This 10-minute ab workout is brutal — but I saw results in just 1 week

I’m suspicious of any workout that promises to deliver results in a short amount of time.

I’ve never been one of those people who could hit the gym hard for a week and see a change in my body. Any results I’ve seen were usually hard-fought by staying consistent with workouts, eating healthy meals, staying hydrated and getting enough sleep.

So, when I started hearing hype about the Daisy Keech 10-Minute Hourglass Abs Workout, a core routine that promises to transform your waist into a perfect hourglass shape with just 10 minutes of work each day, I was skeptical.

But when I learned that the workout was available for free on YouTube and had over 13 million views, I had to give it a try. What did I have to lose (other than some inches on my waist), right?

How much does the Daisy Keech ab workout cost?

Though the original video starts out with fitness influencer Daisy Keech touting her new line of resistance bands, this workout is 100% free. If you don’t have a premium YouTube account, however, prepare to have your workout interrupted several times with advertisements. Doing this workout on a mat will make the experience more comfortable, but these moves can technically be done anywhere, on any surface.

What is the Daisy Keech Hourglass Abs Workout?

As Keech discusses in the first few minutes of the video, this ab workout is designed to cinch your waist to help encourage an hourglass figure. The workout focuses on nine core workout moves performed for one minute each, with a few seconds of transition in between each, making the entire workout clock in at just under 10 minutes.

• Minute 1: Basic crunches. Keech does this move with her legs in a tabletop position, which makes it more challenging.

• Minute 2: Bicycle kicks

• Minute 3: Jack knives. Keech recommends 15 of these movements per side within the minute interval.

• Minute 4: Russian twists. Keech performs this exercise with her feet slightly elevated off the ground for an added challenge.

• Minute 5: Toe taps

• Minute 6: Bicycle crunches. Keech recommends completing 15 repetitions per side within the minute allotted for this move. Instead of alternating, Keech sticks to one side, before moving on to the other.

• Minute 7: Scissor kicks

• Minute 8: Reverse crunches

• Minute 9: Butterfly kicks

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Daisy Keech Ab Workout Bicycle Kicks

My Daisy Keech ab workout review

Daisy Keech’s workout video has much appreciated casual vibes. In the video, she’s sitting outside in a park on a nice day with a towel spread out underneath her. She explains that this workout is designed to cinch your waist to create an hourglass figure and that for best results, you should aim to do this workout every day.

The first minute, basic crunches, felt manageable and familiar, which I appreciated. I moved through this minute pretty easily, but halfway through bicycle kicks (movement #2) my abs started to really burn. I was grateful for the respite by way of a YouTube ad (which was unfortunately for a pizza deal).

I tried my best to reach 15 reps per side during the third minute, jack knives, but found myself still working through the second side when the video transitioned to Russian twists. I caught up and moved quickly through this one as well.

I checked the time left on the workout after toe taps and was shocked to see I was barely halfway through this workout. The last three moves (scissor kicks, reverse crunches and butterfly kicks) absolutely killed my lower abs — performing them back-to-back was a struggle.

I woke up on day two feeling sore throughout my core. Still, I pushed myself through the workout again. The toe taps, scissor kicks and butterfly kicks hurt most out of the nine moves on day two.

By the end of the third day, the elevator style-music that plays in the background was really starting to get to me. Having learned the movements, I played Keech’s video on mute and blasted my most upbeat playlist to try and get through day four.

I really wanted to do this workout straight through for seven days. But by day five, my abs hurt when I laughed, sneezed or inhaled too sharply, so I decided to give it a rest and start fresh on day six.

I wish I could say days six and seven felt easier, but I don’t want to lie to you, they were not. At this point in the workout, knowing which movement was coming next and having a pace down for each helped me feel more comfortable. But it was still extremely tough to get through.

What I liked about the Daisy Keech ab workout

Daisy Keech Ab Workout Results

My typical workout routine consists of a mix of cardio and weight training — but rarely if ever do I work my core muscles this consistently every single day. During the week I tested this workout, I did keep up with my normal exercise routine. I made it to one hour-long Orangetheory class (a circuit-training class that’s split between time on a rower, treadmill and working out with weights) and one 30-minute class on my CityRow water rower that involved weight training as well. After one week of adding this ab circuit into my normal routine, I did notice a difference in the appearance of my ab muscles, and the workout definitely strengthened core muscles I’d been neglecting.

Lack of workout motivation is something I continue to struggle with — especially when doing workouts at home. But because this workout literally takes 10 minutes and requires no set up time, sneaking it in when I had a few extra minutes between work meetings or right before I showered in the morning was easy enough to do.

Though the ads did eventually get annoying, the fact that this workout is free and can be done wherever you are without having to purchase equipment is a pretty considerable pro.

What I didn’t like about the Daisy Keech ab workout

Had Keech known this workout video would take off the way it has, I’d like to believe she would have chosen some better music for it. The track that this workout is paired with sounds like a cross between the music playing in the doctor’s office waiting room and the on-hold music that plays when trying to call customer service. But again, this video is free and muting it to play your own music isn’t too much of a hassle.

It also takes a few times through to get used to the pacing. I blame the non-rhythmic music playing in the background for this one as well, but the video could also benefit from some kind of countdown clock showing how much time is left in each section — especially for the jack knives and bicycle crunches, where 15 reps per side are recommended and you want to make sure you can get them all in.

I’d recommend this workout to:

• Anyone who wants to strengthen and tone their core

• People who like doing free workouts at home

• Those who don’t mind videos with low production value

Anyone who’s willing to push themselves to get results in a short amount of time