My Top 5 Home Abs Exercises

We’re all on the lookout for the next big thing when it comes to exercise and workout programs. After all, that’s what “sounds good” and what sells.

But in my opinion, it’s not about finding the latest trend… It’s about finding something that makes you feel great that you can stick to. Something that fits into your lifestyle, that you can do again and again (and not get sick of).

Fitting into your lifestyle is a huge one, though. You can’t say “I’m going to to go to the gym 6 days a week” if you are someone who works a 9-5, then goes home to take care of the kids all night. Clearly, fitting 6 workout sessions into that hectic mess may not be that realistic.

If you can’t afford a gym membership or if you are someone that just doesn’t have the time to get away to the gym every day, it’s super important to find something that will fit into your lifestyle – otherwise, you won’t do it.

It could be the secret program that gave Jennifer Aniston her body, but you still won’t do it.

For example, my past job had an 8-4 kind of schedule with a long commute to boot. Between the 8-hour shift and the 2+ hour commute, I was wiped by the time I got home at night, so I tried get up everyday and workout BEFORE I got ready and went to work (I had a treadmill in my basement).

Well, that didn’t last too long because it meant getting up at 4am to run, which ran me into the ground pretty quickly. No pun intended.

So in my case, I set some personal goals and decided if I’m going to do this I need to make this a priority and create the change in my lifestyle that would support it. At this point, I didn’t have a gym to go to so I started exploring other options.

That’s when I came upon body weight programs, which are great for someone who doesn’t have a gym membership  – since you don’t need any equipment… Just yourself, a little extra space in your home, and a routine to follow along with (like the one below).

That said, here they are…

My Top 5 Home Abs Exercises

Exercise #1: Plank

This is my go-to exercise for abs, but probably one of the hardest. Make sure to try and keep your body in a straight line and hold in your core. Set a timer for at least 30 seconds to begin with. Working up to 1 minute is tough with this one, but try your best to hold it as long as you can.

Exercise #2: Bicycles

This exercise is great for your core and your obliques. You want to touch your elbow to the opposite knee while keeping the other leg straight, then switch to the other side. Repeat and do as many as you can for 30 seconds.

Exercise #3: V-Up

I have a love-hate relationship with this exercise, haha… That said, it’s great for your core and for balance.

It might be hard to balance yourself the firsts few times, but just keep trying and you will get it. Just like in the name, you want to make a “V” with your upper body and lower (bend at the knees). Once you balance yourself to this position hold for at least 30 seconds.

Exercise #: V-up with Reach

This is very similar to the previous exercise, but you will be reaching towards your toes and hold for at least 30 seconds.

Exercise #5: Ankle Biters

This exercise is great for stretching and for the obliques. Lying on the ground, touch your left arm to the left ankle and switch to the other side, repeating for 30 seconds. It’s going to feel easy at first – but it starts burning real quickly.

How To Turn These Into An Abs Routine

These 5 exercises make a great abs routine. Do this routine as a standalone workout, or add it to a program you’re already following to hit your abs extra hard.

Best of all, it’s great for people with busy schedules since you don’t have to make that extra time to go to the gym; just knock out a quick workout before or after work in your living room.

For this workout, do each of the 5 exercises above for one minute each, back to back. That’s one set. Repeat that 5-exercise set 3 times, resting 1-2 minutes between each set.

When starting off, try to perform each exercise (or in some cases, hold each move) for 30 seconds. As you get better or can do more, move up to 45 seconds per exercise and then 1 minute.

Workout Notes:

Each exercise in the set gets one minute. So if you only do the first exercise for 30 seconds, you’ll rest 30 seconds before going into the next exercise. If you did an exercise for 45 seconds, you’d rest 15 seconds before continuing to the next exercise. If you do an exercise for the full minute, continue to the next exercise right away.

That’s the ultimate goal of this routine.

This routine will definitely challenge you…Give it a try! And after you do, come back and let me know what you thought in the comments below 🙂