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Sit-up haters, we’ve got a sit-up free workout ready and waiting for you to use—but if
you love sit-ups, feel free to tack them onto the end of this five-move bodyweight routine.
The one thing we would advise acquiring before getting stuck into the core workout is an exercise mat (such as one of the best yoga mats), this adds a little extra protection for your back and joints during a floor-based routine like this one.
Developed by trainer Cindy Yu, this workout is all about challenging the muscles in your core to strengthen and tone your midsection. It’s an equipment-free session so you can take these moves with you to the gym, on vacation, or just enjoy doing them from the comfort of your own home. Let’s take a look at the exercises, learn from Yu’s demonstrations and explore some the benefits of the core building session.
Make sure to dedicate 30 to 45 seconds to each exercise, focusing on each side of the body for each movement. The goal is to complete four or five rounds in total, but you may need to give yourself small breaks to ensure that you finish the entire workout with good technique, depending on how frequently you train your core.
These are the movements you’ll need for this quick workout, but before you begin, you can watch Yu’s demonstrations on Instagram if you’re unfamiliar with any of them or just need a refresher.
Plank knee drive pike
Curl your legs and kick them out.
Bear stance: turn and extend
Plank knee in reverse during leg lift
Kick out with extended legsThere’s nothing wrong with sit-ups — in fact, they’re great for targeting your rectus abdominis (the ‘six-pack’ muscle). However, we understand that they can get a bit repetitive when they frequently appear in many of the best ab workouts.
The good news is, you aren’t losing out on any core gains by ditching the sit-ups and instead giving Yu’s five move routine a shot. Her collection of exercises engage various muscles in the core, including the obliques, transverse abdominis, and lower back.
The more muscles in the core you engage, the greater strength gains you can make, and you can improve things like stability and posture. And this has practical benefits, too, as it’s no secret that a strong core is the unsung hero of good posture.
A bit like how a well-built building relies on strong foundations, the core muscles are the foundation of your mid and upper body. In strengthening the muscles of your abdomen, lower back, and pelvis, you can create a robust framework that keeps your spine aligned and prevents slouching or overarching.
More from Tom’s Guide
You only need a kettlebell and this 30-minute workout to build full-body muscle and boost your metabolism
Personal trainer reveals the 5 abs exercises most people are doing wrong — and how to fix your form
Ditch the gym — build a stronger lower body with just a pair of dumbbells and
Jessica Downey
⦁ Fitness Writer
⦁ Jessica is an experienced fitness writer with a passion for running. Her love for keeping fit and fueling her body with healthy and enjoyable food quite naturally led her to write about all things fitness and health-related. If she isn’t out testing the latest fitness products such as the latest running shoe or yoga mat for reviewing then she can be found writing news and features on the best ways to build strength, active aging, female health, and anything in between. Before then she had a small stint writing in local news, has also written for Runners World UK (print and digital), and gained experience with global content marketing agency, Cedar Communications.
⦁ Born and raised in Scotland, Jessica is a massive fan of exercising and keeping active outdoors. When at home she can be found running by the sea, swimming in it, or up a mountain. This continued as she studied and trained to become a PPA-accredited magazine journalist in Wales. And since working and living in London, she splits her time between weight training in the gym, trying new fitness classes, and finding scenic running routes. Jessica enjoys documenting this on her fitness-inspired Instagram page ⦁ @jessrunshere where she loves engaging with like-minded fitness junkies.She is a big fan of healthy cooking and loves learning more about this area with expert nutritionists she has met over the years. Jessica is a big advocate for building healthy relationships with food rather than building restrictive attitudes towards it. When she isn’t eating or running she also enjoys practicing yoga in her free time as it helps her to unwind and benefits her performance in other sports.
30 minutes
Born and raised in Scotland, Jessica is a massive fan of exercising and keeping active outdoors. When at home she can be found running by the sea, swimming in it, or up a mountain. This continued as she studied and trained to become a PPA-accredited magazine journalist in Wales. And since working and living in London, she splits her time between weight training in the gym, trying new fitness classes, and finding scenic running routes. Jessica enjoys documenting this on her fitness-inspired Instagram page ⦁ @jessrunshere where she loves engaging with like-minded fitness junkies.She is a big fan of healthy cooking and loves learning more about this area with expert nutritionists she has met over the years. Jessica is a big advocate for building healthy relationships with food rather than building restrictive attitudes towards it. When she isn’t eating or running she also enjoys practicing yoga in her free time as it helps her to unwind and benefits her performance in other sports.
30 minutes
trying new fitness classes, and finding scenic running routes. Jessica enjoys documenting this on her fitness-inspired Instagram page ⦁ @jessrunshere where she loves engaging with like-minded fitness junkies.She is a big fan of healthy cooking and loves learning more about this area with expert nutritionists she has met over the years. Jessica is a big advocate for building healthy relationships with food rather than building restrictive attitudes towards it. When she isn’t eating or running she also enjoys practicing yoga in her free time as it helps her to unwind and benefits her performance in other sports.
30 minutes