Top 10 Core Workouts At Home

 Top 10 Core Workouts At Home

Just because summer is coming to an end, that is no reason to slack on your workouts.  If you are looking to have abs like your favorite celebrity on TV, now is the time to put in the work! Here is a list of my top 10 exercises to burn fat, and gain muscle in your abs:

10. Spiderman plank crunches

This move is killer your abs, and as you balance you work the muscles in your core. Your abs will be contracting each time you lift your leg to your elbow. This may not look very hard, but you will feel it after only a few reps. Your flexibility will improve as you push to try to touch your elbow with your knee.

9. Swiss ball crunches

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Doing crunches on a Swiss ball are way harder than on the floor! Your abs work to support you and keep you from falling off the ball, and this is before you do a single crunch! If you haven't tried this exercise yet, I strongly recommend it. You'll never go back to doing crunches on the floor. You will feel it far more than a ‘normal’ crunch. Sadly that means it will hurt even more than a ‘normal’ crunch though. No pain, No Gain!

8. Shoulder tap plank

Planks are known for being a great ab exercise, but this exercise kicks it up a notch. As you transfer from one hand to the other, you have just one hand at a time supporting your full body weight, which makes your core work even harder than in a regular plank. You work you abs and triceps in this exercise, and you feel it immediately!

7. Bicycle

The bicycle is both loved and hated. Loved because it gets great results, but hated because of how much it hurts. This works your abs, and your obliques which are your side abs. Because of the faster pace of this exercise, you burn a lot of fat doing it, so it’s a great exercise to spice up your workouts.

6. Side plank dips

You will feel this exercise within a few seconds! If you are a beginner, start out on your elbow instead of your hand. Your core are targeted from the balancing on one hand as you try not to fall over. It's seriously though though! It will feel weird at first because these muscles don't get used much, but go with it and you will see amazing results!

5. V-ups

This move targets a large number of muscle. It goes without saying that it’s a great ab exercise! It works the abs, quads and hamstrings, along with the muscles in your middle and upper back. The v-up is very tricky to get quite right as you need to make sure that you are doing it correctly to avoid hurting your back, but you will know when you’ve got it right because your stomach will tell you! If your back hurts instead of your stomach, then stop and watch the video again, and alter your positioning. Done correctly, this will get you on your way to a six pack.

4. Swiss ball rollout

This is hard! If you’re a beginner then I would advise that you perhaps wait a while before trying this, and maybe hold the plank instead. This works the abs, internal obliques and lats (the broad muscles that run from the shoulders to the lower spine, and attach to the abdominals). As with almost all good abs exercises, this involves a lot of core stability, and even though I’ve been exercising for a long time, I still struggle to do this more than just a handful of times. It’s a great exercise that will really push you!

3. Abdominal windshield wiper

I have to be honest; this is one of the hardest abs exercises I have ever done. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it because this move alone will give you abs of steel! It works your upper and lower abs, as well as your hip muscles, so can also improve your flexibility! Take this slow. It is incredibly difficult. You can build your reps over time. If you haven't done this before, then don’t be disappointed  if you can’t even do two reps... it's really hard!

2. Russian twists NB: This video demonstrates the Russian twists without any weight, but, as with all exercises, adding weight will make it even better

This is similar to rope pulls, and will have you aching just as much, if not more! Because you are leaning back in the seated position, your abs are contracted the whole time, so the twisting is effectively a bonus abs workout on top of that. After just a few reps you will be desperate to stop, but once you see the results, you will be itching to do more. This exercise is fantastic at working the obliques, and with toned obliques your waistline will look instantly smoother and more streamline. Don’t think that because you are sitting down, that this will be easy though!

1. Alternate leg raise crunches and through NB: This exercise is the first one in this video

This exercise would be hard enough without the ‘through’, but that part is what has taken it to the number 1 spot on my list. The twisting involved in the toe touches works your obliques as well as your abs and middle and upper back. It even works your quads and hamstrings too. This exercise isn’t for the faint-hearted, but you will see results from it. Remember to maintain good form with your back throughout this exercise, and your abs will be burning by the end.   

Remember to always warm up before, and cool down after a workout, and most importantly remember that these moves alone will not tone you up. A healthy lifestyle is the most important thing to fat loss. To really see results, you need to mix these exercises up with some cardio. That way you will be burning fat with the cardio, and building muscle with these exercises.

To get the best results your diet needs to be clean, and your workout needs to be dirty!

More crunches aren’t a substitute for a bad diet. If you want those abs, you need to be eating clean. Follow this Balanced Meal Plan for more healthy eating options!