A standing abs workout is a great starting place for people who are looking to build core strength. These exercises emulate many abdominal exercises where you are lying flat out on your back, but because you are standing the leverage is different and the movements are easier.

There are six different standing abs exercises in this video; you will do each movement for approximately 45 seconds. There is a ten second demo of each exercise before the active interval begins - this will serve to explain & prepare you for the next move, and give you a short break to rest.

Exercises in this routine:

Standing Pike Crunch – Stand upright with feet together. Lift both arms in the air & bring them down to waist-level where they meet with one foot, lifted up as high as you can – without using momentum to swing it upwards and without pain. Stick with just one leg throughout the entire 45 second interval and then switch to lift the opposite leg in the next segment. This requires a crunch at the torso, and work from your core in order to maintain balance as you lift that single leg up and teeter on one foot.

Captain Morgan Diagonal Pass – This exercise is great for improving your balance, engaging your hip flexor, lower abdominals, and obliques. Any time you put demand on your core to maintain balance, you’re going to be using a comprehensive set of muscles in a functional way that imitates everyday life activities. Because of that, the benefits of this exercise go far beyond just toning your core. Do all repetitions on just one side of the body, and then switch to the opposite side for the next 45 second interval.

Jumping oblique twist – This one raises your heart rate and calorie burn, all while engaging your obliques. You will also feel this one in your thighs and glutes. If you need to stop and take a break, do it, but make sure that you get right back to the exercise as soon as your lungs allow.

Torso Rotations – You might feel a bit silly while you’re doing this but it works the entire core very well, especially for a standing abs exercise. While you are rounding forward, your back muscles are working; when you lean backwards, the front of your core engages in order to keep you from toppling over.

High Knee Chops – Bump up the caloric burn of this one by adding a hopping motion in between elbow to knee connections. For this one, you should imagine bringing something at about your shoulder level down to the knee of the opposite side of your body.

Waist Pinchers – Turn the left leg’s toes out, and then bring that left knee up to your left elbow. You will feel this primarily in your obliques, however, your core also has to maintain steadiness, and so it has to do its fair share as well.

Once you are familiar with this routine and feel as if the exercises are easy, move onto one of Fitness Blender’s other core workouts.