30-Minute Power Abs Workout

Chuck’s post on cardio calisthenics reminded me that I wanted to share a core workout that I’ve been doing for the last month or so. It’s based on a 30-Min Abs workout in this month’s Men’s Fitness magazine, with some modifications.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to build abs and core muscles through crunches and sit-ups. The abs muscles are designed to keep your midsection stable — so exercises that keep your core taut against weight and body resistance are the most effective.

I’ll save you the gory details, and get right down to it:

Hanging Side-to-Side Leg Raise
Note: I don’t have a pull-up bar, so I do 10 negatives on the Captain’s Chair using a 10-lb weight, followed by 20 raises. Do 3-4 sets. The BEST exercise for lower abs I’ve ever done though is lying on your back and doing slow leg raises using 2 10-lb. ankle weights.

Swiss-ball dumbbell rotation, 3-4 sets of 30
with a 20-lb weight

Renegade Rows, 3-4 sets of 25
with 15-lb. dumbbells

Saxon Side-Bends, 3-4 sets of 25
with 15-20 lb. weight

T Pushups, 3-4 sets of 25
No weights
Note: The part I dread…absolutely killer. Not prescribed by the 30-min abs program, but they’re about as hard as the dumbbell Turkish get-up that they want you to do.

Crunches, 3-4 sets of 20

Seated Russian Twist, 3-4 sets of 30
20-lb. weight

Swiss-ball Side Crunch, 3-4 sets of 12 on each side

Try to keep your rest between sets at about 30-60 seconds. The whole circuit will take you about 40-45 minutes, and will be a cardio workout in addition to a core workout. If you’re ambitious, you can add some other things like planks (60 sec), side planks (30-60 seconds) or planks off of the Swiss ball.

Give it a try and let me know what I can improve, or if you have a workout that you think works better.