While sit-ups, planks, and crunches all have their place in the best muscle-building routine, if you always do sit-ups lying on an exercise mat, you’re missing out on some of the functional benefits of standing exercise. Not only are standing exercises great when there’s no floor space in the gym, but they tone up your hip flexor muscles and pelvic floor, as well as work your deep transverse abdominal muscles.
If you’re looking for a quick muscle-building workout to target your core, or use as your next bodyweight final workout, we’ve found it. The workout, which was created by a qualified personal trainer, Caroline EdensIt can be done with or without one of the best adjustable dumbbells. If you’re new to abdominal exercises, or are back in exercise after an injury, it’s best to choose a bodyweight type, but if you’re looking to increase the intensity, get dumbbells and try them out.
What is exercise?
The workout consists of four different exercises – you do each exercise for 1 minute total, 30 seconds on each side, with a 10-second break between each exercise. Idiens suggests you complete three or four sets. Here are the exercises:
Knee to elbow tap
For this exercise, start in a standing position, with your feet hip-width apart, your core engaged, a dumbbell in your right hand extended over your head and your left arm out to the side. Engage your core and press your right elbow toward your left knee. Pause, then extend both to the starting position. Complete 30 seconds on one side, before switching to the other.
rotation
Holding dumbbells in both hands in front of your chest, engage your core and rotate your torso to the left, then right. Keep switching directions, moving slowly and with control. Keep your core engaged the entire time – the movement should come from your core, not your back.
oblique crunch
For this exercise, engage your core and hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Lower the dumbbell down your leg on the right side, all the way to your knee. Pause here, then slowly return to the starting position. Complete 30 seconds on one side, before switching to the other.
Seated leg raise
Sit on an exercise mat with your legs extended in front of you and dumbbells upright on the mat. Engage your core and lift one leg off the floor, lift it over the dumbbell and lower it back down on the other side of the dumbbell. Pause, then raise it back to the starting position. Make sure the movement is slow and controlled, and that it is coming from your stomach and not your legs.
Remember, when it comes to choosing a weight that’s right for you and your body, the exercise should feel challenging, but not impossible with the last few reps. The weight should never be so heavy that you feel like your form is compromised. If you’re a beginner, drop weight and do bodyweight exercises to build core strength.
What are the benefits?
Strong abs are much more than an aesthetic goal—they can protect your spine from injury, help you walk and sit with better posture, improve athletic performance, and help reduce lower back pain. If your goal is visible “six-pack” muscles, you’ll need to focus on your body fat percentage, not endless workouts alone. Your diet, stress levels, hormones and sleep all affect your body fat percentage – here’s what you need to know and how to calculate your body fat percentage.
As mentioned above, standing exercises have the added benefit of working functional ranges of motion. Unlike crunches or sit-ups, which also target your abdominal muscles, standing rotation exercises mimic movements you might do in your daily life, such as lifting something from shelves or passing something to someone standing next to you. Read more about What is functional training, and why you should focus on it here.
More Tom’s guide
“Typical beer trailblazer. Hipster-friendly web buff. Certified alcohol fanatic. Internetaholic. Infuriatingly humble zombie lover.”