This 25 minute home workout focuses on toning and strengthening the abdominals and the obliques. There are eight ab exercises in total, with 14 repetitions a piece and three rounds of the entire routine.

With a combination of Pilates exercises and light strength training moves, this abdominal routine is ideal for getting a defined, toned stomach.

They say that abs are made in the kitchen, and that’s really not a bluff; if you want a toned stomach, you have to keep your overall body fat low and diet is a huge component. Eating clean (see Fitness Blender recipes for meal ideas & to learn about clean eating) and within your body’s recommended calorie intake is crucial to being able to see the muscles that you train so hard to develop.

It’s important to remember that you also can’t spot reduce fat, and intensely targeting just one body part is inefficient and ineffective. With that said, proper diet, total body strength training, cardio, maintenance of a healthy bodyweight and low body fat, and doing routines like this one that focus on the abs and obliques can help to minimize body fat, and get rid of love handles and/or slim the waist. Focusing on the obliques can help to tone and pull in the sides, helping a person attain the appearance of a more curvy body type or the look of an hourglass shape (or just a smaller waist). Muscle takes up less room than fat, and it burns calories faster, too.

Do Fitness Blender’s 25 Minute Abs and Obliques Workout 3 times a week, giving core muscles more time to heal if they are ever sore between routines.

This routine is great for pairing with a cardio workout - ideal, you would do 15 minutes of cardio before this video, and 15-30 minutes more afterwards.

We estimate that this routine can burn between 160 - 220 calories. These are just rough calculations, as many different variables will work together to determine the exact amount that your body expends, including bodyweight, muscle mass, gender, effort level, ect.

Workout Structure:
8 exercises, 14 repetitions, 3 rounds through

1- Pilates leg pulls (8 on each side)
Easy: From knees
Hard: Out in plank on toes

2- Reclined oblique twist
Easy Butt resting on ground
Hard- Butt lifted

3- Push-up plank (30 seconds on each side)
Easy- From knees
Hard- From toes

4- Jacknife crunches
Easy- Knees bent
Hard- Legs extended and held in air

5- Scissored crunches (8 on each side)
Easy- Legs extended on ground
Hard- Knees held at 90-degree angle

6- Pilates tabletops (8 with each leg leading)
Easy- Alternating legs; touch feet down
Hard- Simultaneous legs; keep feet up

7- Flutter kicks
Easy- Hands underneath butt; long range of motion
Hard- Hands at sides; short, quick range of motion

8- Russian twists
Easy- 45-degree angle; feet on ground
Hard- 90-degree angle; feet lifted and balancing

**Repeat entire round twice more all the way through**