There are some healthy habits that I’m proud of. I’m good at drinking enough water. I meditate. A few years ago, I incorporated sunscreen into my daily skincare routine and never looked back. But one thing I don’t consistently do (besides resisting hitting the snooze button) is opting for core training.
TBH, there’s no particular reason why I skip sit-ups. I guess I just prefer other types of exercise (and maybe I just got tired of core exercises during my years of competitive gymnastics). But when my editor suggested I try this ab workout every day for a month, it seemed like a good opportunity to change my ways. And I have zero regrets.
Before I get into the details of my month-long journey, a quick note. I did this challenge just as a fun experiment. In other words, I’m not saying that doing the same ab workout every day for a month is the golden rule for strengthening your core. Before embarking on a new training plan, consult a health care or fitness professional to make sure it’s a wise choice for you.
regimen
In short, the training I did was:
1. Plank up and down for 50 seconds, rest for 10 seconds
Erin Warwood
2. 50 seconds Superman, 10 seconds rest
Erin Warwood
3. Do side planks for 25 seconds on each side, resting for 10 seconds.
Erin Warwood
4. Perform two rounds of 20-second hollow body holds, with 5-10 seconds of rest in between, and rest for the rest of the time.
Erin Warwood
5. 1 minute bear crawl
Erin Warwood
I’m not a morning person, so I usually did this routine in the evening or at night. Sometimes I did it as a standalone activity, but other times I did it after many runs, Peloton cycling sessions, and hikes.
Journey
Day 1
The first time I tried this workout, I made sure to do it as a standalone activity. I wanted to figure out exactly when a movement started to feel difficult, without wondering if I was just tired from doing another exercise.
As expected, the first session definitely activated my abdominal muscles. This is especially true of plank up-downs and hollow body holds. It took about 35 seconds for the up-down to really start burning, and 10 seconds to get into the first hollow hold. Superman and side plank, on the other hand, wasn’t too bad. I could feel my muscles working during these exercises, but for me it was just a consistent mild burn during both movements.
As for the bear crawl, I’ll be honest: it’s never been my favorite. It’s not particularly difficult, but it does feel a little tedious to do. (In fact, I usually swap them out for other movements when I come across them in other workouts.) Swapping wasn’t an option this time, so I embraced the bear crawl every day. But at first, I definitely found myself struggling to maintain a rhythm. I’ll be working on the rest of this month.
8th day
After a week, I found myself doing an ab workout every day after my Peloton ride. (BTW: Whether it’s a good idea to do cardio before or after strength training depends on your goals. WH reports that if you want to get stronger, you should do strength training first. Since I’m looking to improve my strength, I opted for cardio, thinking that once I got off the bike feeling satisfyingly tired, every movement would be harder (thanks, Ben Aldiss! ). And for the most part, I was right. The plank ups and downs started getting harder after the first 20 seconds, and the side planks were shaking more than usual.
But on the bright side, I also experienced an unexpected improvement in the hold of the hollow body. For the first time, I was able to reduce the rest between holds to 5 seconds, and I was also able to add that scheduled rest time to the second hold as an additional challenge.
Day 14
Almost a week after my #smallvictory, I had my first breakthrough. A few hours after going out for a run, I was working out in the evening and found that I could easily carry on a conversation while doing plank ups and downs. Time passed quickly during my Superman. It’s not a joke. Also, the hollow holds weren’t too bad, but I did take a 10 second break between holds. Basically, the whole workout felt a little easier.
Day 21
My next and biggest breakthrough came just three weeks into my journey. Let me set the stage. It was evening and the atmosphere of the workout was an episode of Emily in Paris. As usual, I started with plank ups and downs, but it didn’t feel too hard until about the first 40 seconds. Next up was Superman, which felt easy. Side plank? It’s a breeze. Even the hollow hold, which IMO is always the most difficult part of this workout, was easy. This time I only took a 5 second break so my abs didn’t burn after the first hold.
Maybe the good vibes from my newfound Netflix obsession helped me out. Perhaps you were really starting to reap the benefits of consistent core work. Either way, it felt great to get through this workout and head into the homestretch.
Day 31
On the last day of the trip, I felt like I had made a lot of progress with this training. A few notable observations: The plank ups and downs started to get tough towards the end of the 50 second interval, but I easily kept the rest between hollow body holds to 5 seconds. The bear’s crawling has become smoother! You can confidently say you’re ready to level up your core work.
Erin Warwood
Main points
I don’t have a six-pack yet, but I feel stronger.
That’s a win in my opinion! Training became noticeably easier in 31 days. And there have been moments throughout this past month where I’ve felt especially grateful for the extra attention I’ve been giving to my abs. For example, on day 19 I went on a tough hike that required a good sense of balance, and I was definitely happy that I was working on core strength the moment I felt danger. After all, core training is important for improving stability, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The combination of workouts kept me going.
Of course, knowing I was going to write this piece gave me some inspiration to keep my record. But I also found motivation elsewhere. Adding this workout to other forms of exercise makes it more challenging, but I’ve also found that doing it in combination helps me stay more engaged and focused.
I first noticed this on day 15. That day, I woke up early to go on a quick hike and planned to start doing ab workouts when I got home. During that session, I noticed that I was more focused and attentive to my form (even during bear crawls).
Bottom line: On the days I did an ab workout after a run, hike, or cycling session, I felt happier and expended more effort doing it. FYI, if you’re wondering how to best combine different types of exercise, check out this WH article.
I still don’t like bear crawling…but I appreciate it.
Over the past month in particular, I’ve been working on focusing on my forms and executing them with intention (rather than just getting over them and praying time goes by faster). Moreover, it turns out that they have many advantages. For example, bear crawling strengthens the serratus anterior muscle on the side of your chest, which helps you breathe, WH previously reported. As a marathon runner, that’s good to know!
Now I feel inspired to better understand and work on another movement (plank jack) that I’ve avoided so far. And we encourage you to do the same.
I will continue to do abdominal exercises, but not every day.
Consider this 31-day journey more of a kickstarter for my core work than a long-term training plan. After all, “abs are like any other muscle you train, so it’s important to give them time to grow and heal,” trainer Astrid Swan previously told WH. Of course, I don’t want to overdo it, so I’m going to focus on incorporating sit-ups into a balanced plan.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least two days of strength-strengthening activity, along with at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week. What are my future goals? Adapt core exercises to that framework.
Erin Warwood is a writer, runner, and sparkling water enthusiast based in San Francisco. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. In her free time, you can find her watching Survivor, trying new Peloton workouts, and reading Emily Giffin novels. Her ultimate goal is to become a morning person.
