This core intensive video is designed to be done after another one of our more challenging workouts to finish off the abdominal, oblique and lower back muscles.  Though it will be most effective for increasing strength, tone, and just extra calorie burn when done after one of our more intensive strength training, HIIT, cardio, or kickboxing workouts, it can easily be done by itself and still be very challenging.

When doing this as a standalone routine be sure to add in a warm up before you start. Even a small low intensity warm up can help to increase range of motion making the exercises in this video even more effective at increasing strength and core stability. If you have already done a workout within a few minutes of starting this routine then you can skip adding a warm up and just jump right into it.  Be careful no matter which way you do it though because many of these exercises put your body in vulnerable positions that when done to fatigue or done with already fatigued muscles these motions can have the potential to be dangerous; if your form starts to suffer, be sure to either modify the exercise to an easier version, or take a quick break until you can complete the reps with proper form again.

Whenever you do any type of exercise, no matter what part of your body it focuses on, be sure to watch your form and if you ever start doing repetitions with anything other than perfect form then stop and rest or move to an easier version of that exercise. Proper form is always more important and more productive than lifting heaver or trying to do a harder version of any exercise.

With that said, when doing any workout routine, whether you are wanting to focus on calorie burn, increased performance or both, you need to push as hard as you can with every repetition, making each repetition the hardest you can control even if it is for just one before you have to do an easier version.  When you push your comfort zone is when you make the most gains towards your goals. Just "getting it done" is always better than nothing but for many people this barely moves you forward but for most it just gets you to your next plateau.

With this more difficult core workout you can expect to burn anywhere from 9 calories per minute on the low end to 15 calories per minute on the high end. This gives you a total burn of 171 to 285 calories though adding dumbbells, ankle weight, and/or dumbbells can easily increase this calorie burn to over 300 calories in this short 19 minute routine.

Workout Structure:
Complete two rounds of each group of three exercises in an ABC, ABC format. Do each exercise for 45 seconds giving yourself 15 seconds to move to the next exercise. Allow extra rest in between each group.

Group One:

1. Jackknife Crunch
2. Side Hip Raise (Left)
3. Back Bow

Group Two:

1. Plank Knee Up
2. Side Hip Raise (Right)
3. Kneeling Back Extension

Group Three:

1. X Crunch
2. Russian Twist
3. Swimmers