Getting a tight and toned midsection can be difficult but it does not have to be time consuming. This 17-minute core workout is a great example of how you can get a really challenging workout in a very little amount of time.

Because getting a flat stomach is not only about working and toning your stomach we have kept this routine short and intense so you can couple it with another workout that targets the rest of the body and burns more calories like a kickboxing workout, HIIT routine, or a strength training routine. By coupling this abs routine with another workout you can drastically increase the number of calories you burn. We have also made this an ideal workout to lose belly fat by combining both abs and cardio.

Do keep in mind that just like any other muscle group in the body, you need to let your core muscles rest and recover, especially if you get them sore.

If you want to focus on quicker progress try doing this routine twice per day two to three days out of the week. If you don’t need to see quick results or you just want to maintain the tone you have, we suggest doing this workout 2 to 3 times per week just once per day. As mentioned above, this routine is intended to be coupled with other workouts to train the rest of the body and to increase your total daily calorie burn, so don’t forget to hit at least all of your major muscle groups through your upper and lower body.

If this routine’s primary focus was just the abdominal, oblique and lower back muscles, it would not burn a high number of calories per minute. We have used many full body movements to increase the calorie burn for this routine, however, as well as intervals of a simple bodyweight cardio move in between each core exercise to drastically bump up the expenditure. In this workout you can expect to burn anywhere from 8-12 calories per minute.

The following is a direct transcript of the workout in the above video with a short description of each exercise. Each exercise is done for 50 seconds straight through with a quick interval of jumping jacks between each, and only a 10 second break between each exercise to set up for the next movement.

17 Minute Abs Workout
Rolling Back Bow Toe Touch Crunch: Starting on your stomach, do a back bow then roll on to your back and do a toe touch crunch then roll back onto your stomach. Complete another back bow then roll in the opposite direction you did last time to complete another toe touch crunch ending back on your stomach in the starting position.

Alternating Side Plank Toe Touch Kick: This exercise can be done in either a full plank (from toes; harder) or a half plank (from knees; easier) This motion is similar to the previous exercise as you roll from doing a side plank on the left to a side plank on the right alternating back and forth each repetition.

Double Bird Dog Pull: From all fours (hands and knees on the ground) lift your left hand and right foot straight out parallel to the ground then pull that arm and leg in under your body crunching your abs then extend back out before letting that arm and leg drop to the ground and switching sides.

One Leg Jackknife Crunch: As with a regular jackknife crunch start from a prone position, bring your arms and legs up over your body crunching your hips and shoulders towards each other. The only difference here is that you only use one leg at a time.

V Sit Row: Start sitting on your tailbone, then lean back keeping your back perfectly flat extending your legs away from you for balance. Hold as close to a 45° angle as you can hold then in a rowing motion extend your arms out in front of your body then pull them back to your sides keeping your elbows up at shoulder height moving in a 90° angle from your chest.

Alternating Side Star Tuck: This exercise done from a side plank position starts with a side star reach followed by a hugging motion with the same arm you just had extended. Not only do you want to pull your arm underneath you but you also want to roll your shoulders down towards the ground before coming back up flipping to your other side and repeating the motion with the other arm.

Frog Leg Crunch: With the soles of your feet together and your feet up off of the ground crunch your shoulders up off of the ground extending your arms down between your legs while lifting your legs and hips up towards your shoulders.

Mt Top Russian Twist: Similar to a regular Russian Twist, you lean back to a 45° with a flat back and rotate left to right. This difference with this version is that you bring your arm high up over your head as you come back to the center and each time you rotate off to the side you drop your arms down close to the ground.

Oblique Jackknife Crunch: This exercise takes a jackknife crunch where you lay on your back and bring your arms and legs up over your body crunching your hips and shoulders together, and adds a slight rotation through the obliques. Each time your arms come up to meet your legs you want to bring your arms off to one side of your legs or the other slightly rotating your shoulders.

Seated Torso Circles: Sit back like you would for a Russian Twist, and then draw over your tail bone. You decide the difficulty on this exercise by choosing how large your range of motion is.