Have you ever seen the abs of an Olympic Gymnast? Every four years we flip on our TV sets and watch these amazing athletes compete for the gold medal…
Each routine is full of inconceivable twists and flips that get more complex every Olympic season.
Sure, you may not be in the backflip business but you can’t help but want a strong and ripped set of abs or toned and tight core just like those gymnasts, right?
Which is why I’m giving you an Olympic Gymnast Core Workout you can do from home to help you build a solid midsection with superhuman abdominal strength…
Best part, you can perform this specific floor routine in the comfort of your very own living room. And it won’t take any longer than the commercial break of your favorite TV show.
Here are four signature gymnastics moves you’ll be using in this Olympic Gymnast Core Workout:
Hollow Body Hold
Lay flat on your back and contract your abs.
While contracting your abs, pull your belly button in towards your spine – your arms and legs will be held behind the head or along the side of your body from the body with hands and toes pointed.
Keep your body tight.
Lightly raise shoulders and legs off of the ground. The arms and head should be raised, as well as the shoulders. The lower back should remain on the floor, with a slight rounding in the small of your back.
Your goal is to find the lowest position you can hold the arms and legs without them touching the floor and without your lower back raising off the ground (creating an arch)…
Here are some key takeaway notes when performing this exercise:
- Keep your body tight the entire time. Abs contracted, glutes flexed.
- Make sure your lower back is rounded (no arch).
- Your arms are extended backward in alignment with your ears and your feet are together with your toes pointed slightly forward.
Hollow Body Rock
From the hollow body hold, you can easily transition to the next exercise in this Olympic gymnast core workout – the hollow body rock.
From the hold position, you will then use momentum to rock your body slightly for massive core engagement. This exercise is deceivingly challenging and even looks funny…
But I promise you won’t be laughing when you’re performing this subtle movement.
Check out this video of the hollow body rock…
Similar to the hollow body hold, keep your body tight and together. Again…
Keep your body engaged the entire time. Abs contracted, glutes flexed.
Be sure your lower back is rounded (no arch). For this exercise, you can try two different variations with your arms.
The first variation, your arms can be extended backward in alignment with your ears.
Or variation #2 (as you see in the video), your arms can remain tightly against your side with your palms facing upward (also known as the supinated position).
The choice is yours, variation #1 being the more challenging of the two.
Rotating Floor Tap
Sit on your butt.
Bring knees close to the chest.
Raise arms straight forward as in the original tuck-hold position. Hold this position.
Keep your knees tight together and toes pointed.
Quickly alternate tapping on one side of the floor to the other.
This movement is short. You are NOT performing a Russian Twist.
There should be no twisting of the back, simply slight turns and tapping the ground as quickly as you can.
Throughout the entire hold, flex your abs. Keeping them tight. Do not stop flexing throughout the whole duration of the movement.
Elbow to Wrist Oblique Lift
To cap off this Olympic Gymnast Core Workout, you’re going to attack the fat around your love handles and tighten up your obliques with the side plank rotations…
You’ll do this by transitioning to the side plank position as featured below.
Place on foot atop of the other. Have your elbow on the floor as a “kickstand” to support your upper body. And raise your hips off the floor.
Starting with your elbow in the air and your hand behind your head…
Rotate your elbow down in a circular-like motion toward the floor.
After flexing your abdominals, return back to the starting position and lift your hip upward toward the ceiling.
After performing one set on one side, focusing on your oblique contraction. Transition over to the other side and perform the same movement, yet on the opposing side.
Here’s how you can add all of the above exercises into one at-home, Olympic Gymnast Core Workout:
- Hollow body hold – complete for 30 seconds
- Hollow body rock – complete 10 repetitions
- Rotating floor taps – complete 30 seconds
- Elbow to wrist oblique lift (right side) – complete 10 repetitions
- Elbow to wrist oblique lift (left side) – complete 10 repetitions
Complete as many rounds of these exercises as you can in four minutes. If you’re up for a greater challenge, double-it and complete as many rounds of the above exercises for eight minutes.