Today I have for you a core workout. Before doing this one make sure you warm up, especially those of you with touchy backs. A lot of the exercises have to do with holding a pelvic tilt (keeping your belly button pulled into the spine) and planks. If planks are hard for you, you can modify by coming down to your knees and staying in a straight line from knees to head; but be sure to always hold your belly button in either way!!
One thing I have to mention about abs: you need to lose weight overall to have them!! You can do 500 crunches a day and you will not see your abs unless you get rid of the fat ONTOP of those abdominal muscles, so needless to say diet and cardio is very important. That is why I added intervals of high knees and encourage you to push yourself hard during time challenges. Good luck everyone!
WARM UP!! read the instructions first then look at the video for a demo
PLANK ATTACK- do not rest throughout unless needed, you should stay in plank from steps 1-9
1) Elbow plank 10 seconds hold
on elbows and forearms hold your body in a perfectly straight line from heels to top of head, navel to spine and hold still; if you feel your back your pelvis may have dropped and you are arching your back too much, you do not want your back to arch or your butt to be up too high, you should feel your whole core engage- you should look like a plank of wood, hence the name :)
2) Low to High Plank
Still holding elbow plank, slowly push your arms one at a time into a full plank, where your arms are straight and you are in a push up position, do not drop knees down
3) Reptile 30 reps
In your full plank, pull your right knee into your right elbow, inner thigh should be parallel to the floor then switch, one knee in is one rep, at the end drop down into elbow plank without putting your knees down or butt up
4) Elbow plank 10 seconds hold
5) Low to High Plank
6) Alternate Knee Ins 30 reps
Up in full plank again bring your right knee under you towards your left elbow and switch, one knee in is one rep, at the end again flow into elbow plank
7) Elbow plank 10 seconds hold
8) Low to High Plank
9) Mountain Climbers 30 switches
Up in full plank for the last time bring your right toe in under you and tap floor, then switch, one knee in is one rep
100 High Knees or Jump Rope Skips-FAST!
Side Plank 40 reps each side
1) Lie on your side with right arm under shoulder and feet stacked, left hand behind head
2) Lift your body off the floor using your obliques
3) Come up as high as you can and "pinch" your waist, this should feel like a crunch in your side (rib cage to hip bone)
4) Come almost down to the floor (don't let that hip touch the floor), this is one rep
MODIFY: if this is hard on your shoulder do it on your elbow and forearm, if it is still hard bend the bottom knee and keep that on the floor
Plank Jumps Wide legged 100 reps
1) In a full plank (push up position) take legs wider than hip width
2) Keeping your shoulders above your wrists, jump both legs in wide towards the hands landing softly on toes (your butt should be up in the air, body forming an upside down "V" squeezing your abs tight)
3) Quickly jump back to plank (make sure you get all the way back to a plank, don't short yourself), stay light on your toes and move fast as possible
stay strong this is a tough one on the shoulders and legs too
***if this is too hard for you, just do mountain climbers
In and Outs 50 reps
1) In a seated position, hugging bent knees, angle your upper body back so core is engage, shoulders back (if you feel your back do not lean back so far) and feet off the floor
2) Straighten legs out as far as you can maintaining good form (knees can stay slightly bent if needed), as you do this lean your upper body back a little more and take your arms out to the sides
3) Pull the knees back into the hugging position
Some people call these knee hugs too
100 High Knees or Jump Rope Skips
Full Sit Ups 50 reps or Crunches 75 reps
If you have any back issues, do 75 crunches with your lower back staying on the floor maintaining navel to spine
1) hands behind head, raise both shoulders and head off floor, hold for a count of 2 (as in 1 mississippi, 2 mississippi) then lower
If you are ok with the back (and neck) do a full sit up:
1) on back with knees bent, legs wide, lock thumbs together with arms over the chest (if you feel neck put hands behind head)
2) contract your abs coming into a full seated position, feet grounded on the floor, as you do this raise arms up over head
3) lower SLOWLY! do NOT plop down, the way down uses the core just as much as the way up, this is also safer for you and your back
Bicycle Crunches 100
1) on your back, navel to spine, hands behind head, feet up, knees bent
2) lift head and shoulders from the floor, twist your right elbow to left knee as you straighten the right leg out (the higher you straighten the leg, the easier if you feel any back tightness)
3) then switch
4) the hips should NOT be moving from the floor, the movement comes from your torso/core
As a trainer I cant stand to see people doing this one at the gym, they flop all over the place! It should be a steady movement, each knee in counts as one rep and it should be timed like this: 1 mississippi, 2 mississippi. There should be no jerking around, we want to use our muscles not momentum right- otherwise why bother. Ok Im off my soap box about that one :)
100 High Knees or Jump Rope Skips
So I finished this in 18min 28 sec. The plank jumps really did suck and I needed breaks, as well as the in and outs. Remember to please feel free to switch an exercise if you feel your form is suffering or if you feel any pain. All these movements should be core, core, core!! Even during the cardio parts you should feel that core engage. Be sure to cool down, stretch and hydrate! Good luck everyone and kick some core ass!
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