This 8-minute ab workout is what we'd call 'core-tastic' at T3 HQ. It's short and sweet and works the lower, middle and upper abs and obliques. Better still, this exercise session can be completed using a single dumbbell or no home gym equipment; we'd recommend the latter to beginners. Use this as a finisher for a longer workout or a standalone ab blast.
Visible abs look great, but you shouldn't exercise only to reveal your six-pack. There are many reasons to train your midsection, with research indicating that strong abs might help digestion. Eighty women were enrolled in a study to determine the connection between core strength and 'colon transit time' (CTT; the time it takes to push stool through the colon). The results show that CTT "decreased significantly" in sections of the colon in the group that did a 12-week, instructor-led core strengthening exercise. All the motivation we need to start doing crunches!
This 8-minute ab workout features a total of six exercises. You'll perform each exercise for 30 seconds, followed by a 15-second rest. And no, your eyes aren't mistaken; there are twelve items on the list below, purely because once you do an exercise, you'll do a pulse of the same exercise right after. We wanted to indicate this, so we listed all variants as a separate exercise. The moves are as follows:
- Dead bug with single-arm hold and opposite leg lift (left)
- Dead bug with single-arm hold with leg pulse (left)
- Dead bug with single-arm hold and opposite leg lift (right)
- Dead bug with single-arm hold with leg pulse (right)
- Dumbell crunch
- Dumbell crunch pulse
- Extend and reach – opposite arm-to-leg (left)
- Extend and reach – opposite arm-to-leg pulse (left)
- Extend and reach – opposite arm-to-leg (right)
- Extend and reach – opposite arm-to-leg pulse (right)
- Russian twist
- Russian twist pulse – five on each side, then switch
For more ab workout action, check out this 4-exercise, single-dumbbell ab workout to build a six-pack or this 5-exercise, single-dumbbell standing ab workout for a stronger core. We combed the internet to discover the secrets behind Ryan Gosling's and Rota Ora's sculpted midriff, and here are the results: I tried Rita Ora's five-move abs workout and how to do Ryan Gosling's abs workout. If you need new dumbbells, check out T3's best dumbbells and best adjustable dumbbell guides.