I could see the benefits of low-impact exercise, and I could feel my muscles getting stronger in ways I didn’t expect. But I don’t have a lot of time to work out because I’m a busy mum and fitness writer.
It was hard for me to pay attention for an hour on something that didn’t interest me. At that point, I saw Zoe and Emily from @zoandemfit. Their six-move ab workout at home gave me all the body-lengthening and stress-relieving benefits of Pilates in just fifteen minutes. This is how the workout works and what happened when I did it.
Read also
- The Ordinary serum “filler in a bottle” makes skin smooth in your 40s.
- The Ordinary serum called “filler in a bottle” makes skin smooth in your 40s.
- Seven daily habits that make life feel heavy and how to break them
This quick 15-minute Pilates ab workout includes six basic exercises. There is a 10-second break between each exercise, and each one takes 45 seconds to finish. The plan includes:
- Boat Hold Heel Taps
- The side plank twists to dip.
- Pulses in the arms
- Bugs that are dead
- Bear mountain climbers
- Lifting your legs while pushing your hips out
All you need for comfort while doing floor exercises is an exercise mat. You only need your body weight and enough room to move around. No other equipment is needed. Don’t worry if these exercises seem strange to you at first. You will see that the workout moves at a steady pace with transitions that are easy to follow as you watch Zoe and Emily show you how to do each exercise. I picked up a yoga mat and started watching the video to see how well it worked for me.
Also check out
- Using castor oil every day naturally makes your lashes stronger and your brows thicker.
- Using castor oil every day naturally makes your brows thicker and your lashes stronger.
My core was on fire during this workout. The transversus abdominis, which is the deepest layer of my abdomen, got a lot of work during the very focused session.
Sciatica Relief Yoga: A Doctor-Recommended Way to Naturally Reduce Nerve Pain
As I moved through side plank twists, dips, arm pulses, and finally dead bugs, I noticed that my obliques and hip flexors were also getting involved. I felt this the whole time because I had to use my abs even more to keep my core tight while I moved my arms and legs.
Even though the main focus of this routine was my abs and core, my whole body was involved because many of the exercises are compound movements. I had to brace my midsection and rely on my shoulders and upper back for support when I did bear mountain climbers and side plank variations.
The bear mountain climbers and boat hold heel taps also made my quads burn, and the leg raises with hip extension helped to stretch my hamstrings.
Even though the abs are the main focus of this workout, these other muscles need to stay active to help you move smoothly through each exercise. Your body really works as one unit. This is especially clear when you slow down and pay attention to how each muscle works together during each repetition.
If your hip flexors click during this workout, it could mean that your core isn’t properly engaged or that your abdominal muscles aren’t working hard enough. It could also be because of your range of motion, your ability to move, or even a medical condition. If it hurts, stop clicking and talk to your doctor. During my training to become a barre teacher, I learned that your hip flexors usually click when you do exercises like deadbugs or heel taps because your pelvic stabilising muscles aren’t working as well as they could. Your glutes and abs are the main muscles that keep you stable. The clicking sound usually comes from your hip flexor tendon snapping over bone. This isn’t dangerous, but it does remind you to slow down, check your alignment, and tighten your core a little more. For the last 15 seconds of the arm pulses, I held my neck up and switched to pulsing one arm at a time. This helped me. When things got too intense, I took a short break, and it really helped. It’s always better to take a few seconds to fix your form than to push yourself too hard and risk getting hurt.
What impressed me the most was how much core training I could do in a short amount of time without it feeling like a normal ab workout. Some of the exercises definitely worked my abs, but I didn’t really notice how hard they were working until I started to feel the burn.
There were no long plank holds or repeated crunches. Instead, I did patterns that didn’t seem like they were related to normal core training while moving my arms and legs at the same time.
There were no problems moving from one exercise to the next. I went from lying down to side planks, then to bear planks, and finally back to the floor. I didn’t care as much about being uncomfortable or bored as I did about the next move. I stayed focused the whole time, which made the routine feel like it had a purpose. It gave me the usual benefits of Pilates without making me check the time all the time.
