Who says you don’t have time to workout? Here are some super quick weight workouts to get you started. Beginners start with no weights and each time you do this workout, add slowly. I would call myself an intermediate and used 10 – 12 lbs when weights were involved. You be the judge and remember proper form is key.  Stretch and warm up before lifting weights.

Home Workout – no equipment required!

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As always, check with your doctor before starting any workout routine.

Here are a few Abdominal workouts to help you leave your muffin top on top of your muffin and not hanging over the top of your pants!

1 – Dumbbell Side Bends

Starting Position
Stand with feet shoulder width apart, holding dumbbells. Knees should be slightly bent.

Action
EXHALE: Bend trunk to the left to a comfortable position and hold for 2-3 seconds. INHALE: Return to starting position and repeat to right side.

Special Instructions
Don’t let your weight take you forward or backwards.

Muscles Worked: Obliques

2 – Crunches with Ball

Starting Position

Begin by sitting on top of the Swiss ball.  Roll in the direction your head is pointed until your lower back is supported by the curve of the ball.  You can either cross your arms over your chest or place your hands behind your ears.  Do not put them behind your head.

Action

EXHALE: Crunch forward, using your abdominal, until you are at approximately at a 45 degree angle to the ball.  Keep your neck in a neutral position.  INHALE: Lower yourself back to the starting position, where your head wraps back around the ball.  Try doing 2 set of 15 crunches.

Special Instructions

Keep space in-between your chin and chest, so your spine stays in a neutral position.  Balance yourself on the ball with as much upper body weight off the ball as possible without falling over backwards.

Muscles Worked: Abs

3 – Modified Plank

Starting Position

Begin this exercise by lying on your stomach with your forearms on the floor pointing straight forward, your feet together and your spine in a neutral position.  Your feet should be touching or no more than an inch apart.

Action

Lift your body up on your forearms and toes, keeping your body as straight as possible.  Maintain this position for as long as possible and challenge yourself to longer periods in the plank position.  Try to hold the position for 60 seconds in the beginning, working your way up in 30 second jumps until you can hold the position for 3 minutes or longer.

Special Instructions

Don’t let your hips/knees drop, your butt raise, or shift weight to one forearm.

Muscles Worked: Abs

As always when starting a new exercise program consult your physician first.

Yup, this week’s video workout is all about bringing sexy back…to your back.

Often we focus on our abdominals and forget to balance our ab workouts with an adequate back workout.

The one thing I’d caution about the moves in this video is to really watch your form and make sure you power from your core muscles.  That is, start by activating your core, get your breathing going and then start the moves. If you lose your form, or find yourself shifting, it’s time to stop the set!

My favorite exercise in this series is the back extension (done over the ball). Two things I note about that: if you don’t have a partner to hold your feet, a good option is to brace your feet against a wall. Second, the actual extension itself is a small movement, you don’t want to be arching your back.

Have fun and let me know what you think!

Today’s workout video comes courtesy of our twitter friend @Smashfit.

When she mentioned ‘the ab wheel’ I knew she didn’t mean some pansy shopping channel gimmick.   Because if you’ve seen pictures of her abs, you know she’s the real deal.

And so is today’s exercise.  This one is favored by boxers and athletes.

Take a look:

A challenging exercise?

Try it and see.

Two weeks ago, I started the P90x series of dvds (just in my spare time, can’t do the full commitment at this point in my half marathon training). Because I need to strengthen my core, I tried their AbRipperX dvd… 20 minutes of fast paced exercises, over 300 moves. Very intense.

I got to about minute 13 before my abs cried uncle, aunt and grandma…and then was only able to do portions of the remaining exercises.

I look forward to improving each week, it is a great challenge.

What’s your favorite abdominal exercise or workout?

Here’s a great short video from Diets.com on moves that will work your abs, your obliques and more…try the moves out and see how this video compares to Cassey Ho’s Pop Pilates 10 minute abdominal workout.

My abs look nothing like the photo on the right, but I’m going to keep on doing more with my core. I may never look like that girl, but I’m still pretty proud of what my body is capable of.

Giving birth to four children, running 20 miles, a healthy immune system…there are so many ways my body works hard for me…

How do you feel about your body?

What are you proud of?

Have you tried both videos now? Do you have a preference?

They’re both great and its always good to change up your workouts.  What other ab workouts do you like?