This Standing Abs Workout Will Strengthen Your Core & Get You Ripped

Wanna get a six pack? Try this standing abs workout routine by Charlee Atkins.

When you’re on vacation, finding a decent spot to sweat should be the least of your concerns. There are tons of hotel room routines to get you moving, but if you don’t want to get down and dirty on that questionable carpet for a core crusher, there are moves that you can do on your feet.

That’s the situation trainer Charlee Atkins, C.S.C.S., found herself on during a recent vacation. “I was itching to move, but not that much, so I went outside my Airbnb and just started moving,” she says. “I combined a few of these standing ab exercises into a mini-circuit and it did quite the trick.”

This routine didn’t just solve her inactivity problem. Opting to stay on her feet gave Atkins a different style of workout than she might have tried otherwise, with benefits that she would have passed up had she dropped down to the floor for core.

“Standing ab exercises are sneak attacks on the full body,” she says. “In traditional ab exercises you’re lying on the ground, but in this case since I was standing the workout itself turned into a great full-body warm-up.”

4 New Ways For You To Build Your Six Pack Abs

To perform this three-move standing abs circuit, just find some space wherever you are. All you need is yourself.

Bird-Dog Combo

Hinge at the hips to bend down, raising one leg straight behind you. While balancing on the planted leg, row one arm and then the other, keeping your spine straight. Repeat for time (30 to 45 seconds), then switch legs.

Standing Leg Raises

Reach your arms overhead. Kick up one leg, keeping it totally straight, as you crunch down to touch your toe with both hands. Repeat on the other side, then alternate for 30 to 45 seconds.

Squat + Knee-Up Twist

Perform a basic body weight squat. As you come up to standing, bring your opposite knee and elbow together to target the obliques. Repeat on the other side, then alternate for 30 to 45 seconds.

Run through the circuit three times, resting for 1 minute between each full repetition. Atkins recommends adding this routine to your dynamic warm-up on full body days, as a quick cardio push on days you’re traveling, or even at the end of your workout as a finisher.

This article originally appeared on Men’s Health US.

By Brett Williams