Welcome to abs city!
By Alexa Tucker, SELF
While some core exercises are great for targeting your obliques or lower abs, this quickie routine hits those muscles...and more. Created by Denver-based personal trainer Tara Laferrara, this five-minute routine leaves no abs muscle behind. Your core will be shaking by the end, but it'll be worth it.
The Workout:
Do each exercise for 45 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds. Once you've got the moves down, save the pin at the bottom for the next time you've got five minutes to kill.
1
1
Plank Up — 45 seconds
"By keeping your hips square, you add extra core activation. It not only works your lower abdomen, but also your obliques, shoulders, and more," says Laferrara.
- Start in high plank. Bend one arm to bring the elbow and forearm to the floor.
- Bring the other arm down so you are in a forearm plank.
- Push back up to the start position, placing each hand where your elbows were.
- Repeat this movement, alternating which side you lower first with each rep.
2
V-Up — 45 seconds
V-ups are great for working your upper and lower abdomen, according to Laferrara. To make this move less intense, bend your knees in instead of lifting your legs straight up for tuck-ins.
- Lie face up with arms and legs extended and resting on the floor.
- Keep abs tight and lift hands and feet to meet over torso.
- Lower your arms and legs back to the floor.
3
Plank With T Rotation — 45 seconds
"This exercise strengthens obliques as well as the transverse abdominal muscle," says Laferrara. "I use this move a lot in a warm-ups as a way to activate your core before we get going and to open up the chest before we do any upper body movements," she adds.
- Start in high plank with your feet hip-distance apart.
- Now rotate your entire body to the right into a side plank with your left shoulder above your left wrist.
- Extend your right arm to the ceiling and continue to drive your hips up.
- Return to center position, then repeat on the opposite side.
4
Core Roll Up — 45 seconds
"This is also great to see where your body is tight, like hip-flexors, and what needs to be stretched after as well," notes Laferrara. For an extra challenge, don't swing your hands behind your head, it will help prevent you from using momentum to pull yourself up, she says.
- Lie faceup on mat with arms resting on floor above head.
- Float arms up so wrists are directly over shoulders, and begin to curl your spine up and off the floor.
- Fold over legs, forming a "U" shape with body. Reverse movement to lower back to mat.
5
Mountain Climber Twist — 45 seconds
"This is one of my favorite core moves," says Laferrara. "If you don't feel this in your core almost immediately, you're doing it wrong! You can feel the difference in fast or slow movements." This exercise is particularly great for the obliques and lower abs.
- Start in high plank with your wrists directly under shoulders.
- Bring right knee under torso and toward left elbow.
- Now bring your right foot back to starting position while you repeat with the opposite foot.
