I’m so excited to introduce my first guest blog post by my good friend, Julia, with 37 FitCo! We became good friends many years ago, share a passion for fitness & are now both mothers of two young kiddos.
Beginner: Do each exercise for 30 seconds; rest for 30 seconds
Advanced: Do each exercise for 45 seconds; rest for 15 seconds
You pick your speed, but stick to it.
Planks – these are done on your forearms & toes. The key with these is to engage your core by pushing your heels back and keeping your rear down.
Crunches – to be effective, these must be performed using your core, which means your gaze is up and your bringing yourself up from your abs. Don’t use momentum or force yourself up. I prefer my hands behind my head but another way to perform these would be to keep your hands by your side, and crunch touching your ankles with your hands.
Toe touches – these will be performed with your legs up in the air as you crunch up to touch your toes.
V ups – this exercise engages your entire core, and is difficult for even the most advanced. Start on your bottom with your knees bent. Roll back onto your rear to where your feet are in the air, with your legs still bent. Hold your arms out straight in front of you (picture shows starting point), from here fully extend your legs while extending your upper body at the same time, then bring everything back to the starting point.
Flutter kicks – lie on your back with your legs straight and your feet at least 6 inches off the ground. With your gaze up, start kicking your feet in air for the time you’ve chosen. Try not to touch the ground at all during your kicks.
Bicycle crunch (my favorite) – this exercise is performed for 3 minutes straight. Start with 45 seconds of slow and controlled motion of the bike, followed by 15 seconds as fast as you can go. Repeat for another 2 minutes. This will rock your core!!