One Ab Kicking Workout: Need A New Way To Work Your Core

Here is one ab kicking workout 🤣

These exercises are not your typical ab crunch workout moves…which are not very good for your body anyways, but they will still give you one amazing burn!  Especially if you are also engaging your transverse abdominals and pelvic floor simultaneously (more on that here!)  I highly recommend them and are some of my favorites!

I guess these exercises go way back for me, from my gymnastics days and the thousands of hollow body variations we would do each day.  Also seen in pilaties a lot… however they use different names.  Perhaps thats why I have a deep love for them haha!

I do not, however, recommend this for moms who are 4 months or less postpartum or have diastasis recti.  They are too taxing on the abdominals if they are not fully recovered and could cause diastasis or make it worse!  I also do not recommend them if you cannot perform and hold a posterior pelvic tilt.  Why? Because that tells me your core is not strong enough yet and you will feel most of these in your lower back… which is not good. So work on that first (also described here) before you attempt these exercises.

 

 

Perform for 30 sec – 1 min (depending on your fitness level) and repeat the circuit (exercises 1-7) 2-4 times through.

Tips:

• For the exercises on your back, you can choose to put your head up or on a small ball or pillow. Having the head elevated off the ground, will make the core work harder, however a strong neck is needed or perform without added support. 😉
• If you know how to engage your transverse abdominal muscle and perform a Kegel, hold those contractions with each exercise, for a more well rounded core workout.

 

1. Hollow body pulses- Hold that pelvic tilt and keep your low back pressed to the ground. Deep breaths as you pulse the arms… and pulse with some gumption. 😆

 

2. Hollow body opposite arm and leg extension- Same as above… Hold that pelvic tilt and keep your low back pressed to the ground. Deep breaths as you extend you each arm and leg.

 

3. Hollow body double arm/ leg extension- Legs and arms go in and out simultaneously.  Hold your pelvic tilt and press your back to the ground.

 

4. Butt up- My favorite. Press your hands down into the ground and lift your hips off the floor by engaging your core.

 

5. Seated leg lifts- Sit tall with your hands next to your legs, between your butt and knees.  The closer they are to your knees the harder it will be. You can also perform one leg at a time, if two are too hard.

 

6. Quadruped plank- I just had to get one plank in there 🤪… but it’s a cool one. Keep the knees hovering over the ground and pull the belly button up strong. Knees stay under hips and hands stay under shoulders.

 

7. Core rotations with a static hold- Arms are straight, hips stay facing forward, for the most part, then you rotate around your spine. After, perform a static hold out in front, with your hips tucked under for 10-20 seconds. You can use a band around a pole or a cable machine if your at a gym or have one.

 

Let me know how they go and any issues you may have. If any of these exercises bother your low back, then most likely you are not keeping that posterior pelvic tilt or the core is not quite strong enough. So practice the posterior pelvic tilt and perform less reps until you get stronger 👌