Six exercises and this beginner-friendly ab workout to sculpt your mid-section

Not all ab exercises are the easiest – take crunches, for example. They require a certain degree of core strength to help lift your shoulders off the floor. Plus, they can put a lot of pressure on your lower back.  If you’re after a quick workout that’ll still work your abdominal muscles, but also doesn’t include any ridiculously hard exercises, you’re in the right place. Not only are these exercises beginner-friendly, but you don’t need any equipment and they’ll take just 15 minutes. 

If your goal is to have visible abs or get a six-pack, as well as working out consistently, you also need to make sure your diet is in check. You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘abs are made in the kitchen’ and it’s true. This is because you need to be eating in a calorie deficit (consuming less calories than you burn in a day) and have a low body fat percentage in order for your abs to be visible. However, awe wouldn't advise to become too fixated on this, as there's far more important things than just 'abs'.

You’ve got six exercises to get through for this workout and all of them are floor-based (no crunches, we promise!) so make sure you have an exercise mat, or something soft beneath you. You’ll perform 10 to 12 reps of each exercise (on both sides where applicable) and make sure you take your time with each movement. Don't rush through them, really try and feel your abdominal muscles work throughout each exercise. Here's your workout:

• C sit single arm overhead combo
• Single leg knee to elbow
• Bent knee dead bug
• Heel taps
• High plank knee taps
• High plank Spider-Man’s

We hope you found that a lot easier than doing a ton of crunches or holding the plank for endless minutes. To take your ab workout to the next level you can incorporate equipment, like a pair of dumbbells or a single kettlebell, for some added resistance to make your abdominals work harder. If you fancy this, we've got a great standing ab workout that uses a single dumbbell, or this three-move kettlebell core workout. It's important to note that, although wanting abs is ok, this isn't something you should become 'obsessed' with and, in fact, a strong core is far more beneficial and functional.