Abs, Abs, Abs: #FeatureFriday Guest Post

I’m Rebecca, a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and licensed Speech Language Pathologist. I am documenting my life in recovery from an eating disorder and on a journey to fitness! I live just outside of Boston and during the day I work as a preschool Speech Language Pathologist and after school I work as a home-based Certified Personal Trainer. Additionally, I volunteer at the Multi-Service Eating Disorder Association in Massachusetts (www.medainc.org) where I co-lead support groups for women in recovery. My passion is helping women find a balance between fitness, nutrition and lifestyle to lead a life filled with happiness, freedom and recovery.

Abs, Abs, Abs

I realized today that I’ve never actually posted a full ab workout, which made me think about the last time I did an ab workout…which prompted me to do an ab workout because I couldn’t remember…whoops! So let’s talk about abs!

The abdominals are made up of 4 muscle groups: The transverse abdominus, rectus abdominus, external oblique and internal oblique. Even further, the “core” is made up of muscles deep within the abdominals and back that attach to the spine or pelvis. These include the muscles of the back, pelvis, and abs. There has been LOTS of info floating around the interwebs lately about skipping straight ab workouts (like crunches) and opting for more core stabilizing activities like planks and compound exercises like squats. I believe that abs need to be addressed with a bit of diversity. I always stress the importance of activating the core throughout any workout, particularly during exercises that really require stability (think legs, chest, back). That being said, just like any other muscle group, the abdominals need to be addressed individually sometimes! Just an FYI: I am NOT saying we all need 6 packs. Hell…I have like a 2 pack. In order to get abs to show (especially for us ladies), body fat has to be SUPER low. For most of us normal humans and non-professional athletes, it’s not really realistic for us to maintain body fat that low. Plus, diet plays a huge part in the development of abs. Decreased refined sugars and increased protein and healthy fats tend to be more “ab friendly”. But here at F&S, we (I) think you should eat a well rounded, balanced diet (with lots of whatever you love ).

So with that, here’s my 1o minute, all angles, burns like hell ab circuit!

10 Minute Abs
Time: 10 minutes
Complete each exercise for 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds between. You will need a medium weight kettlebell or dumbell

Windmill right
Windmill left

Flutter kick

Russian Twist

Pulsing crunch

Circle crunch

Leg lowers

Side plank right (with hip pulses)
Side plank left (with hip pulses)

Rocking plank

Contact Rebecca:

Blog: www.flexandshoutfitness.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/flexandshout

Instagram: @rbmahoney 

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• What's your favorite abs workout?
• How often do you work out your abs?