While classic core exercises like sit-ups, planks and crunches are undoubtedly effective, they’re not the only way to strengthen your abs, and if you prefer you can stay standing and do a low-impact workout that boosts your core strength.
This 10-minute standing abs workout from fitness trainer Katja Puanecki, who goes by Katja Believe on YouTube, uses a mix of marching, twisting and kicking exercises to workout your upper and lower abs, as well as your obliques, without any jumping or floor moves.
You don’t need any equipment for the workout aside from one of the best yoga mats, which will protect your floor from sweat and also make sure you have a grippy surface to perform the exercises on.
Watch Katja Believe’s 10-minute standing abs workout
The workout involves doing 10 moves in the 10 minutes, working for 40 seconds in each set before resting for 20 seconds. Katja does the workout with you so you can follow her example, and during the rest breaks the upcoming exercise is demonstrated in a small box-out video so you can prepare yourself.
Throughout the session you’ll be raising your knees and kicking out to work the lower abs, twisting your torso to hit the obliques, and bending over to target the upper abs. Move quickly, but with control, and aim to engage your core muscles throughout to boost the benefits, which will include improved posture as well a stronger midsection if you do the session regularly.
It’s a workout that’s suitable for all fitness levels and you can scale the difficulty up or down if required. If you’re finding the sets too long and hard then reduce the work time each minute to 30 seconds or less, then rest for the remainder of the minute before going on to the next exercise.
If you’re already quite experienced with abs workouts and want more of a challenge, then you can work for 50 seconds and rest for 10, do the circuit two or three times for a longer session, or even use dumbbells or a kettlebell to make each exercise harder.
However you plan to approach the session you’ll find that the vigorous movement gets your heart pumping and boosts your cardio fitness as well as strengthening your abs and obliques. Try and do the workout two or three times a week to maximize the benefits, and make sure to increase the difficulty over time as you get used to the session — use the principles of progressive overload to ensure you keep getting stronger and fitter.
If you’d like to do a longer workout, this 20-minute standing abs workout uses dance moves to make your training more fun, while if you’re after something really tough that uses more traditional moves like sit-ups and crunches, I tried this 20-minute abs workout and it’s certainly very effective.
More from Tom's Guide
- A Pilates instructor shares an 8-minute Pilates abs workout for deep core activation — so I tried it
- Forget sit-ups — this no-equipment ab workout blasts your deep core
- Three 10-minute ab workouts that hit all your core muscles
