7-Minute Ab Challenge

• Alicia Bell
• >Categories: Abs, Fitness, Guest Post
• Oct 3, 2016

Ready to sculpt your core in just seven minutes? This ab workout challenge is extremely fast paced, so make sure you’re bringing the intensity. Give it your all (it’s only seven minutes) to really burn fat and target your core all at once.

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This abs workout will not just target your deep core muscles, but you’ll break out a sweet too. Best of all, you can do it anytime, anywhere, whether it be at home, in the gym or even outdoors. No equipment is needed besides a stopwatch or interval timer so that you can keep track of your intervals.

Read: 30-Day Exercise Plan For Six-Pack Abs

Make sure that you perform a proper warm up before starting and a proper cool down once you finish all of the rounds. A warm up should be done to prevent any injuries from occurring, to loosen this by loosening your muscles through dynamic ranges of motion while increasing the heart rate to prepare for the working sets. It also will help to get rid of any muscle stiffness or soreness before you begin. The cool down after you are done your working sets is to make sure that you bring your heart rate back down to a resting state and it will help with recovery and prevention of muscle soreness.

Suggested Warm-Up:

Five minutes cardio of choice: Treadmill, jump rope, jogging outdoors, etc., Followed by five minutes of dynamic stretches of choice: Inchworms, bear crawls, leg swings, etc.

Instructions:

Perform the following exercises in order. Use the stopwatch or interval timer to keep track. Move quickly from one exercise to the next with little to no rest.

*You may add a barbell or use dumbbells for the sumo squat to make it more challenging*

Exercise Descriptions (In Order):

1. Side High Plank (Left)

Lay down on your left side on the floor. Place your hand under the ground so that you make a straight lay from your hand to your elbow all the way through to your shoulder. Your bottom leg should be straight from your foot to your knee and through to your shoulder. Raise your hips upward and lift your right leg. Make sure to keep it straight. Hold this position for 30 seconds.

2. Fast Sumo Squat

Start by by stepping your  feet out wider than your regular hip width. Your toes should then turn slightly out to 45 degrees. Place your hands behind your head or hold weights if you want more of a challenge. Begin the movement by  bending your knees and pushing your hips back. Make sure to keep your head and chest up and facing straight. This is great for your core if you continually make sure that you are keeping your abs tight no matter how fast you move. Once your quadriceps are below parallel push through your heels and rise back up quickly to your start position making sure abs are still tight and that you squeeze your glutes at the top. Repeat this movement as fast as you can for 30 seconds.

Related: 7 Tips To Improve Your Squat

3. Side High Plank (Right)

Lay down on your right side on the floor. Place your hand under the ground so that you make a straight lay from your hand to your elbow all the way through to your shoulder. Your bottom leg should be straight from your foot to your knee and through to your shoulder. Raise your hips upward and lift your left leg. Make sure to keep it straight. Keep your abs tight and hold this position for 30 seconds.

4. Fast Sumo Squat

Get back into sumo squat and repeat this movement as fast as you can for 30 seconds.

5. Plank With Leg Hold (Right)

Start by kneeling on all fours on the ground. Then place your with hands directly under shoulders. Step back and come to a high plank with knees off of the ground. Keep your abs tight. Then lift your right hand and left leg. Keep your balance and hold this position.

6. Fast Sumo Squat

You guessed it… jump back into sumo squat. Repeat this movement as fast as you can for 30 seconds.

7. Plank With Leg Hold (Left)

Start by kneeling on all fours on the ground. Then place your with hands directly under shoulders. Step back and come to a high plank with knees off of the ground. Keep your abs tight. Then lift your left hand and right leg. Keep your balance and hold this position.

Recap: Working Sets

30s Side High Plank Right
30s Fast Sumo Squat
30s Side High Plank Left
30s Fast Sumo Squat
30s Plank With Leg Hold Right
30s Fast Sumo Squat
30s Plank With leg hold Left

Repeat for 2 Rounds

Total working minutes: 7

Suggested Cooldown:

Complete five to 10 minutes cardio, such as walking, running or cycling, to bring your heart rate back down to normal resting. Then perform static stretching for all of the major muscle groups for both upper and lower body. I.e quads, hamstrings, chest, back and arms.

Photography: Bryce Murdoch www.brycemurdoch.com

MUH: Jenna Medina www.jennamedina.com