When it comes to core exercises and workouts to tone your abs, it usually revolves around the same routine - planks, crunches, sit-ups, and side planks - repeat! While these are an effective way in creating some results that will help strengthen your core and make you more healthy, there are other ways in obtaining more results than the old routine.
How to Workout Your Abs with Dumbbells
With a high-intensity interval training workout that creates new angles to target various muscles within your core, adding dumbbell core strength exercises can give you a much-needed boost in getting the best complete-ab workout ever.
Here are the 4 best dumbbell core exercises you needed to know yesterday:
Dumbbell Core Exercise #1: The Dumbbell Bear Crawl
Bear crawls are an effective and extremely easy workout that targets basic movements from when we are young to create a fundamental workout for your abs. It creates great movement patterns that aid in improving the cross-body connection within your body, while targeting the more unworked muscles within your core.
How To Do Bear Crawls:
- Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders (holding onto hexagonal shaped dumbbells).
- Keep your knees under your hips to create stabilization and balance.
- Keeping your knees off the ground, at least an inch off the floor, crawl forward by moving your right leg and left arm simultaneously. Alternate legs and arms to repeat.
- Keep your hips low and your head up while moving forward.
Dumbbell Core Exercise #2: Turkish Get-Ups
Turkish Get-Ups are an interesting workout that combines seven different exercises into one, taking you from lying on your back on the ground to standing up - while being under resistance the entire time. It may seem rather intimidating to do at first, but it plays an amazing role in toning every part of your body while also being an interesting workout for your core. It allows you to become more aware of your body and how it moves, while also providing improvements in total-body mobility. It also forces you to stabilize your entire body, all while holding the dumbbell.
How to Do Turkish Get-Ups:
- Start by lying on the ground while keeping your right knee bent, having your right foot on the floor, and right arm above you holding the dumbbell.
- Your left leg, left foot, and left arm should be at your side.
- Driving through your right foot, roll onto your left elbow.
- Then straighten your left arm.
- Squeeze your right glute as you bring your hips slightly forward and up.
- Pull your left leg underneath and behind your body, resting on your knee and the ball of your foot.
- Move your torso forward and up to complete a lunge. Then stand up.
- Reverse the sequence to descend.
- Keep your chest up while making eye contact with the dumbbell the entire time.
- Do all the reps on one side then repeat on the other.
Dumbbell Core Exercise #3: Single-Arm Dumbbell Carries
Think of yourself either holding a suitcase or something heavy on one side of your body. That is essential what you are doing with the singe-arm dumbbell carry exercise, one that is fundamental in building powerful arm strength while maintaining core and stabilization. While holding the weight on one side of your body as well, you are causing your midsection to work in preventing your torso and hips to lean overtime. This is a great workout for your abs as you are working them dynamically and not in place.
How To do Single-Arm Dumbbell Carries:
- Grab a dumbbell of the desired weight, hold it in one hand straight down to your side, and walk forward.
- Be sure to keep the shoulder blades squeezed while you engage your core and remain in proper posture.
Dumbbell Core Exercise #4: T-Push Ups
What is great about normal planks and push-ups are that they target your core while toning your arms. Buy, when you essentially add in a twist, you begin to work your shoulders and torso. While holding a dumbbell, you get an extra boost of resistance, providing even more strength to your core.
How to Do a T-Push Up:
- Start in a push up position while holding onto dumbbells. Descend to the ground, while twisting your body and raising on arm overhead to form a "T" shape.
- Repeat on each side.
Why Should You Incorporate Dumbbells Into Your Ab Workout
There are several benefits that come into incorporating dumbbells into your ab workout. While dumbbells are vital in creating functional movement, toning, and stabilization, they are created for ab workouts as they add an extra boost of resistance to make sure you are maximizing the benefits of your workout routine. Including dumbbells into each routine will ensure that you are doing each workout and exercise properly and efficiently. Dumbbells also make sure that you are toning both sides of your body equally, as the dumbbells make it harder to favor one side of the body over the other.
Stabilization is also important in doing any workout, despite it being just an ab workout. Stabilization is crucial when it comes to your core, with the use of dumbbells adding further engagement to aid in helping you see results in a much shorter amount of time.
In creating your next workout, try adding in one of these dumbbell core strength exercises to make sure you are making the most out of your routine! Pair with it your favorite iTouch Sport Smartwatch or your favorite iFitness Fitness Tracker to be sure you are burning the amount of calories needed to build more muscle, while also being sure you are getting your heart rate up to the right zones by using the amazing features appearing on our smartwatches!
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-Patrick
