bend down to tie your shoe laces and to reach high up for a glass on the top shelf.
With strong core muscles, you can reduce the chances of poor posture, muscle injuries, and lower back pain. In fact, if you’re already suffering from back pain, you may improve with the right core workout.
The Core Workout
Here’s a workout that should take you maybe 15 minutes to complete. In these days, we all have full schedules that we can’t take a full hour just for abs. But this circuit works great.
1. Kneeling Cable Crunch
For this, you’ll need a cable machine with the rope attached at the top. Get down on your knees front of the pulley of the cable machine, and then hold the ends of the rope to the side of your face.
You’ll crunch a total of three times. The first is when you aim your chest at your pelvis. Then aim at your left knee, and then at your right knee.
That’s one rep, and you should do 10 reps.
2. Weighted One-Sided Crunch
Get a dumbbell first, and make sure it’s not too heavy.
Lie back on the floor, bend your knees, and keep your feet flat to the ground. Use both your hands to hold a dumbbell, and set it by your right shoulder. Now curl your torso up as you rotate to your left, and then lower your body back down again.
Do 8 to 10 reps of this by your right shoulder. Then switch and do the same thing (8 to 10 reps) with the dumbbell at your left shoulder.
3. Medicine Ball Leg-Drops
For this, you’ll need a medicine ball. Lie back on the ground with your face up, with your arms extended like wings to your side. Meanwhile, your legs are straight up in the air and you’re using your ankles to squeeze a light medicine ball.
Let your feet floor without your feet actually touching the floor, and then return to the starting position with your legs straight up.
That’s a single rep for the medicine ball leg-drop, and you should do 10 to 12 reps.
4. Seated Ab Crunch
You’ll need a secure flat bench for this. Sit on the flat bench while you grip the edges of the bench. Lean back as you extend your legs down but your heels aren’t touching the floor. This is the starting position.
Now bend your knees as you raise your legs to your chest. You can lean your torso forwards, so you’re bringing your chest to meet your thighs. Get back to the starting position, and that’s 1 rep.
You should do 12 reps as part of this circuit.
5. Long-Arm Weighted Crunch
You’ll need that dumbbell again. Also, you’re back to that starting position of getting on your back on the floor, with bent knees and feet flat to the floor.
This time, hold the lightweight dumbbell with both hands and extend your arms straight back behind your legs. That is, if you’re in a standing position, you’re stretching your arms high up straight over your head.
Engage your abs and crunch your ribcage towards your pelvis, and that’s a rep. Do about 12 to 15 reps of this.
Each of these exercises should take maybe 3 minutes each, and that’s for a total of 15 minutes.