The quick core workout that you can complete in under 10 minutes!

This quick core workout is the perfect routine for anyone looking to build up their core strength and define their abs for only 10 minutes of effort.

Say goodbye to the weak core and hello to newfound core strength! All you need to do is consistently (1-2 times per week) do this 10 minute workout and you will reach your goals in no time.

Warm-up exercises.

It is important to make sure you warm up before starting your workouts. If you do not warm up beforehand your muscles will not be ready for the exercises. This can lead to injury as well as decrease your progress.

Time for some stretches!

As we are woking the whole body in this workout we need to stretch both the lower and the upper body.

There are so many great stretches, the important thing is we don’t need to hold them for too long around 5 seconds. Again this is helping blood flow to our muscles to prepare them for the workout ahead.

Choose 2-3 lower body stretches and 1-2 upper body stretches to do.

The quick core workout!

Now its time for the fun part!

Workout Overview.

Keep reading to find details of how to complete each exercise and which part of the core you should feel the burn.

Instructions.

You will have a 30-second working period in which you will repeat each exercise back to back. Once all 5 exercises have been completed take a 2-3 minute rest and repeat through twice more.

If you find that not resting in between exercises isn’t doable for you try doing 40 seconds working and then 20 seconds rest. With the usual 2-3 minute resting period in between sets.

In and Outs

• Sit down upright and place your hands on either side of your hips
• bring your knees up to your chest keeping your feet off the floor
• Straighten your legs and lean back slightly using your hands to steady you
• Bring you legs back into your chest and sit up
• Repeat for the allotted 30 seconds.

Muscles to engage: This will predominantly work your lower abs, but is a great exercise for the whole of the core.

To make it Harder: Add a weight in between your feet or add a resistance band which can be hooked around your feet and placed under you so that you are sat on the other end.

Mountain Climbers.

• Start yourself in a press up position ( your knees can’t be on the floor for this one)
• Keeping your core engaged bring your right knee to your right elbow.
• Now do a little hop switch to bring your left knee to your left elbow whilst placing your right foot back where it started.
• Repeat for the allotted 40 seconds.

Muscles to engage: This exercise will engage your whole core and is also a great way to increase the heart rate to help burn fat. If you want to have visible abs this is what you need to focus more on. Check out this post by Healthline which goes into more detail.

To make it easier: This one can be tricky to get the hang of, so if you need to skip the hop switch movement you can do so. Just place your right foot down before you bring your left knee to your left elbow. I would recommend that you do it with the hop as it will be more intense and when done consistently will burn fat more efficiently. You could even try the hop for the first half and then switch to no hop for the second half!

Dead Bugs.

• Lay down on your back, keeping your eyes facing up.
• Bend your knees and lift up your ankles so that your calves and quads are at a right angle to each other
• Bring your arms up so that your fingers are pointing at the ceiling.
• Engage your core, tuck your chin into your neck and slightly lift your shoulders off the floor.
• Slowly extend your left leg so that it is straight (keeping it off the floor) and bring your right arm above your head.
• Bring back to the starting position and repeat for the right leg and left arm.
• Repeat the process for the allotted 40 seconds.

Muscles to engage: This one is predominately for your lower core muscles.

To make it Harder: Use your hands to hold onto a weight and rather than doing the arms separately bring them both together when you meet each leg.

Side Plank.

• Lie down on your side.
• Using your elbow prop yourself up, only your elbow/forearm and ankles should be on the floor
• Hold this position for 15 seconds
• The change to the other side and hold for a further 15 seconds

Muscles to engage: This one predominantly works the obliques (side of your core).

To make it Harder: You can try dipping your hip down towards the floor and bringing it back up again on each side.

Cooldown.

Just like warming up, you need to cool down your body. You will find simple stretches to suffice to cool down your muscles.

Choose lower and upper body stretches from the warm-up but hold them for 8-10 seconds instead. This helps to prevent your muscles from seizing up.

If you want to take your cool down a step further, try foam rolling out your muscles. If you don’t have a roller you can always use an old tennis ball (I will say the tennis ball may hurt more!)

Equipment.

All of these movements in this quick core workout will help strengthen your core using just your body weight, but if you want to take your workout to the next level then I would recommend purchasing some resistance bands or dumbbells style weights.

I personally am a resistance band lover for home workouts. I would recommend the smartworkout resistance bands. They can stack their bands so that you can increase the weight as you get stronger as well as many different handle attachments available to make it easy to target various muscle groups. 

Also check out this post to learn more about resistance bands and smartworkout!