Be a coach for a day and create a tough core and abs workout for your friends.
CrossFit Abs Workouts are a highly useful way to build better core strength and power. They will enhance your ability to resist injury, control general movement and stabilise your body to a higher degree.
Our core has three-dimensional depth and functional movement in all three planes of motion. Many of the muscles are hidden beneath the exterior musculature people typically train. The deeper muscles include the transverse abdominals, multifidus, diaphragm, pelvic floor, and many other deeper muscles.
Your core most often acts as a stabilizer and force transfer centre rather than a prime mover. Yet consistently people focus on training their core as a prime mover and in isolation. This would be doing crunches or back extensions versus functional movements like deadlifts, overhead squats, and pushups, among many other functional closed chain exercises.
Rules For Creating Your Core and Abs Workout
STEP 1 – Pick the exercises
Choose 5 exercises from the following list (click on the page numbers at the bottom of this page to find the different exercises). You can do this randomly without looking first, or scan through and pick the exercises that you think will work well together.
STEP 2 – Pick the structure
Choose the structure of your workout from the following:
Tabatta
- Work out hard for 20 seconds
- Rest for 10 seconds
- Complete 10 rounds
15 minute AMRAP
30 seconds of each exercise in turn. As little rest as possible.
STEP 3 – Post it in on social media and tag your friends
Don’t forget to tag the people that will do this workout with you.
Example of Core and Abs Workout
Here is my workout:
15 min AMRAP of exercises: 3,4,10,14 and 15.
30 seconds on each exercise…
This works out as:
- Feet elevated rink plank
- Tall to Half Kneeling Get Ups With Ball
- Dumbbell Side Plank
- Windshield Wipers
- Hollow rocks
The core strength workout you have just designed will help you become a healthier, stronger and more confident athlete. As always in Crossfit, function comes first, and the core is an incredibly important part of all functional movement, so that is why it must not be neglected. Abs are often mistakenly seen as a sign of a strong core, but it is possible to have well-defined rectus abdominis (the outer muscles that form a 6 pack) and still have a weak core.
Give it a try by choosing your 5 numbers first then find out what your workout will be.
1. Single Arm DB Overhead Split Squat
The single-leg variations are endless. It should keep you busy for a couple of months. On the heels of our single Arm Overhead Squat from two days ago, this movement will be a little more accessible for many. The Flexibility to hit this position is significantly less than the double leg squat version.
Ensure you Body tracks straight up and straight down.
2. Weight Hollow Hold Scissor Kicks
Controlling a variety of different lower body movement patterns while maintaining a hollow body position requires practice.
We have shown drills before where we attempt to hold isometrics in the core and upper body while moving the lower body through patterns like flutter kicks and wipers. These scissor kicks are yet another pattern that can help grow your motor control in the hips all on top of a stable midline and a solid core workout.
3. Feet Elevated Ring Plank
A strong core and healthy shoulders are a difference-maker in the fitness game. Do not underestimate the power of static bridges, planks, and their variations. A lot can be said for having positions like these in your strength and conditioning program year-round.
This is a simple, but effective core and abs workout.
4. Tall to Half Kneeling Get Ups With Ball
Tall to half-kneeling get-ups with an 18″ 100# Ball. These are great oblique and leg exercises. Try this interesting core and abs workout variation from Sam Dancer.
5. Overhead Hold from Tia-Clair Toomey – Core and Abs Workout
A great overhead hold to stabilise and strengthen your midline from The Fittest Woman in The World.
6. Rower Pike Up
This is a great anterior core exercise to help develop not only the rectus abdominus, but also the hip flexors like the psoas and quadriceps.
I love that it also is a great shoulder stability drill too.
7. Band Resisted Deadbug
The deadbug is one of our favourite hollow body core motor control exercises. The band resisted variation helps to ensure the athlete learns how to coordinate their upper body with the lower body around a hollow body.
Ensure there is a decent amount of banded tension you are resisting. Also, keep the low back pressing into the floor aggressively throughout the exercise.
8. Plank March – Core and Abs Workout
This exercise is a great warm-up movement and combines some unilateral scapular stability work with a quick hit to the core.
Try 30-45sec continuous alternating marching in your warm-up combined with some easy rowing.
9. Side Plank Rotations
This is a great closed chain rhomboid exercise and can serve as a great warm-up drill on days you are going to have an upper-body pulling or pushing day.
Pair this with a single leg wall sit to give your hips and shoulders the prep needed for today’s training.
10. Dumbbell Side Plank
The Side Plank is so often thought of as a core strengthener only. But the realty is that it is a terrific scapular strengthener too.
This variation with the Dumbbell above is a terrific way to train both shoulders in the same plank. Keep your arms in a straight line by stacking the shoulders over one another as best as you can.
11. Half Kneeling Landmine Press
The landmine is a great tool for vertical pressing. It allows for a unique range of motions and pressing angles. I like it for clients that are still working on getting full shoulder flexion and can’t quite go overhead yet.
This also serves as a great tool to warm up the shoulders and core for pressing work.
12. Bird Dog – Core and Abs Workout
Don’t overcomplicate things when it comes to prep and warm-up. The bird dog is a classic. Crossing the midline of the brain to get both sides of the body doing separate movements is an excellent way to wake up the CNS and connect opposite sides of the body!
If you want to learn more, follow Marcus Filly’s Excellent Functional Bodybuilding program on Instagram.
13. STRICT TOES TO BAR
Read More: 5 Highly Effective CrossFit Abs Workouts you can do at Home
14. WINDSHIELD WIPERS – Core and Abs Workout
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15. HOLLOW ROCKS
Have fun!
