Abs. We all desire them right?

While abs are definitely created in the kitchen, exercises are SO helpful in developing a sculpted abdomen. However, exercises do NOT need to be only crunches or planks. By the time you are done reading this you will see that our core is not only pleasing to the eyes but is an essential piece of our longevity.

Let’s start with the foundation.

Our core muscles are made up of 4 major groups:

• Abs
  • Abs (rectus abdominis)
  • Obliques (internal and external)
  • Transverse abdominis
• Hips
• Back
• Glutes

When you do exercises like crunches laying down, you are mainly working just the front of your abs. While that may seem like a great thing, you are actually training your abs to push out. For moms who experience hernia or diastasis recti, this is not only damaging but extremely painful and harmful in the long run.

Today I will bring you through a full 25-minute Abs and Arms workout that will make you sore with pride for the next few days, knowing that you worked all the major muscle groups in your core in a safe manner.

However there’s a catch!

In this whole workout we are STANDING UP!

Say GOODBYE to traditional crunches and start training your CORE in a radical new way.

During this workout you may think “I feel my back muscles working more in this exercise” or “my arms are sore” and that’s because your BACK is a huge part of your core group, and when we are doing STANDING exercises, guess what is working the most to keep us stable? OUR CORE! We have to engage it in other ways than traditional sit ups.

We’ll begin with a full body warm up to prep for the core portion of this workout. If you are working out for 5 days a week or more, consistently, it’s a great idea to vary your movement patterns so you are not doing the same thing over and over, day after day.

• Bent Over Row
• Core Twist with Arm Reaches (use light weights)
• Bicep Overhead Press
• Over Under

REPEAT 2 times through