Bolster your abdominal muscles and achieve a toned midsection in a short 10-minute timeframe with this trainer's final trio of abs exercises.
Strengthen Your Core with a 10-Minute Finisher Workout
Looking to build a strong and stable core? Trainer Alex Marks from London PT studio On Your Marks recommends a 10-minute abs finisher. This workout can be performed on its own or as an effective finisher at the end of an exercise session.
The finisher requires one dumbbell and one resistance band. For those who are relative beginners or tired after the main body of training, the exercises can be broken into 60-second segments, performing 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest. As core strength builds, the rest periods can be shortened and the work periods increased.
One example of this finisher involves performing each exercise to near failure, repeating them back-to-back with minimal rest for the full 10 minutes. Some exercises that can be included are the reverse crunch, anti-rotational dead bug, and plank drag through.
The reverse crunch exercise involves lying on your back, bending your knees, placing hands by your temples, engaging deep core muscles, lifting your upper back and legs, and pausing before lowering. The anti-rotational dead bug exercise involves looping a resistance band around a stable support, lying side on to the anchor point, holding the band, lifting your legs, engaging deep core muscles, extending your arms, and alternating leg extensions. The plank drag through exercise involves assuming a high plank position, engaging your core, picking up a dumbbell with one hand, moving it under your body to the other side, and repeating with the other hand.
Workout finishers are short, sharp bouts of exercise tagged onto the end of a session to target specific body parts or energy systems. These endurance-boosting HIIT drills or combinations of exercises to target accessory muscles can help round off your session efficiently.
If you're looking for more workout ideas, consider routines based on EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) or AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) formats. These can be adapted for core exercises, such as repeating a set of planks, sit-ups, and leg lifts every minute for 10 minutes or doing as many rounds as possible within the time.
In summary, a typical 10-minute strong and stable core finisher could look like:
- 6 exercises (e.g., plank variations, bicycle crunches, leg raises, Russian twists, mountain climbers, hollow holds)
- Perform each for 30 seconds with 10 seconds rest
- Repeat the circuit twice (total 10 minutes)
- No equipment required
- Focus on controlled movements to enhance core stability and strength
This kind of workout effectively rounds off your session by building endurance, strength, and stability in your core muscles within a short, equipment-free routine.
- To enhance core stability and strength, consider incorporating exercises like the reverse crunch, anti-rotational dead bug, and plank drag through into your strength training routines.
- If you're seeking additional workout ideas, consider routines based on the EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) or AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) formats, which can be adapted for core exercises.
- Workout finishers, such as the one described here, are effective for boosting endurance and rounding off your fitness-and-exercise sessions efficiently, especially with a focus on science-backed health-and-wellness practices.
