Get your heart rate up and your core leaned out with this blend of bodyweight cardio exercises that target the abdominals without a single crunch.

You wont need a single piece of equipment for this one. There are 8 standing abs exercises and you will be doing each for 50 seconds each. You will have 10 seconds transition time/rest in between each, where you get a preview of the upcoming exercise.

Cardio is an enormous factor in getting defined abs or a flat belly. That’s why this workout is an ideal component in any fat burning plan – particularly for those who need a low impact cardio option. These are all exercises that get the heart rate up while engaging those core muscles (all without having to do a single crunch).

Workout Structure
8 Standing ab exercises
50 Seconds each
9 Minutes total

Printable Routine
Ceiling Circles – Stand straight up and raise your arms up above your head. Now draw circles; alternating clockwise and counterclockwise, on the ceiling above your head.

High Knee Jacks – A low impact cardio exercise that is also very effective at engaging the abdominals. Make windmills with your arms (similar to a jumping jack motion) while you do slow and controlled high knees. It’s important that you maintain control over your body while you do this motion; doing this movement wildly and without focus will lessen the demand on the abdominals.

Single Leg Running Man Kicks – Use just one leg to do a “running man” type motion (a forward kick, and then step back) just one leg at a time. Because you have to balance on that one supporting leg, your entire core will be engaged while you complete the motion. As an added benefit, the kicks of the active leg also work the abdominals and the thighs, as well as drive up the caloric burn of this routine. You will do half of the reps with one side leading and then switch; listen for our cue.

Standing Oblique Crunches – Stand straight up, and place hands behind head (as you would if you were just about to do a regular mat crunch). Raise one bent knee to the outside of the body, while lowering the elbow on the same side of the body to “meet” the raised knee in the middle. You will feel this especially in your obliques, but the rest of your core will also have to pitch in in order to maintain balance.

Boxer Leans – This one looks completely goofy (at least you are in your own living room) but it’s a great crunchless workout to really burn out the ab muscles. Stand straight up and “lean” backwards and to one side until you feel your abs contract; lean backwards and to the opposite side, and then go back to the other side for a double lean. So it looks like this; lean (switch sides), lean (switch sides), double lean.

2 Knee Double Kicks – Drive 2 knees up (both left & right) and then do 2 forward kicks on the same foot. Repeat; alternating which foot is doing the 2 forward kicks each time.

2 Side Reaches + Corkscrew Toe Touches – Stand straight up, arms extended at shoulder height, and lean from side to side (keep hips as static as possible to make it purely ab work). Then lean down to touch your hand to the foot of the opposite side of the body. Come back up, and then repeat the toe touch on opposite sides of the body.

Standing Crisscross Crunch – Just like you would do a crisscross crunch on the mat; standing straight up, bring one elbow down to meet the opposite knee at about hip level. Alternate back and forth through the entire interval.

How many calories does this crunch free abs workout burn?
We estimate that this routine burns between 3-6 calories a minute, or 27-54 total. You could always do this routine more than once in a day to drive up your overall expenditure, or mix and match this routine with some of our more intense cardio workouts for even better results.