The 4-Minute Abs Workout You’ll Love to Hate - Chia Sẻ Kiến Thức Điện Máy Việt Nam

There are so many ways to work your abs, but sometimes, you just don’t have time for a long, complicated routine. The good news? You can get in a solid abs blast in fewer than 5 minutes. The key is keeping your muscles under constant tension the entire time.

“Your abdominals are endurance muscles in terms of strength,” Kira Stokes, a NASM-certified celebrity trainer and creator of the Stoked Method, tells SELF. Because your abs help you maintain good posture and help with pretty much every movement you do, it makes sense that these muscles have good endurance. In order to work them to the point of fatigue—”where you feel that burning sensation in your abdomen that indicates they’re getting tired and change is happening”—your best bet is to stay in what Stokes calls the “work zone.” It’s that place where you feel like you need to take a quick rest after each rep.

Especially for a short, 4-minute blast like the one Stokes shares below, keeping the muscles contracted the entire time will give you the best results. “Slow down, but try to stay in it and embrace the burn,” she says. It helps to also put your mind into it—think about what you’re doing and focus on keeping the abs contracted, and give it all you have both mentally and physically.

Here, Stokes shares a variation of an abs blast she typically adds to the end of her classes. You can tack it onto the beginning or end of a larger workout, but if you’re looking for a short and sweet way to work your abs, this is it.

Here’s the workout:

Warm-Up

Forearm Plank/Oblique Knees/Plank Jacks — 30 to 45 seconds

The 4-Minute Abs Blast

Alternating Knee to Chest — 5 reps
Extended Leg Pulses — 10 reps
Leg Lifts/Hip Tips/Crunches — 15 reps
Knee Pulses — 10 reps
Bicycle Crunches — 20 reps

Do moves two through six all on one side. When you finish, repeat them on the opposite side. Stokes also suggests adding a few reps at the end for a “bonus burn,” if you’re feeling good and have an extra minute or two to spare.

Here’s how to do it: