This 10 Minute No-Equipment Core Workout Will Help You Burn Belly Fat And Build A Strong, Toned Core
Working out has a tremendous effect on our bodies.
More than just becoming physically fit, athletic or achieving great shape, it has a feeling you just cannot replace.
It's that feeling of achievement That is so rewarding. It´s An accomplishment of setting a goal for yourself, working towards it and not only seeing it in yourself, but feeling it in your body, in your health, in your soul and overcoming the obstacles cannot compare to any other type of feeling there is. After a great workout, it's like a cloud of relief follows you for the rest of the day afterwards.
Even with such stellar benefits, the obstacle of starting is hard. But why is that? There could be a lot of reasons as to why, but here are the biggest two: Time, and either not enough information or too much information to proceed forward with the application. Because of those issues of either not knowing enough or having too much thrown at you and leaving you confused, how could you add it in your schedule? Especially if you’re already busy as it is. So that's why we made this workout.
The purpose of this workout and along with this article is to help you in multiple ways:
create a highly effective and time efficient workout that helps you hit your core hard, while keeping your body in a constant state of motion to help you burn fat,
build a stronger, leaner and more toned midsection,
get the benefit of stress relief from physical exercises.
First things first, before we even have you perform the workout itself, it's important to know what movements will be performed and how to do them properly in order to get the most out of each workout, as well as improve overall quality in each movement to keep us safe and not causing any injuries due to improper technique.
In this workout, we will perform 4 exercises in a circuit; which means after one exercises repetitions/time limit is completed, we will immediately move into the next exercise without any or as minimal rest as possible. At the very end of all four exercises completion, start back over with the first movement, rinse and repeat.
The first session is not meant to break you down. The first session is to learn the movements and perform them effectively, so we know how to build our starting point and where our next step is to go.. The second session and after is where we start to challenge ourselves a little more. For example, after learning the movements and assuring that you are performing them correctly and feeling everything correctly, if you achieve 4 sets in your first workout, aim for 5 in your next session. Start smart, then progress to beat the rest.
The 1st exercise is called Hollow Rock Holds. To perform this, lay down on your back with your legs completely straight and arms straight overhead. After youre laid out on the floor, youre going to brace your core. To do this, flex your core as hard as you can, like youre preparing to be punched in the stomach. After your core is good and tight, imagine like youre trying to make your belly button touch your lower back. You can perform this from whatever position you are in while reading this and feel how effective this is and the difference it makes in your cores engagment. Now, crunch your upper abs up as high as you can while keeping your arms straight up overhead. After the top half of your body is in this position, lift your feet 10-12 inches off the floor. The best way to do this is imagine driving your lower back into the floor. This will both make sure your lower back is both safe and in an engaged position as well as help engage your lower abdominal and inner core activate to a higher degree. Once youre in this position, we´re going to hold it for 15 seconds. If youre doing it right, youll know in a few seconds; your abdominal wall is gonna start lighting up in the best way possible!
The 2nd exercise is Leg Raises. In the same position of where youre at, start to lift your feet towards the center of your torso while keeping your legs as straight as possible, visualizing your pelvis to touch your rib cage, until your feet are straight up. From there, lower your legs back down to it´s starting point of 10-12 inches off the floor and repeat for 5 repetitions.
3rd on the list is Crunches. For this, rest back out on the floor, legs completely straight and hands by your side. Bracing your core, the exact way you did for the Hollow Rock holds, you´re going to crunch by visualizing your rib cage trying to touch your pelvis, opposite of Leg Raises. When lowering yourself back down, do not rush anything. Lower yourself as controlled as possible while keeping your core engaged and repeat for 5 repetitions.
Finally, the last exercise in this complex is Planks, the king of core exercises. To perform this, roll over in a push up position, and rest on your forearms instead of your hands. Keeping your forearms parallel to each other. Keep your torso straight and rigid, your body in a straight line from your ears to your toes with no sagging or bending. Once in this position, brace your core and hold for 15 seconds.
After you have completed every exercise and performed them for their time limit and repetitions, this will be marked as one set. Take a few seconds to breathe and even hydrate if needed, and start back over, and perform as many sets as possible for 10 minutes.
Putting it all together, heres the 10 Minute Core Workout Guaranteed to give you results:
Workout:
As Many Sets As Possible for 10 minutes,
A1. Hollow Rock Holds, 15 seconds
A2. Leg Raises, 5 repetitions
A3. Crunches, 5 repetitions
A4. Planks, 15 seconds
After completion of Planks, this is the completion of one set. Repeat and perform for as many sets as possible.
Remember, If at any point in this workout you need to pause or even take a break mid exercise to catch your breath or dial back some, DO. The first session is NOT meant to beat you down, the first session is to properly learn the movements and technique so we can build up safely. If you need to do one rep, take a second, another rep, take another second, that is absolutely okay, but dont give up when it gets hard. Fight, just slower.
The goal for each workout is to be able to perform these more and more effectively by lowering our rest more and more for each session, until you can perform all 10 minutes without rest. Do not think you need to absolutely give it everything in session number one. Worry more performing the movements correctly and feeling everything first.
If you are able to perform 10 minutes of straight work, increase the total time to 11 minutes, increase the reps on Leg Raises and Crunches to 6 reps, and increase the time on Hollow Rock Holds and Planks to 20 seconds. And after that, 12 minutes, 7 reps, 25 seconds, and so on.
How Often Should This Be Performed?:
Ideally, when you are fully recovered for the first session. This is going to vary for different people according to their fitness levels and nutrition, but as soon as you are fully recovered from the previous session.
How Can You Make The Results More Effective?
Two things can make the results of this workout more effective:
Your Nutrition: Now, everybody has different bodies and requires different nutritional needs. So I can't (and won't) tell you that somebody needs to eat this diet, or that this is more effective than this. They all have benefits and a place, but one thing Ive noticed that has a consistent positive benefit to everybody is to drink at least 64-128oz of water (half a gallon - one gallon, or 4-8 16oz water bottles for easy math) and four servings of both fruit and veggies. If you were to start anywhere with proper nutrition, that would be the most optimal way of starting.
Do it with a friend! Learn the movements with a close friend or family member, encourage each other to push harder and drive, make it team work and build each other up!
Give this workout a go, and aim each session to be better than you were the last session. Approach this with the mindset of improving and overcoming your pains and struggles and making them the foundation of a strong mind and body. Once you have that put in your mind, nobody can take away your ability to overcome the challenges ahead. Life begins to happen for you instead of to you the very moment you turn your challenges into rewards and building blocks of character.
As always, keep growing, keep kicking ass and always be where your feet are at.
Love, Case
