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Alicia Sacramone Ab Routine on Instagram

I Tried an Olympic Gymnast's Ab Routine, and My Core Is Quaking

Finding new ways to work your abs is all kinds of fun — at least for me it is. And if I can incorporate moves I learned from my decade and a half in gymnastics, it's a win-win. So, when American Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone, now Alicia Sacramone Quinn, (seen above) posted an "anywhere" core circuit online featuring exercises like Supermans and plank rocks, which we commonly did at the end of practices growing up, I knew I needed to give it a try.

Fun fact: Alicia has a total of 10 World Championship medals, which is the second most of any American gymnast behind Simone Biles (Simone currently has 20). Alicia, now retired, is a mom of two — she gave birth to her second child in July 2018 — and she frequently posts Instagram videos of her working out with her kids. The 31-year-old is exercising alone in her most recent ab routine but used hashtags like #fitmom and #naptimeworkouts to indicate that this particular sweat session took place while the kids napped (because that's as good a time as any to exercise!). Ahead, check out the full core workout, and keep reading for what I thought. Get ready, abs — here we come!

Image Source: Getty / T Roth

All of these are bodyweight exercises. Do three rounds. Note: make sure you're engageing your core during the plank variations.

  1. 20 to 25 Plank rocks (like a body saw)
  2. 20 Tabletop step-outs (10 each side)
  3. 20 Plank knee drops (plank knee taps but with both legs)
  4. 20 Plank ankle taps (10 each side; plank pike-ups with something extra)
  5. 20 Belly heel lifts (half Supermans lifting your legs)
  6. 20 Belly chest lifts (half Supermans lifting your chest similar to this hyperextension exercise without the twists)
  7. 20 Supermans

I did this ab workout in a little over 10 minutes, with 30-second breaks between rounds, but if you need more time, like one minute, go for it. The superman variations at the end were a great way to work the posterior chain (back body) to balance out the anterior core work (muscles in the front of your body).

Because planks get to the deepest part of your core — your traverse abdominis, or TVA — I really liked that Alicia had four different kinds, and the plank ankle taps were my favourite exercise because they're basically planks and single-leg V-ups all in one! If you need a quick ab routine that targets your entire core (and then some), this workout does the job.

Image Source: Getty / Ezra Shaw

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