SCULPTED ABS WORKOUT
- Level:Beginner
- Time:30 minutes
- Goal:Core strength training
Welcome to our fantastic abdominal calisthenics workout! Before we dive into this engaging routine, let me share a valuable insight that I've learned through years of coaching athletes. Through training countless individuals, one common mistake stands out: blindly selecting exercises or workout routines without considering individual fitness levels. The workout we're about to unveil may be too challenging or too easy for you, as we don't know your capabilities yet. This oversight can lead to two main issues: struggling with exercises beyond your capacity, risking injury, or encountering ineffective workouts. Generic routines, while convenient, often fall short in delivering desired results.
As you explore calisthenics, particularly in targeting core muscles, it's crucial to understand that some exercises may be too advanced while others too basic for your level. Finding the right balance is essential to avoid injury and maximize progress. In the past, we categorized workouts into beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels, but this approach often hindered progress. Recognizing the need for personalization, we developed Speediance Gym Monster with Free workout APP– a tailored, progressive, and adaptive training program leveraging AI to create customized plans. If interested, you can begin with our FREE assessment for a personalized plan, eliminating guesswork and injury risks. Trust me, it's a game-changer.
About this Calisthenics Core Workout
Building a strong and defined core isn't as hard as it seems. All you need is consistent effort that is tons of fun while maintaining enormous benefits. Whether you're working on your skills like handstands, muscle-ups, or just wanting an overall strong and balanced body, building your core is a must. Here's a list of some of the exercises that hit your core muscles.
Your core is comprised mainly of several muscle groups: the rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis, and lower back muscles. Each has its own function for movement, so each should be trained equally. In calisthenics, it is next to impossible to do a workout focused just on a single body part, especially if it is a major muscle group such as the core. By training your core, you'll also get to train your back, shoulders, and even your legs to some extent!
Let's just have a quick round down of the core muscle parts and function:
- Rectus Abdominis (Six-pack muscle):Responsible for flexing the spine, as seen when you perform crunches or sit-ups.
- Obliques (Side abdominals):Involved in twisting and bending the torso, as well as stabilizing the core during various movements.
- Transverse Abdominis (Deep core) – Acts as a natural weight belt, stabilizing the spine and pelvis.
- Lower Back Muscles – Support the spine and assist in maintaining proper posture.
The key to targeting your core with these exercises is to practice mind-muscle connection. Mind-muscle connection is an old concept in the fitness industry. It states that you should visualize the movement being executed by a particular muscle group before and during the execution of the exercise. When done, it can result in activating more muscles in that particular body part. You should have a proper amount of intensity (not too much) for it to work.
Before the workout, warm up your body first! Do a proper warm-up first to increase your performance. It prepares your body for the upcoming stress you're going to exert on yourself. Do simple warm-up routines to get the blood flowing and your joints lubricated.
How It's Done
Move |
Sets |
Reps |
Leg Raises |
1 |
10 |
Plank |
1 |
30s |
Bicycle Crunches |
1 |
15 each side |
Russian Twists |
1 |
12 each side |
Mountain Climbers |
1 |
20 |
Bird Dog |
1 |
10 each side |
45 seconds rest between each exercise and rest for 2 minutes for each round. Total of 4 round
Leg Raises
As we've mentioned earlier, we'll be dealing with exercises that target the lower back and hip flexors as well. But leg raises also hit mainly the rectus abdominis. The key to activate the muscle is, again, by focusing on the core activation even before doing the movement. Do the leg raise by keeping your lower back pressed against the ground and lifting your legs straight up.
Plank
This exercise is a staple for core strength. It primarily targets the transverse abdominis and also engages the obliques and lower back. Focus on maintaining a straight line from your head to your heels and engage your core muscles to hold the position.
Bicycle Crunches
Another effective exercise for the rectus abdominis and obliques. Focus your mind on your core as you alternate bringing your knee towards your opposite elbow. This movement helps to target the obliques as well.
Russian Twists
This exercise targets the obliques and also engages the rectus abdominis. Sit with your knees bent and feet off the ground, then twist your torso from side to side, touching the ground with your hands. Focus on the twisting motion to activate your obliques.
Mountain Climbers
A full-body exercise that primarily targets the rectus abdominis. Keep your core engaged as you drive your knees towards your chest in a running motion. This exercise also helps to improve your cardiovascular endurance.
Bird Dog
This exercise targets the lower back and the transverse abdominis. Start in a plank position, then extend one arm and the opposite leg simultaneously. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine and engaging your core to stabilize your body.
Focus on proper form, breathing, and mind-muscle activation, and your sculpted abs will be achieved in no time.
But what if you can't do some of these exercises?
Get a tailored training routine just for you. It's a problem many of us face. We're given routines – usually based on a standardized level – beginner, intermediate, advanced. The Movement Athlete Academy used to do that too – because it's very hard to create a personalized training for each and every person unless we spend a significant amount of time with them. There was just one problem with this approach (actually there are a lot of problems with it) – it hindered our athletes' progress.
Imagine if some of these exercises above were too hard for you. Your body will try to compensate with poor form, movement dysfunction, and possibly risk injury if it's too challenging. If some of these exercises were too easy, they wouldn't challenge your muscles to grow – you'd simply be wasting your time.
This is why we created Speediance Gym Monster (or Gym Monster 2)with Free Exercise APP: to offer a fully personalized training program reflecting exactly where your level is for optimal performance. Take the assessment to see how you stack up on the 8 fundamental calisthenics moves. Stay strong, friends!