Almost everyone likes to work their abs; whether or not they are doing it for the right reasons is a different questions all together but a strong core (abs, lower back, and obliques) is always a good thing to have. This quick 8 minute abs workout is not only great at getting a nice burn in your abs but it is also a quick and easy workout that does not require any equipment, so you have no excuses for not doing it. I mean come on… it's only 8 minutes - even the busiest of people have 8 minutes to spare.

We love getting in a good ab workout whether it is a stand alone workout that we just throw in at some point during the day or if it is tacked on to the end of a longer bout of exercise. We include core workouts quite often but not for the reasons you might typically think of. When we work our abs we don't do it to try to get a "six pack", we target our core muscles to simply increase the strength and endurance of those muscles.

When we want to actually get our abs to show up (increase definition) we focus on dropping fat weight but not just in our midsection but all over our bodies. The reason we do this is because reducing fat in just one area does not work as your body pulls fat from every place your body stores fat evenly. So the most efficient way to lose fat on your stomach is not to work on your stomach muscles but instead try to burn as many calories as possible with total body strength training or HIIT routines combined with an appropriate (for you) caloric intake.

If any trainer, friend, acquaintance, celebrity, or even doctor tells you to do abdominal exercises to drop belly fat then rest assured they they don't know what they are talking about and have no right doling out fitness advice (and they are likely trying to sell you something as well).

To be truly healthy and fit you need to focus on your entire body not just one piece at a time. If you train for your whole body, an athletic shape will follow.

Workout Structure:
- 1 Set per Exercise
- 8 Exercises
- 50 Seconds Active; 10 Seconds Rest

Equipment:
- Optional Exercise Mat

Warm Up / Cool Down:
- Not Included

Workout:
- Knee Tuck Crunch
- Chest Raise
- Oblique Crunch (Left)
- Oblique Crunch (Right)
- Jackknife Crunch
- Swimmers
- Russian Twist
- Plank

This workout is short and only targets the core muscles so its overall calorie burn is a bit low but don't skip it because of that. Having a tight, strong core can help you improve your form and ability to do hundreds of other exercises and everyday life activities. This workout burns from 5 calories per minute on the low end up to 10 calories per minute on the high end giving you a total burn of 40 to 80 calories in just 8 minutes.