Abs Work: Russian Twists

Working on the abs requires working on various muscles in the abdominal region. This is one of the reasons why solely doing sit-ups won't help. Another reason is that you need diet, cardio, and strength training to build better abs, but that is a topic for another day. 

For today, we'll focus on one of the large muscle groups in that region: the obliques (sides of the abs). You can work these by doing a variety of exercises, but one of the really good ones is called the "Russian Twist". 

I will show you two ways to do this exercise: the easier and the more challenging way.

Easier way

Keeping the heels on the floor and the upper body angled back, slowly twist side to side. This twisting motion should come from the waist, not the neck or the hips. Looking in the direction you are twisting towards sometimes helps with this movement.

More challenging way

To challenge your body, do the same exercise with your heels lifted off the floor. However, try to keep the torso in the same position and still twist side to side from the waist, not the legs. Be slow and precise with your movements.

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Abs Routine: Russian Twists and V-Sits

Ready to work those abs this week? Here is a great sequence. Do 30 seconds of the Russian twist  and then 30 seconds of the V-sit. Rest between and repeat 5 times. 

Russian twists really work on those obliques and V-sits are great for overall core strength. (I have 2 options with feet off or on the floor). See the video below!

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Dumbbell February: Russian Twists

Use dumbbells to work your obliques. How? Russian twists! Start seated with your knees angled and your heels on the floor (like in option 2 in the image above). Extend the dumbbell in front of you and slowly twist from side to side (twist from your waist, not your neck). As you twist to one side look at that side as well. Repeat 10 times on each side, and do that for 3 sets.

To work your core even more, lift your feet up like in option 1 in the image above. This is harder so try to hold it a little longer every time you do it.

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No Crunch December: Russian Twists

In case you haven't got the message yet, the obliques are a really important part of overall core strength, and of course your abs. The Russian Twist is another one of those exercises that works the obliques a lot, but also works all of the abs muscles. 

How do you do it? Sit on your butt, and lift your upper body off of the floor. You may also choose to lift your legs of the floor or keep your heels on the floor. Keeping your chest up, lower your upper back until you feel tension in your abs. Slowly rotate from left to right, touching the fingers to the floor and turning your head to look to that side as you go. Watch the video for a demo.

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Need a Quick Workout? Try This 15 Minute Workout

And of course, you can do it twice or three times for a full workout :) Maybe if I keep doing burpees I will start to love them.

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Are Crunches Enough?

I have too many friends who wake up every morning and do like 100  crunches before they start their days. Or they do 100 crunches before they go to bed. All in the hope that they'd get better abs or at least a stronger core. I know I've said it before, but doing just crunches has not yet solved anyone's midsection problem.

20 Minute Abs Circuit

It's cold, snowy, and wet outside in New York. The perfect day to go indoors and do some ab toning exercises. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to work on your abs is not just by doing crunches. You would need to do enough cardiovascular exercises (running, swimming, cycling, elliptical, etc.) to burn the fat all around your body, including your midsection, and then do strengthening exercises to tone up the muscles.

Our focus today is on the strengthening piece, so please make sure you are still getting consistent cardio in, and not simply relying on the work you do to tone. Prior to doing the routine below, I would suggest warming up for about 5 minutes. You can run, use the elliptical, cycle, do jumping jacks, skip using a jump rope, or any other cardio exercise that requires sweat and constant motion.

Here are a few of my favorites that I have put together to form this 20 minute abs routine. Take your timer or stopwatch and do each exercise for 1 minute. When you are done, start from the beginning and do it all over again. Are you ready?

Abs Week: Russian Twist

Sometimes when we do crunches, we forget the obliques. The obliques are really on the sides of the abs, and give that definition that we all desire. I found a detailed video that shows how to do this great oblique workout called the Russian Twist. You may know it, but just may not know what it is called.

So before you watch the video, how do you do it? Here are a few easy steps:

Sit on your butt (like there is some other way to sit, right?) with your knees bent at an angle in front of you. You can either have your heels on the floor or your feet off the floor.

Your upper body should be at a 45 degree angle with your shoulders down, your abs tight, and your chest out. Make sure you are not putting pressure on your shoulders because the body innately wants to crunch forward as you do uncomfortable positions.

Hold your hands in front of you and twist your torso to one side. As you twist, try to touch the floor beside your butt on that side.

Rotate and twist to the other side. Keep going with this motion. You can do this with weights or a ball to increase the intensity.

Here is the video that describes each step of the movement:

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Wholeliving.com, Guardian.co.uk, Gabbyandlaird.com