6-Minute Ab Crush

A good ab burn is my absolute favorite way to end a workout. Your blood is already pumping, your energy and adrenaline are up, and you know you're just a couple crunches away from ending on a high note.

This quick abdominal routine also makes for a great night cap or morning wake up call, if you're into that sort of daily 6-min abs type of thing.

Six-Minute Ab Crushing Routine

Minute 1

50 Tips to Toes: Laying on your back, knees bent, arms straight down toward your heels with palms to the ground. Crunch up, keeping your palms on the ground, sucking your belly button to the floor, and sliding your fingertips up to touch your heels (shoulder blades should roll up off the ground naturally). 

Minute 2

30 V-ups: Laying flat on your back, legs and arms stretched out straight. Keeping your legs and arms through back as straight as possible, pull your body up into a V-shape and touch your fingers to your toes. Make this hard by holding a lightweight (8-10 lb) medicine ball in your hands. When you get to the top of the V, give one final push of the ball up toward the sky for that extra umpf!

Minute 3

20 Windshield Wipers: Keep laying there on your back :) Put your hands by your side, palms next to your hips and facing up. Legs straight up to the sky. Slowly bring you legs, keeping them tightly together by squeezing at your thighs, down to the right, then back up to middle and over to the left, back up to middle again. With each side, your hip will roll onto your hand. Use it to stabilize, but try not to push yourself back up with the hand. Keep your movements smooth, steady and slow, keeping pace as you go from side to side. 

Minutes 4-6

60-30-30-60 Plank Series: Grab a timer. Flip to your belly. Hold a front plank for 60 seconds (lift everything but your toes and elbows off the ground, keep your body straight, tightening at your core, look straight ahead...Keep that butt down!!!) Roll onto one elbow, stacking your feet on top of each other with the other hand on your hip (up toward the sky if you want to make it harder), hold the side plank for 30 seconds. Switch to the other side and hold for 30 seconds. Finally, end your set with another 60 second front plank. 

Whew! And your done!

You feel that? Tight, strong abs, built from the core!