Fit Tip Thursday: The Three-Minute Standing Ab Workout

When we think about working our abdominals, lying on the floor on our backs and doing endless variations of crunches is the first thing that comes to mind for most people. While these types of exercises are indeed important, being on the ground is not the only way in which to work on our abdominal muscles. Not only can you work your abs while standing, these exercises are generally more functional in nature and more sport-specific as well. Doing a combination of standing and floor exercises is a great idea.

Here is a three-minute standing ab workout that you can work into your repertoire:

The Three-Minute Standing Ab Workout consists of four ab exercises done for 45 seconds each:

1. March and Squeeze

   Start with both hands straight up in the air and bring one knee all the way up while bringing your arms down, keeping your hands above your elbows and near your body, so your elbows and knee line up, with your knee in between both arms. As you do this, squeeze your abs. Return to the starting position and do the same thing with your other knee, and continue to alternate knees.

2. Elbow to Opposite Knee

   Bring one arm up so your elbow is at chest height and your hand is above your elbow, and bring your opposite knee up while bringing that arm down so your elbow meets your knee (don't hit them together hard). As you do this, squeeze your abs. Return them back to their starting point and do the same thing with your other knee and elbow, and continue to alternate.

3. Straight Leg Raises

   Keeping your leg as straight as possible, raise it up in front of your body while bringing the opposite arm down, reaching out your hand to touch your foot (or as close as you can get). Return them back to their starting point and do the same thing with your other leg and arm, and continue to alternate.

4. Rotate and Punch

   Stand with your legs about shoulder width apart and rotate your upper body, throwing a jab out with your arm. Then rotate the other direction and jab with your other arm. Your feet should stay in about the same location the whole time, with just a little twist of the same foot of the arm that is jabbing to allow the body to rotate.

Try this workout out next time you don't want to get down on the floor to get a workout.

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