So let me ask you some questions. How many articles do you see that say, get a six-pack in 30 days? How many people do you see on the stretch mats on the gym doing a bajillion crunches, or flailing around doing some painful looking twisting exercise. Are you that person? It’s ok, your secret is safe with me. I was that person. The fitness industry gaslighting is fierce, y’all.
Let’s start by debunking some of this click-bait. First of all, did you know you have a six-pack already? Those are the muscles in the rectus abdominis, but only a small part of what is your “core,” which are all of the muscles that wrap around the front, back and sides. In fact, your “core” consists of more than 36 different muscles! And that rectus abdominis is the outermost and final layer!
There are two key ways to get a healthy core, or six pack (or maybe 4-pack, which is totally respectable). First, focus on diet. This is why the saying abs are made in the kitchen – a nutritious diet with lean proteins and vegetables as a core staple is the foundation.
The second layer is incorporating cardio. Without cardio, you won’t burn enough calories to see results. The third layer is some targeted precision training and ab work, which I will describe below.
Best YouTube Channel ab workouts
I recently discovered the Gainsbybrains channel on YouTube, with trainer Sophie van Oostenbrugge, who is from the Netherlands. She has these amazing 10 minute abdominal workout videos that are timed intervals. In most of them, she only demos the workout, but she does the full workout with you. Almost all of her YouTube workouts require no equipment and can all be done in the space of a mat, the majority of them on your back. You can even feel comfortable doing them on a carpet.
What I love about Gainsbybrain’s style is that it is very much about the workout. She generally does not narrate, and each exercise is about 30-45 seconds. This allows you to have her workout on in the background while you have the TV on, or maybe even while you are listening to a conference call!
I also love that she often does one side at a time because as she comments this intensifies the tension you put on a particular part of the abdominal muscles. I agreee this makes a huge difference. She generally only does each exercise once, which is a good way to stay motivated that you do not have to come back to an exercise again in the same workout if it is difficult. Here is a link to her channel videos with ab workouts, and an example of one of her latest greatest ab workouts.
The best part – most of her workouts are 10 minutes or less – like this one is only 6 minutes.
Pilates-based ab workouts
Chloe Ting workout
I am actually pretty lazy about doing abs on my own when I work out. I usually save it for the end of my strength training workout, and by then I am lazy and looking at my phone between some half-hearted sets. I need a structured ab workout, and don’t want to always have to pay for an app when there are SO many great ab workouts.
The first one I have learned about recently is the Chloe Ting flat stomach challenge. You can go to her site and download playlists of any type of challenge you want to do, whether it be full body, abs, arms, etc. It takes you straight to YouTube and downloads the playlist, making it supereasy. Once you start doing the workout, she doesn’t waste a lot of time and goes straight into it. It’s also nice because you get a countdown of how much time is left. Her exercises aren’t necessarily novel, but they are well put together in a sequence that will hit every part of your abs and do not require any equipment but a mat (but I have also done it on carpet). If you have a mirror near by, that might be especially helpful because you may be able to see how your form is doing.
Blogilates
An equally impressive source of free, quick ab workout is Cassie Ho’s blogilates channel. She also has an app. This is another series of short workouts targeted at various body parts but she has a lot to do with abs. For example, you can choose a menu exclusively with ab workouts. And they are all challenging, but you can customize to do one in as little as five minutes, as pictured here:
The great thing about both of the above apps is that even if you can’t work out that day, you can squeeze in a quick 5-10 session right before you go to work, when you get home while prepping dinner (hello, Instant Pot) or even if you are working at home and you only have a few minutes between calls.
If I had to advise which one is better, both are free, so it takes that off the table. I would say that if you don’t like chirpy instructors, go with Chloe. She has more of a monotone and pretty much blends in the background. Cassie is peppy and it can get borderline annoying if you aren’t in the right mood (like, say you have a deadline and had four hours of sleep – wouldn’t recommend). BUT, she does stay more true to Pilates and has much more variety of workouts, plus I would just say that her workouts are more difficult. I tend to do a little of both, depending on what kind of workout I want and what mood I am in.
Ab circuit training at home or on vacation
Or if you want to keep it more simple, try this workout from SkinnyMs. She recommends doing 1 round for beginners, 2 rounds for intermediate, and 4 rounds for advance. Do each exercise for 30 seconds and rest 10 minutes afterwards. You can use the Interval timer to time yourself
Beginner Level: Complete 1 round.
Intermediate Level: Complete 3 rounds.
Advanced Level: Complete 4 rounds.
Exercises:
- Abdominal Twist
- Plank
- Reverse Ab Curl
- Side Plank (15 seconds each side)
- Scissor Twist
- Flutter Kicks
Ab training at the gym
I like doing the following exercises with gym equipment:
During and after workout tips to solidify your ab results.
- It’s not a race! Don’t rush the movements. You know how you see those people flailing through kicks or twists. Yeah, they look ridic. Plus, the real work comes in both the contraction and the release. The more you can slow this down and engage your breath, the fewer reps you have to do and the better the results.
- Your breath is your best friend here. Inhale on the release, and exhale on the transaction, as if you were blowing out a birthday cake candle. That will maximize the contraction and also keep you going through the reps withou getting red in the face.
- For exercises when you are flat on your back, tuck your chin to your chest to protect your neck. A good visual cue is to pretend you have a large grapefruit you are trying to keep from falling out. Also, many of these exercises aren’t dramatically better with raising your neck and head, so if that feels better, leave them down.
- If your hip flexors are tight or start to get strained, that’s probably still from weakness in your core. Until you don’t feel that pull, do the modifications that the two instructors I mentioned above recommend, which often involve bending or lowering your legs.
- When doing plank, look no more than a few inches in front of you and DOWN. You don’t want to know how many times I have caught women in barre or yoga class checking their shoulders out in the mirror while doing planks. Can’t blame them, because that angle makes everyone’s shoulders look awesome, but making that a habit will throw both your neck and shoulders out of whack!
- You don’t have to train your abs every single day. Just like any muscle, they need recovery. You should certainly do exercises to activate your core if you are strength training (deadbugs is a good example)
- Drink PLENTY of water, at least a liter or two before and after the workout. (Especially if it’s hot yoga).
- Make sure you get enough protein and carbs within 30 minutes of your workout. For more of that, read my post on pre and post-workout nutrition.
- Stretch, including the front, back and sides. If you are working, standing side bends will open up your side body. At night, do a few cobras to stretch out the front of your abs and strengthen your spine.
*The content in this article was peer reviewed by Neda Khalili, NASM certified trainer
