Click on the photo of the workout to download the workout itself, the exercise reference guide, and workout tracking sheet!

This week you are tasked with revisiting your core in a major way! The goal here is to take more difficult movements requiring more overall total body usage and get you applying it on your own when maybe normally you wouldn’t attempt these balance endeavors. Every aspect of core is hit with this bad boy so have fun!

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Reference Guide

Elevated Plank – Utilizing a BOSU, step, bench, equalizer, or anything you can to raise yourself your feet off the floor you are going to do exactly that while maintaining a proper plank position (straight line from shoulder, to hip, to heel while keeping abs/glutes TIGHT). If you are not able to hold an elevated plank then simply hold a regular plank. The higher the elevation, the more difficulty!

Function Crunch Raises – Grab a dumbbell (weight of your choice) or stability ball if the weight is too much and lay down on your back with your feet fully extended. Keeping your knees relaxed, heels on the floor, and arms above your chest you are going to crunch all the way into a seated position while keeping the dumbbell or stability ball aimed towards the ceiling the entire time. If not able to crunch into a full seated position simply go as high up as you can for each rep! Eventually you will be able to do the full crunch.

Dip Position Leg Lifts – Utilized the Lebert Equalizers (a bench or ledge works nicely as well) get your body into a dip position while keeping your arms extended. From here you are going to start with whichever leg you’d like (you’re doing both eventually) and lift it as high as you can while keeping your leg fully extended. While you lift you want to consciously crunch your abdominals in the process to finalize that squeeze in your midsection. You’re going to do ALL ONE SIDE before moving on to the other. To make this hard, place your feet on a BOSU (blue side up).

Full Length Cable Rows – Find the cable row machine and make sure the isolated hand grips are put on each cable pulley. Take a seat and rather than placing your feet on the outer foot pedals you are going to place your feet together on the CENTER platform. From here you are going to lean all the way back until you are lying flat while still holding on to the handles. Your arms are strictly the catalyst so try not to pull with them too much. Control your body on the way back up to the starting position and repeat! PS odds are you are going to be able to pull more weight than you think you can on this one so keep that in mind if the first set seems to be too easy.

One Legged Side Crunches on BOSU – Standing on one leg you are going to place your fingertips gently behind your head (DO NOT interlock… interlocking your fingers promotes pulling on your neck and ain’t nobody got time for that), stretch the side of your body out that is NOT standing on the BOSU before squeezing your side by getting as close to touching your elbow to your knee as you can. Go back to the stretch and repeat!

Swiss Ball Inch Worms on BOSU – Place your BOSU blue side down and stand on top while holding your swiss ball at the sides. Squatting down you want to place the ball on the ground and stretch as far into a full length plank as you can before pushing back to a standing position. IMPORTANT!!!! When you place the swiss ball down on the floor instinct is going to make you want to readjust your hands on the ball. DO NOT re-adjust because it won’t end well. Hold on to the sides and keep them clamped down as you roll out.

Dual Cable Crunches – Grab a mat and place it on the ground in the center of the gym’s cable apparatus. Make sure the cable pulleys have the isolated hand grips on them and bring them all the way to the floor. Choose the weight of your choice on BOTH cable stacks. Now lie down on your back, bring the cables over your chest, and crunch upward! Be cautious not to strain your neck too much! Control on the way down and repeat!

Dumbbell Plank Transfers – Grab a weighted dumbbell of your choice and get into a plank position with your feet set wide. Start with the dumbbell off to the side then while maintaining your plank reach out, bring the dumbbell to center, and extend it to the OTHER side. Each time you extended either arm outward that is one rep.