My 5 Favourite Exercises for Strengthening Your Core & An At Home Ab Workout

My 5 favourite exercises for strengthening your core & at home ab workout is a blog post I’ve wanted to post for so long now. Ever since I got back into my exercise properly after having Madison I’ve been aiming to post more fitness workouts on the blog. No, I’m not a qualified personal trainer and medically don’t really know what I’m talking about but when it comes to exercise I like to think I know what I’m doing just a little bit. My results speak for themselves and since I’ve had a couple of people asking what I’ve been doing to lose the pregnancy weight, I thought I’d type out a series of posts dedicated to showing you my favourite exercises.

My 5 favourite exercises for strengthening your core are probably some of the hardest that I do in any routine. They may seem easy off the bat and of course there are harder ones around but for me repeating these exercises as part of my whole body workout really does kill off the abs! I really feel like I’m working my stomach muscles when I complete this set and I definitely feel it the next day!

Russian Twist

When I first started training properly a Russian Twist was something I really could not do. It’s basically a ‘V’ hold with  added side twists with a weight (as you can see in the photo below) and my God they buuuurrrn! Admittedly at the moment I can’t quite hold these for an entire minute like I used to be able to but hey a small human child was preventing me from working my core for the majority of last year, so I’ll let myself off!

Plank

Plank is the word that makes every soul die a little bit. It makes every voice at my body conditioning / circuits class groan and makes me sigh profusely when I hear it uttered from the speakers of my laptop whilst doing a Results with Lucy workout. Plank is horrible but bloody incredible for that toned stomach you so desperately want. At the peak of my fitness in mid-end of 2016 before I got pregnant I could hold a plank for 3 minutes (yes I’m bragging, it’s one of my best fitness achievements to date) and now I can barely hold a measly minute before gritting my teeth and screaming as my abs burn hotter than fire (side note – I held plank for 2 minutes the other day which was hell on Earth and I will not be doing it again any time soon). When you’ve got your plank form on point there’s nothing more rewarding, believe me! Start off aiming for 30 seconds and gradually creep up the time as you and your core gets stronger.

 

Mountain Climbers / Spiderman Mountain climbers

Yes, these are in my ‘5 favourite ab workout’ list but I’m going to tell you a little secret. I HATE MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS. I did a fitness class the other day where we ended up doing 6 minutes of the b*stards and I was not bloody impressed! Mountain climbers (if done properly with your bum down and core engaged) are amazing at strengthening those tummy muscles and giving you a cardio blast all at the same time. So… as much as I hate them, I do them quite a lot because I know they’re good for me. It’s kinda like eating your greens if you think about it… You can also make these that little bit harder by crunching your leg up to the side and pressing down in a kind of Spiderman style move. Do these slower to feel the burn more. They kill. You’re welcome.

Straight Leg Cycle Crunch

Think of your standard cycle crunch move; legs at 90•, hands behind your head and crunching alternate knee to elbow. Now do this whilst extending your other leg out straight, engaging your core and then slowly change over. We’re not about that quick paced cycle crunch life around here! This one burns your abs as you’re engaging it in more ways than one and the slower you go, the harder they have to work! I personally love this one!

90• / Straight Leg Crunches

Simple crunches for this one but with your legs at 90• and your hands behind your head. Your core engages as you keep your legs well positioned and then the crunch really works them as you move your head and shoulders up and in. Again, these are best done slowly and really start to burn after the 5/6th rep. I like to really kill off my abs with this one as a finisher and usually also add in a few straight leg crunches to make them a little harder!

Mini at home Ab Workout

I usually use Results with Lucy for my workouts including my gym and at home ab workout routines and if you’re wanting more of a structured plan and possibly food recommendations and recipes from professionals and not just some blogger you follow then I definitely recommend signing up. Plans start from just £7.99 a month and you get a 10 day free trial! If you’re just looking for a quick and easy at home ab workout routine to add on to what you’re already doing though then this is the routine I sometimes like to do.

 

3x Sets – Pyramid reps. 

20, 15, 10 reps.

Weighted Russian Twist

Mountain Climbers

90• Crunches

Straight Leg Crunches

30 second Plank

 

What do you like to do for your at home ab workout? I’d love to know your faves in the comments.

You can find more of my fitness tips tricks and posts over on the fitness section of my blog and more fitness motivation over on my Instagram!

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