As someone who doesn’t like to spend a lot of time doing strength training, I’ve always liked core workouts because it really doesn’t take long to challenge and strengthen your abs in particular.
Every time I tackle a core workout, I’m shocked by just how quickly my abs start to burn. Even if a session is just 10 minutes long, I know I’m going to spend a good eight or nine minutes of that time working hard, and that my abs will be aching the next day.
So if you’re pressed for time and just want a short, sharp and effective training session, core workouts are always a great option, and this 10-minute abs blaster from fitness trainer Oliver Sjostrom is particularly good.
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That’s because it keeps things simple — you don’t need any equipment and do all five moves in the session from a similar position — and it’s still effective in working the upper and lower abs hard in a short amount of time.
Watch Oliver Sjostrom’s 10-minute abs workout
10 MIN TOTAL CORE/AB WORKOUT (At Home, No Equipment) – YouTube
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You do two rounds of five exercises in the session, working for 45 seconds and then resting for 15 seconds in between moves. While you don’t need any equipment for it, if you’re working on a hard floor, using one of the best yoga mats will make things more comfortable.
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Sjostrom does the workout with you, and during the rest periods the next exercise is displayed on screen, so you know what’s coming up.
Since you’re working to time rather than reps, the aim is to keep moving at a steady pace throughout each 45-second set — try to match the rhythm Sjostrom is working at if you can, but focus on maintaining good form and engaging your core correctly above all.
Since you’re working to time rather than reps, the aim is to keep moving at a steady pace throughout each 45-second set.
The work periods are pretty long and the session will have your abs burning from halfway through the first minute of action, so if you need to take extra breaks at times, then do so — just try to get back into it as quickly as you can to maximize the benefits of this short workout.
While the session doesn’t have any twisting or side-focused moves to target the obliques, the five moves you’ll be doing do work both the upper and lower abs, along with the deeper core muscles.
This is a very targeted abs workout, and while it will certainly tick off your core session for the week, it’s not doing a lot for the rest of your body or your cardiovascular fitness. That means it’s worth doing it in turn with a full-body strength session, or even as a finisher for another workout if you have time.
If you want to stick with the 10-minute, no-equipment theme, then this short full-body workout is a good option to rotate with this core session in your routine. If you can train three times a week consistently, even working for just 10 minutes at a time can yield impressive results.
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