Workout of the week: Abs and core workout

HANNAH BRAUN

Personal trainer at EVO Fitness Mariahilfer Straße

Hannah is a health, fitness and personal trainer. With her creative workouts and individually adapted training plans, she ensures that her clients’ goals are efficiently achieved. At the same time, her top priority is to bring the fun and enjoyment of exercise and sport closer to her clients and to guide and support them on their way to become the best version of themselves.

Follow her on Instagram: @hannahxbraun

Book a PT session: office@hannahbraun.org

20-MIN ABS AND CORE WORKOUT

ALL LEVELS / abs and core workout / 20 minutes

Equipment: Dumbbell & exercise mat

No shame in saying it: we all want a nice and lean six-pack. But just looking good doesn’t exactly cut it. You got to make your core and abdominal area resilient and flexible enough to face your daily challenges. That’s where we come in — to help you achieve the best of both worlds.

Our friend Hannah Braun, a personal trainer based in Vienna that has already brought us this full-body dumbbell workout and this 30-minute upper body workout, brings us today a 20-minute abs and core workout that you can perform at EVO or at home, due to its minimal usage of equipment.

It consists of 8 exercises performed for 30 seconds. You should perform these 8 exercises consecutively, with no rest between them. Then, after you complete each round, you get to rest for 60 seconds. Perform 3 to 4 rounds, depending on your fitness level — or on how much you want to have a six-pack. If you perform 4 rounds, this workout should take you around 20 minutes to complete.

Leaning leg raises
Hip lifts
Russian twist
Boat hold
Leg tucks (dumbbell in between)
Flutter kicks
Ab hold
Mountain climber crunch

Let’s burn those abs!

WORKOUT SETUP

8 exercises
30 seconds each exercise
60 seconds rest between rounds
3-4 rounds
Duration: 20 minutes
Equipment: Dumbbell & exercise mat

WORKING OUT FROM HOME? NO PROBLEM.

If you don’t have the equipment originally needed for this workout, you can substitute it with these everyday items or use these alternative exercises.

Alternative equipment

Dumbbells = water bottles filled with water and / or sand

WORKOUT EXERCISE LIST

1 – LEANING LEG RAISES

30 seconds

Start by positioning yourself on the exercise mat by making a 45 degrees angle with your back. Use your elbows to support you.
Keep your legs extended and together.
Squeeze your lower abs and keep your core tight.
Then, slowly elevate your feet up towards the ceiling, still keeping them together and straight.
Go down to the starting position and repeat.

2 – HIP LIFTS

30 seconds

Lay back in supine position and brace your core.
Place your hands under your buttocks.
Raise your legs straight above your hips, raising your hips towards the ceiling too.
Make sure your buttocks are lifted entirely from the mat.
Lower the hips back to the surface.
Drop the legs slowly until they hover just above the ground.
Repeat.

3 – RUSSIAN TWIST

30 seconds

Sit on the ground with your knees bent.
Lift your feet from the ground.
Bring your dumbbell to your chest and lean back, torso at a 45-degree angle.
Holding the dumbbell with both hands, move it from one side to another over the hip.
Keep your legs stable and your back straight.

4 – BOAT HOLD

30 seconds

Start by sitting with your knees bend and your feet on the floor.
Make sure your back is straight before leaning back and lifting your feet off the floor, engaging your abs.
Find your balance there and hold the feet up for 30-seconds.
Repeat.

5 – LEG TUCKS (DUMBBELL IN BETWEEN)

30 seconds

Place a dumbbell at the end of your mat.
Seated on an exercise mat, make a 45-degrees angle with your back using your elbows for support.
Raise them off the floor, stretching them as much as you can.
With your core engaged, move your legs over the dumbbell from one side to another.
Keep your feet off the ground during the 30 seconds.

6 – FLUTTER KICKS

30 seconds

Start by positioning yourself on the exercise mat by making a 45 degrees angle with your back.
Use your elbows to support you.
Extend your legs fully out, as straight as possible.
Lift your heels off the floor explosively, making up and down movements for the indicated time.

7 – AB HOLD

30 seconds

Lie on your exercise mat face up, with your legs extended.
Place your hands at your sides, core tight head slightly above the ground.
Raise your legs toward the ceiling and lock your core holding position.
Make sure you keep breathing for the entire duration of the exercise.

8 – MOUNTAIN CLIMBER CRUNCH

30 seconds

Start in a high plank position, upper body pressing away from the floor, shoulders stacked over your wrists.
Make sure your hips are aligned with the rest of your body.
Pull one knee at a time, slowly, to try to touch your elbow.
As you do so, perform a crunch — meaning your back, unlike a regular mountain climber, will not remain straight.
Switch legs and repeat.