What is a good 20 minute ab workout that I can do at home?

Trainer Tuesdays

Welcome back to the weekly edition on Trainer Tuesdays. Make sure to check in at our blog every Tuesday evening to learn the expertise of our great staff. Aside from being fantastic exercise coaches, they are also extremely knowledgeable in many aspects of health and fitness; so, it's time that you get to know them a little better! Each week, we will post a frequently asked, or sometimes just a fun fitness related question followed by the answers of each of the trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville.

What is a good 20 minute ab workout that I can do at home?

Monika Cotter: Most of the clients that I train at Fitness Together say that improving their core and balance are one of their main goals. While there are so many great abdominal exercises to choose from an important thing to remember about great abs is while you can do a tun of core exercises, it may not show if your diet is poor. Abs are made in the kitchen, and you cannot out train a bad diet. When training the core, make sure you are training the whole abdominal area--- upper, lower and obliques. A great 20 minute work out you can do at home would be:

2-3 sets of 12-15 reps (or 20-30 seconds) of each exercise with 10-15 seconds of rest between sets.

Circuit A

1.      Basic Crunch or Stability Ball Crunch

2.      Heel Reaches

3.      Reverse Crunches

Circuit B

1.      Modified V-up

2.      Oblique Crunches

3.      Reverse Crunches

Circuit C

1.      Floor or bench leg raises

2.      Bicycles

3.      Roll-ups

If you prefer to do ab work standing up:

1.      High Knees

2.      Wind mills

3.      Standing Crunches

End your workout with burpees or a 1 minute plank. Enjoy and have fun with it!

Fitness Together client performing a Side Plank

Steven Madden: If I only have twenty minutes to get a good core workout in at home, I like to do a two minute plank, followed by 90 second side plank on each side. Then, thirty seconds each of crunches, leg raises, pikes, bicycles, v-ups, reverse crunches, twists and quadrupeds, in that order. Rest for one minute and then do it all again. Trust me, this burns!!

Kelly Bailey: If you only have 20 minutes for a workout, focusing on core (not just abdominals) is a great way to fit in some exercise. The extra bonus is that a core workout usually requires little equipment or space. My favorite 20 minute core workout usually includes hip bridges, bicycle crunches, Pilates straight leg stretches, superman, and plank-ups. I usually perform between 10 and 15 reps for each exercise and try to get through three sets.

Lisa Clark: One of my favorite types of workouts is called Tabata. It's a form of interval training where you workout for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds, repeating the exercise for 8 rounds. I love doing this format with abdominal exercises to get a killer workout in a fast paced format. For instance I will pick two different ab exercises like Russian twists and bicycle crunches and alternate the exercises through 8 rounds. It's only 4 min but you definitely feel like you’ve worked longer. To get a full 20 min abdominal workout I'll do 4 minutes of Russian twists and bicycle crunches, then the next 4 minutes I'll alternate a plank with a superman. Then roll back over onto my back for toe touches and oblique crunches and end with dead bugs and super crunches. By doing this with a 1 1/2 min break in between sets, you will get an awesome abdominal workout that will target all parts of your core!!

Throwback! FT owner Sean Sullivan with client Jim Kandrac

Jessica Regula: The abs are a very easy muscle group to workout at home, because you hardly need any equipment!  One of my favorite workouts for the core is Pilates.  Pilates is similar to yoga in that it puts major emphasis on the muscles of the core (abs, low back, obliques, glutes), however it focuses more on the exercise form versus connecting to the breath.  Here are some pilates-based exercises to try:

1.  Single Leg Pushdowns: Start with your hands under your low back to help support it.  Have your legs straight, pointing up at the ceiling.  Using your core, push both feet up toward the ceiling, lifting your butt off the ground.  Then, drop one leg towards the floor, keeping it straight, and not touching the floor.  Switch legs, pushing feet up towards the ceiling in between each rep.  Do 15 per leg.

2. The Roll-Up: Lay straight on a mat or the floor, with your arms straight overhead and your toes pointed.  Using your core, and having your hands lead the way, slowly bring your shoulders up off the ground, continuing until you are seated all the way up.  Then, slowly lower back down using the control of your core.  That's 1 rep.  Do 5 reps.

3. Criss-Cross: Bring both legs and shoulders off the ground.  Bend one knee and bring your opposite elbow towards it.  Switch sides.  That's one rep. Do 15 reps per leg.

4. The Hundred: Bring knees to a 90 degree angle in the air.  Bring your shoulders up off the mat or floor, your hands at your sides.  As you breathe, your hands will be pulsing up and down, and your shoulders will stay off the mat.  Inhale for 5 beats and exhale for 5 beats.  Hold this pose for 100 beats (hence the name "hundred")

5. Plank: I think everyone's familiar with this one! Make sure to keep your heels back and your shoulders away from your ears.  And keep that butt down! Hold as long as you can.

Feel the burn and repeat!

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