10 Minute At Home Abs Workout
It’s surprising how many people miss the abdominal muscles when working out. By doing this, they miss out on the amazing benefits of abdominal workouts.
Abdominal muscles play a large role in posture, support of the spine, balance, stability, and functions such as breathing. Building strength and endurance in these muscles is crucial as it leads to improved posture, lessened back pain, improved balance and stability and can assist with breathing functions. Additionally, if you are an athlete, you certainly can benefit from exercising your core during workouts as many sports require balance, stability and core strength. Ab workouts target these muscles and provide you with core strength. These workouts can enable players to give more energy to their body parts, therefore increasing their performance during their games.
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Another benefit of completing abdominal exercises has to do with back pain and posture. Weak abdominal muscles contribute to increased lower back pain, and muscles that are not exercised become rigid in the joints and may lead to chronic lower back pain. Ab exercises target these back muscles and lead to them being more flexible and less rigid, therefore reducing lower back pain. In addition, abdominal exercises can lead to greater posture. Ab workouts strengthen the muscles around the spine and improve posture. Having good posture is key in good spine health and these workouts also improve synchrony between muscles in the body, which plays a large role in balance, posture and stability.
If you’ve been skipping exercising your core during your workout sessions, take a look at this 10 minute abs workout that can be completed from the comfort of your own home.
Crunches
Targets: abdominal muscles
Crunches help you build muscle. This intense muscle isolation makes them ideal for strengthening your core, which includes your lower back muscles and obliques. Doing so can improve your balance and posture. While crunches are a popular core exercise, it can place a lot of stress on your back and neck. Proper technique is essential for this exercise.
How To Do Crunches:
- Lie down on your back. Plant your feet on the floor, hip-width apart. Bend your knees and place your arms across your chest. Contract your abs and inhale.
- Exhale and lift your upper body, keeping your head and neck relaxed.
- Inhale and return to the starting position.
Do this exercise for 30 seconds and repeat twice.
Mountain Climbers
Targets: full body, but especially the core, arms, shoulders and quads
The concept behind the Mountain Climber is that it is supposed to replicate climbing a mountain. While it sounds simple because you aren’t actually climbing a mountain, mountain climbers exercise almost the entire body and raise your heart rate. You can easily do this exercise in any setting, whether it be at home or at work. This staple move is great for beginners, but more experienced exercisers can challenge themselves with other variations of the exercise.
How To Do Mountain Climbers:
- Get into a plank position. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart, your back should be flat and your core should be engaged.
- Pull one knee to your chest, then switch legs and do the same thing with the other while bringing your other leg out.
- Keep your hips down and run your legs through these motions as fast as you can.
Do this exercise for 30 seconds and repeat twice.
Bicycle Kicks
Targets: abs, hips and obliques
The bicycle crunch is one of the best ab exercises you can do, because it reaches not only the abs but the deep abs and obliques. If you want to work your core, this bicycle move is a great choice. It’s a no-equipment, beginner’s level exercise you can do anywhere. Use it as part of your core strengthening workout or add it to a full body workout!
How To Do Bicycle Kicks:
- Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground and knees bent. Your feet should be on the floor and your hands behind your head.
- With your hands holding your head, slowly raise your knees to about a 90-degree angle, lifting your feet from the floor.
- Exhale and go through a bicycle pedal motion, bringing one knee up towards your armpit while straightening the other leg, keeping both elevated higher than your hips.
- Rotate your torso so you can touch your elbow to the opposite knee as it comes up.
- Alternate to twist to the other side while bringing that knee towards your armpit and the other leg extended until your elbow touches the alternate knee.
Do this exercise for 60 seconds and repeat twice.
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Leg Lifts
Targets: core
Leg Lifts, or leg raises, is an ab isolation exercise that works not only your upper abs, but your lower abs as well. Because you raise your legs off the ground, leg lifts especially work your lower abs. This no-equipment exercise is a great way to work your core and can be added to any workout routine.
How To Do Leg Lifts:
- Lie on your back, Place your hands, palms down, on the floor beside you.
- Raise your legs off the ground.
- Keep your knees locked throughout the exercise.
- Hold for 30 seconds, or as long as you can.
- Return to starting position.
Do this exercise for 60 seconds and repeat twice.
Russian Twists
Targets: core, obliques and spine
Russian Twists are a complete exercise that targets your entire core, obliques, and spine. The exercise also works your balance, builds stability in your spine, and helps tone your mid-section all in one!
How To Do Russian Twists:
- Sit on the floor and bring your legs out straight.
- Lean back slightly so your torso and legs form a V-like shape, bracing your abdominal wall to engage your core.
- Balancing here, twist your torso from side to side without moving your legs.
Do this exercise for 30 seconds and repeat twice.
Exercising your core does excellent things for your body and is something that should be incorporated into every workout you do. These five ab exercises can be completed at home and will only take up 10 minutes of your day!