This 10 Minute home workout provides comprehensive abdominal toning, and it doesn’t require any equipment or even a gym membership.

The exercises in this routine have been carefully selected to target the muscles of entire abdominal wall, as well as the oblique muscles (where extra bodyweight tends to accumulate in the form of dreaded love handles).


How to do this routine: Do 15 repetitions of each of the exercises. Do the entire workout twice through. Before doing any kind of strength training, always warm up; 10-15 minutes of cardio is ideal. Make sure and notice that when you click on the links to the videos, many of the exercise demonstrations have multiple difficulty levels; if a certain version is too difficult or feels too easy, find a modified version (i.e. Level 1, 2, or possibly 3) that better suits your own strength levels.



Pilates Leg Pulls (15 reps on each leg)

Reclined Oblique Twists (15 twists to each side)

Push Up Planks (repeat 15 second hold on each side)

Jackknife Crunches

Pilates Tabletops

Scissored Crunches (Be sure to alternate which leg is crossed over top of the other!)

Reverse Crunches

Russian Twists


Stretch and Cool Down


Remember that getting defined abs or a flat stomach is much more than just sit-ups; you’ve got to keep a healthy bodyweight by means of diet and regular cardio, too. It's also very important to make sure that your workouts are balanced in terms of what muscles are being strengthened. For example, an abdominal routine's complimentary focus would be on the back muscles. In order to maintain body health and avoid injuries and strains, you don't want over or underdeveloped (or otherwise unbalanced) core strength.

For example, if you are doing intensive abdominal workouts, you should make sure that you strengthen the entire core and not just the abs. Try this Pilates Back Workout for a routine to strengthen your back muscles.