Whether you’re new to Studio LB or you’ve been practicing with me for years, you probably know that I LOVE creating our signature standing ab workouts every week. It’s something that sets CCS apart from other workouts out there, and I wanted to talk about why my standing abs are so effective for a woman’s physique.
Unless you’re B. Spears in 2001, hundreds of basic supine crunches on the floor will never cut it. Your core plays a huge part of keeping you vertical and your posture perfect. Standing abs integrates so many more muscles and burns more calories than most traditional floor exercises. Think about it, a crunching motion does not work your body in a natural motion and really only targets the front of your abdominals via flexion. Your entire core is literally from your nipples to your knees and made up of muscles on the front, sides, back, base and “lid” of your diaphragm so we train it from all angles.
In my standing ab routines, you’ll find a series of exercises that mimic more natural twists, lifts, and contractions like your body is built to do. They challenge your balance and add gravity into the mix as opposed to planks and crunches, encouraging your muscles to work harder to maintain a neutral alignment. My approach strengthens and firms your midsection in a functional and sculpted way.
We focus on your abs, but also your lower back muscles and muscles of the pelvis. Strengthening your core foundation through flexion, extension and rotation from all angles is integral not only for aesthetic purposes, but also for great posture, improved balance, injury prevention, neck and back pain relief, and a healthy pelvic floor. I can’t stress enough that pelvic floor health is often ignored, and pelvic floor dysfunction is overly-normalized (hello, ladies who pee a little when you jump/run/sneeze). Regular practice with standing ab workout can help turn back the clock in that region.
Some of the essential standing ab movements include knee lifts, waist rotations and aeroplane. You’ll find variations and combinations of these basic moves in all of my standing ab workouts. Let’s break down one of your favorites, Torch, and why it is so effective. It may seem simple, but in a perfect Torch position your core is tightly engaged, your knee is raised high and crossing your midline, shoulders face forward, and arms are in High-V squeezing tightly while squeezing your shoulder blades down and together. It’s a total body move, and when done in repetition can sculpt a smaller waist line and more defined obliques.
If you’re craving a standing ab workout now, some of my favorites are Twentynine, Soulmate, Feeling Myself, Full Circle and Supernatural. They’ll help accentuate your waistline, improve your balance, and activate deep into your core in an effective and functional way.