Core Blaster Workout

Introduction

If you’ve read our article on “Abs vs Core- The Difference” you should know what we’re training today- The whole mid-section of the body!

That’s right, that also includes the six-pack. However, the focus is on the whole area, so we won’t be doing any excessive amounts of crunches.

Briefly explained- We start off with a crunch movement to prep and warm up the abdominal area and then we move on to more complex exercises that target the surrounding muscles as well.

In the middle of the workout, we have 3 sets for the lower back, after which we transition to the last 2 exercises, which are rather static and help you improve balance.

Overall, this is a well-structured workout, perfect for intermediate and advanced athletes. Beginners too can give it a shot, but remember not to excessively exhaust yourself.

Workout Priorities

As mentioned, the workout prioritizes the mid-section, meaning the abs, as well as its surrounding groups. The workout also includes lower back work, which even puts some tension on the glutes and the hamstrings, which however, are not the main priority.

Check out our workouts for Glute and Legs.

Now let’s get to it. Below is a table where we have shown the exercise names, as well as the number of sets, repetitions and duration for each of them.

Exercises

Exercise Map

Crunch-hands overhead

Execution

• Lay down on the ground/mat and pull your heels closer to the hips
• Extend your arms back and behind your head as illustrated
• Tense the abs, then crunch up without allowing the lower back come off of the ground
• Contract the abs, then hold it briefly and release
• Repeat

Elbow-to-knee

Execution

• Lay down on the ground or mat and place your hands behind your head
• Crunch up slightly so that the abs are tensed, then lift your legs in the air
• Rotate to the right, while simultaneously bringing up your right knee
• Get the elbow as close to the knee as possible, contracting the abs
• Repeat with the opposite side

Note
Remember- Right rotation= Left elbow to right knee and vice versa

Hyperextension

Execution

• Stand on the hyperextension bench, placing your ankles underneath the pads and thighs comfortably on top of the leg pads. Note that the top of your hip bone should be right at the edge of the leg pads
• Place your hands behind your head and go down slowly
• Move up with a moderate pace and contract the lower back muscles- Spinal erectors
• Repeat

Hollow Hold

Execution

• Lay down flat on the ground and extend your arms above your head as illustrated
• Simultaneously lift your legs up straight and crunch slightly, tensing the abs
• Hold

Front Plank

Execution

• Kneel down on the ground and place your elbows comfortably
• Place your feet close to one another, standing on your toes
• Keep the body as straight as possible and look forward or down
• Hold

Workout Tips

Start Off Light

Especially if you are a beginner, it is highly recommended to start off easy on this workout and warm up well prior to that. Do some light cardio like rope jumping for 3-5 minutes, then a thorough warm-up for the whole musculature.

From then on, you can proceed to each exercise, starting off easy on the first one and then transitioning to applying more effort.

All of this will help you prevent any strains, fatigue and injury.

Pose It Out

As we mentioned in most of our Ab workouts, posing, or, in other words “Flexing” is great when it comes to achieving in-depth, detailed development.

What you can try to do is flex your abs and surrounding muscle groups and hold the contractions for up to 10 seconds. This can be done pretty much anywhere, including in-between sets and exercises.

Flexing will boost your mind-muscle connection and therefore, allow you to achieve greater contractions each time you do a repetition. So, each repetition will be more prominent and you will feel it, rather than just go through the motion.

If Not Doable – Reduce the Workload

This workout consists of quite a bit of exercises, so if they seem too many for you, make sure to reduce the numbers of sets and repetitions, and progress up to the given numbers in the table.

After all, you don’t want to excessively exhaust yourself, so take it easy.

Conclusion

This workout is well-structured and will give your abdomen, lower back and surrounding muscle groups quite a challenge. We have simple contractions, rotating contractions that require limb coordination but we also have static exercises, where your will shall be tested!

Besides everything else, it is worth mentioning that if you’re expecting to get shredded just from this workout, it will NOT… Work out. Pun intended.

But that is simply because having a six pack requires a low body fat percentage, which implies you should also pay attention to your nutrition.

Either way, don’t get discouraged. Everyone who keeps on keeping on, succeeds!