I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You don’t have to spend hours at the gym to build abdominal muscles. If you want to tone your abs quickly, all you have to do is grab some dumbbells (here are the best adjustable dumbbells if you want to continue your workout at home) and try five different exercises.
This workout was put together by Matt Fox, a personal trainer who specializes in sharing at-home workouts. Instagram , can be run from almost anywhere. If you don’t have dumbbells, here’s our pick of the best kettlebells on the market. Read on to learn more.
As always, if you’re new to working out or returning to exercise after an injury or pregnancy, we recommend checking with your health care professional before adding any new exercises to your routine. If in doubt, ask your personal trainer to look at your form before adding weights to your workout. Exercising with incorrect form puts you at risk of injury.
Forget about sit-ups. This Ab Shredder workout will strengthen your core with 5 exercises.
Ready to get started? Perform 4 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions of each of the 5 exercises. You can also do the exercises in a circuit format. You can complete a rep and then move on to the next exercise, taking short breaks between sets, or you can complete four sets of each exercise before moving on to the next exercise.
When choosing the right weight for your workout, remember that you need to choose a weight that is challenging but allows you to complete all reps with good form. If you find yourself arching your back or hunching your shoulders to finish a rep, lower your weight.
The exercises included and how to perform them are as follows:
V-sit press out
For this exercise, assume a V-shaped sitting position. To do this, first sit on your mat and lean your torso back until you feel your abdominal muscles tense. Up the ante by keeping your heels pressed against the exercise mat or by floating your feet.
Holding a dumbbell in both hands, extend your arms and push the dumbbell away from your chest and back toward your body. He completes 15-20 press outs while holding a V-sit.
Reach from commando plank to high plank
This exercise requires you to start in a high plank position with dumbbells or kettlebells in front of your body. Start by perfecting a commando plank, bending one elbow, then bending the other elbow and lowering into a forearm plank to engage your core. Then reverse the movement and press into the floor with one hand, then the other.
When you return to high plank, extend one arm and tap the top of the dumbbell, then the other arm. Remember to remain aware of your core throughout this exercise, focusing on sucking your belly button into your spine.
Click here for details How to do the commando plank, benefits, and variations to try.
leg liftover
Begin this exercise by sitting on your mat with your legs stretched out and a dumbbell between your legs. Extend your legs to one side of the dumbbells, lean your torso back, and place your hands on either side of your hips, fingers pointing toward your toes.
Engage your core to lift both legs over the dumbbells, lower them to the opposite side of the weight, then reverse the movement. Continue raising and lowering your legs.
Chainsaw puller half kneeling
For this exercise, start by getting down on one knee and pressing your other foot into the floor. Grasp the dumbbells in both hands and raise them above your head to complete a wood chop, then lower the dumbbells towards the hip of your kneeling leg and back over your head on the other side. Lower your weight to your sides as you rotate your torso. Switch up the kneeling leg for each set.
standing teapot
Finally, for this exercise, stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in one hand. Lower the dumbbells from your legs toward your knees. Pause here and slowly return to the starting position. Switch sides halfway through, or switch sides after each set to ensure you complete the same reps on each side.
What are the benefits?
There are many benefits to training your basic physical fitness. Strong abdominal muscles protect your spine from damage, help you walk and sit with better posture, improve athletic performance, and reduce lower back pain.
However, if your goal is to have visible “six-pack” muscle, you should focus on your body fat percentage instead of just doing endless ab workouts. Diet, stress levels, hormones, and sleep all affect body fat percentage. Here’s what you need to know and how to calculate your body fat percentage.
There are several benefits to adding weights to your workout compared to bodyweight exercises such as push-ups. Eventually, it will become less difficult to move your body weight independently. To continue getting stronger, you should add dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, or another weight source to produce the same level of effort. This is known in exercise science as the overload principle.
Looking for more ab training inspiration? You’ve come to the right place. Here are some more workouts to bookmark.
