3 exercises, 10 minutes and this ab workout for quick six-pack gains

Work your core in just three moves

Two young fitness woman athletes doing a dead bug exercise on a foam roller, to work on their core muscles and stability.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Want a six-pack, and you want it now? No problem! This ab workout is fast, uses no equipment and contains only three exercises; it doesn't get much quicker than this. And while working on your abdominal muscles certainly has aesthetic appeal, strengthening this area will also help lower the chances of suffering from back pain, support good posture by propping up your spine and build functional strength, which can aid sports performance or even mundane household activities.

For those less concerned by six-pack abs and simply want to improve their core control, then we have a yoga block exercise to try out. Need something more challenging? We collated a list of the best core exercises to improve posture and enhance balance. Finally, for those determined to get six-pack abs, we recommend checking out this hardcore dumbbell abdominal routine.  

In this workout, American personal trainer Kelsey Wells shows us three abs exercises that target the whole abdominal area. The routine requires an exercise mat and can easily be performed in 10 minutes to suit those who are time-pressured. Try completing the following for 30-60 seconds and repeat for 3-5 sets:

  • Ab bicycle (30-60 seconds)
  • Straight leg raise (30-60 seconds) 
  • Toe taps (30-60 seconds) 

Looking for fitness equipment that works your whole core and lower back? We have curated together the best ab rollers that are compact and simple to use. If you're planning on tracking your ab workouts, have a look at T3's best fitness tracker guide; these cheap and cheerful wearables can monitor your heart rate, calories burned and even track sleep/recovery. Check out the fitness tracker deals below for the best prices now.

Meg Walters
Freelance journalist

Meg is a British-Canadian freelance writer based in southeast London. She can usually be found writing about classic films, rom-coms, period dramas, TV, Millennials, pop culture, books, style, lifestyle and fitness. Her writing has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, GQ, Stylist, The i, i-D, Little White Lies, Insider and more.