Men’s Health/Eric Rosati
When you’re in the middle of a busy travel schedule or short on time at home, you might not be so concerned about hitting every single muscle group possible when you exercise. Your workouts become more about maintaining your mirror muscles and getting a quick sweat on with the time and space you have available—so you focus in on your arms and abs.
Trainer Charlee Atkins, C.S.C.S. has some quick-hitting routines that you can do anywhere, anytime. “Arms and abs make a killer combo, mostly because anytime you challenge the upper body there’s a pretty good chance abs are involved too,” she says.
If you’ve been following our Try Her Move series of Atkins’ workouts, you know the emphasis the trainer puts on one of the key functions of the core: trunk stability. All of the movements of this workout feature a strong position that emphasizes the abs as a stabilizer, working to keep your spine neutral and your posture solid.
“When programming, I usually put these types of workouts in a few different places,” she says. “One, as part of the active warm-up to get as many joints moving under a lighter load (bodyweight). Two, during compound circuits. Typically I would throw one of these in after a leg exercise if we’re looking to maximize time in the gym. Three, during the cardio portion of a strength training session—this comes at the end, when I pair cardio with core workouts. This helps my clients feel like they really got their booty kicked, while also maintaining safe training practices.”
Perform each exercise for 15 to 30 seconds to start, with little to no rest between each move.
Take on 3 to 5 rounds of the circuit for a full arms and abs blast. Want to learn more moves from Atkins? Check out our series full of her workout tips, Try Her Move.
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