Heavy Core Workout (20 Mins)

Heavy Core Workout (20 Mins) - core workout with some upper body and a heavy dumbbell #coreworkout #abs #workoutvideo

Today’s heavy core workout left my obliques super sore the next day. Most of the workouts I post use medium dumbbells (10ish pounds), but today we’re ramping it up and going heavier. “Heavy” will of course mean something different for everyone, but aim for a weight about twice as high as what you consider “medium.”

Heavy Core Workout

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

The exercises in this heavy core workout are done for either 60 or 30 seconds. You move from one to the next with no rest, making for a 5-minute block of work. The first time through, do the first three exercises on the right. Second time through, on the left. Repeat. We’ll rest for 30 seconds in between sets, 60 seconds at the halfway mark. You’re looking at 20 minutes of work, 22 minutes total including rest.

As with all workouts, make sure you’re properly warmed up beforehand. I have a 5-minute warm up and a gentler, low-impact version of it. Always listen to your body, modifying or stopping as needed. The best way to modify this workout is to simply use lighter weights.

Heavy Core Workout (20 Mins) - core workout with some upper body and a heavy dumbbell #coreworkout #abs #workoutvideo

If you don’t have a dumbbell for this heavy core workout, a kettlebell would do for most of the exercises. It just might be awkward with the row depending on how high your step bench is.

I’m in a bit of a predicament with shooting workout videos because Joe won a Peloton (!!!) and it now takes up our entire tiny living room, where I typically shoot. I have a glutes-focused workout I shot at my parents’ house that I’ll post next week, but then I don’t know what I’m going to do. That’s not to say there won’t be workouts—I’ll figure something out—just might be shot in a very random place. TBD.

xo Nicole

Core Finisher for Obliques

Core Finisher for Obliques - This 10-minute workout will focus on your obliques. All you'll need is a set of sliders. Video included! #obliques #abs #coreworkout #workout #fitness

This quick core finisher for obliques will take you just about 10 minutes to complete. While the focus is the obliques, you’ll work center abdominals and upper body as well.

In my own workout routine, I tend to do a lot of plank-based core exercises—especially since that’s what we do at Btone where I teach. I’ve noticed that while I feel really strong with planking work, I struggle a lot with core work laying on my back. Makes sense since I don’t do much of it! I’m trying to work on my weaknesses this year, which means incorporating non-plank core work with the planking.

Today’s workout uses a mix of both, and if you follow along with the video you’ll see how much I struggle with the crunch blocks—woof! I almost hesitated to publish it, but the point of sharing workouts with you all isn’t to show you how strong I am and good I am at certain exercises. It’s to share workouts that will challenge you (and me) and strengthen our bodies—and hopefully teach you something along the way.

The point of this mini monologue isn’t to excuse myself for modifying most of the crunch blocks in the video. I just want to remind you that avoiding exercises because you’re “bad” at them will do nothing to strengthen that weakness. In fact, it can contribute to and even worsen muscle imbalances that are making these exercises hard for you in the first place. So get outside your comfort zone and put in the work—it’s worth it! Plus, seeing progress with something you were once “bad” at is SO rewarding.

Core Finisher for Obliques

EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED:

  • Sliders – I’ve linked to the set I used to have, but I’m just using dish towels in the video, which work great on hard flooring. On carpet, try DVD cases or magazine covers.

This is a build-a-combo workout, a structure I’ve used a few times in the past. Over the course of 1:45, you’ll build a three-part combo move. Here’s the breakdown:

15 seconds: Move 1
30 seconds: Move 1 + Move 2
45 seconds: Move 1 + Move 2 + Move 3
End with a 15-second hold

You do that all continuously, with no breaks during the 1:45. When you’re done, rest 60 seconds and then move onto the next block. The first two blocks focus on the left side obliques. You then repeat them on the right.

As with all workouts, make sure you’re properly warmed up beforehand, and always listen to your body, modifying or stopping as needed. I have a five-minute warm up on the blog, or you can do your own at home.

Core Finisher for Obliques - This 10-minute workout will focus on your obliques. All you'll need is a set of sliders. Video included! #obliques #abs #coreworkout #workout #fitness

Workout Breakdown

See 01:45 in above video for preview of exercises.

Sliding Plank Block – Left
—Sliding Snake Crunch (left foot in front of right)
—— + Single-Arm March (right forearm down)
——— + Crossbody Crunch (left knee to right elbow)
———— Hold the Crossbody Crunch to finish

Crunch Block – Left
—Bicycle Sit Up (right elbow to left knee)
—— + Side V-Up (roll onto right hip)
——— + Leg Lift

Sliding Plank Block – Right
—Sliding Snake Crunch (right foot in front of left)
—— + Single-Arm March (left forearm down)
——— + Crossbody Crunch (right knee to left elbow)
———— Hold the Crossbody Crunch to finish

Crunch Block – Right
—Bicycle Sit Up (left elbow to right knee)
—— + Side V-Up (roll onto left hip)
——— + Leg Lift
———— Hold Leg Hover to finish

If you like the structure of this workout, check out these other build-a-combo workouts from the archives:

xo Nicole

12-Minute Bodyweight Tabata Superset Workout: Core + Upper Body

12-Minute Bodyweight Tabata Superset Workout: Core + Upper Body - This workout is broken up into three tabata supersets. Perfect for doing when you're short on time and space! #workout #tabata

I’ve got the second of three bodyweight tabata superset workouts for you! If you missed the last one, it focused on lower body. Today’s will hit core and upper body. The first superset is the easiest of the three so if you start the workout and think it might not be challenging enough, just wait for the next two. 😉

12-Minute Bodyweight Tabata Superset Workout: Core + Upper Body

This workout consists of three tabata supersets. For each superset, you’ll complete 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. You alternate between the two exercises. Rest for 30-60 seconds in between supersets.

As with all workouts, make sure you’re properly warmed up beforehand, and always listen to your body, modifying or stopping as needed.

12-Minute Bodyweight Tabata Superset Workout: Core + Upper Body - This workout is broken up into three tabata supersets. Perfect for doing when you're short on time and space! #workout #tabata

WORKOUT BREAKDOWN

Superset 1

Fast-forward to 1:09 in the above video to see these exercises in action plus how to modify them.

  • Side Plank Crunch (Alternate)
  • Bicycle Crunch

Superset 2

Fast-forward to 5:52 in the above video to see these exercises in action plus how to modify them.

  • Surfer Get Ups
  • Twisted Push Ups (Alternate)

Superset 3

Fast-forward to 10:33 in the above video to see these exercises in action plus how to modify them.

  • Plank Jumps
  • Flutter Kicks

xo Nicole