Phenomenal Abdominals - Where's your end of the year six-pack?

Food and merriment are everywhere - let's close out this year IN SHAPE and READY for our new fitness journey come 2016.




I seldom do "target" training workouts ... however ... an ab-focused conditioning medley is acceptable. :) You have the option of not jumping or going quickly in all of these. Go at your pace but work hard and accomplish something so you feel great when you're done. You have no excuses - most if not all of the workouts I put into this blog do not need anything more than your body. So, put on some jolly music and have at it!




This is in PYRAMID style by number and time. Follow the sequences - I wrote them out. But, in essence, if the exercise is going by time, it's: 20 secs, 30 secs, 45 secs, 30 secs, 20 secs. If it's going by number, it's: 5 reps, 8 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 5 reps.


Here it is:




MINDLESS WARM-UP:


* Jumping Jacks or Side Taps - 1 minute


* Jumping or Walking Half Burpees (no pushup) - 1 minute


* Jog/March in place or Run/Walk and Tap - 1 minute


REPEAT THAT PROCESS ONE MORE TIME for a total of 2 sets!




AB-FOCUSED CONDITIONING:


1). Alternating Forward Lunges (yep ... that's abs)
     - If you have dumbbells, go ahead and hold them. Every time you push back to feet together, make sure you CONTRACT YOUR ABDOMINALS!! No thrusting your torso back with each push. Head shoots up towards the ceiling ... keep that imaginary basket of goods on your head and use your core for stability and balance.


2). FULL Sit ups or Sit up to Stand
     - Some trainers swear against full sit-ups. If you have any back issues, just do crunches. If you're in great shape, roll from a sit up into a standing position ... if you have a medicine ball, go ahead and use it.




The Sequence:
5 alternating lunges (each side - so, a total of 10)
5 sit ups (whatever option you choose)
8 lunges
8 situps
10 lunges
10 situps
8 lunges
8 situps
5 lunges
5 situps


NOTE: I do not mention a rest. If you need one, maybe a 10 second break between each set. If you need more of one, then 30 seconds tops after each set (lunges/abs then rest).




3). Regular Plank (forearms)




4). Oblique Side-Lying Crunches
     - Beginner: Laying on your right side, your right arm is straight in front of you, left hand on your head. Crunch your left elbow towards your left foot. Legs are bent.
     - Intermediate: Same thing, but with both hands on your head and the left leg raising up - left knee to left elbow
     - Advanced: Same thing, but with both hands on head and BOTH legs lifting up off the floor - straight up (NOT FORWARD!) and left elbow touches left knee




5). Superman (Straight line for this one)
     - Feet together and tight ... arms parallel to each other (whether they're overhead with palms facing each other or along your sides with palms facing up), stay in straight body form and lift your legs and chest up from the floor.




6). Spiderman




7). Hollow Body Rocks
     - These are the opposite of Supermans ... lying on your back, hollow your core/abs and keep your legs tight and together, arms along your sides. Lift your upper back off the floor and your legs off the floor. Rock your body forward and back.




8). Side Plank (forearm) (With option top leg abduction/raise)




The Sequence:
20 second PLANK
5 OBLIQUES Right
20 second SUPERMAN hold
20 second alternating SPIDERMAN
5 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
20 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Right
____________


30 second PLANK
8 OBLIQUES Right
30 second SUPERMAN hold
30 second alternating SPIDERMAN
8 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
30 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Right
________________


45 second PLANK
45 OBLIQUES Right and then LEFT!! (so, do 45 seconds each side)
45 second SUPERMAN hold
45 second alternating SPIDERMAN
10 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
45 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Right and then LEFT!! (do 45 secs each side)
_________________________


30 second PLANK
8 OBLIQUES Left
30 second SUPERMAN hold
30 second alternating SPIDERMAN
8 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
30 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Left
____________________________


20 second PLANK
5 OBLIQUES Left
20 second SUPERMAN hold
20 second alternating SPIDERMAN
5 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
20 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Left


PYRAMIDS OVER ... then next two are extra:


9). Jack Knives or Pikes (10 reps/3 sets)


10). Hollow Body to Superman Rolls (arms overhead)
       - You roll from Hollow Body into a Superman without letting the feet or arms touch the floor. So, from lying on your back to your stomach, right. Back to center. Then, to the left and back to center. (10 reps - each roll, right to center to left is ONE/2 sets)


STRETCH!


*****I did not go into massive explanations on these exercising ... look up their forms if you need to on youtube and do the best you can. Don't rush through it ... do the exercises with friends or great music that'll just keep you going ... and don't let anything hurt you. Keep in good form ... listen to your body and discover where you're at.******


CELEBRATE YOUR END-OF-THE-YEAR!! Let's close this out strong and proud!