If these hot temps don’t have you sweating, this barre routine will. Focusing on the abdominals, FlyBarre instructor Marisa Workman walks us through five exercises that will tighten up and tone your core.
Each sequence aims for total muscle “fatigue.” Basically, you go through each movement, or pulse, and hold each position until your muscles begin shaking. The shaking tells your body that you’ve reached muscle fatigue.
And repeat.
“Isolating every muscle group and working it to fatigue is what’s going to get you toned to look fit without flexing,” Workman said.
Workman, who teaches eight to nine classes per week, says that people first see results is in the arms and core. “It’s really fast—if you’re coming to classes four times a week, you’ll start to see results by the end of the week.”
These exercises can also be modified for your needs. If your hip flexors bother you during lower ab exercises, you can take the pressure off by slightly bending your knees to open up your hips. If you want more of a challenge, add arm movements and pulses to the routine.
“You have so much flexibility in how you want to sequence it,” Workman said. “You know your body best.”
Follow along with Marisa in her five-step barre routine for toned abs:
Basketball Abs
Targets your upper abs and obliques.
Ball Behind the Back
Targets upper abs and obliques.
V-Sit
Uses your entire abdominal wall.
Oblique Targets
Works your obliques for great ab definition.
Lower Ab Target
Works your lower ab muscles.
As Washingtonian’s UX designer, Ryan works with Washingtonian’s editorial and digital teams to design digital products that address reader’s needs online. Her background in interactive journalism and web production influence design strategies that ensure users have the best possible experience–on any platform.
Ryan enjoys running, trying new restaurants in DC, and Instagramming her favorite places around DC. You can follow her on Instagram (@ryan_weisser) and on Twitter (@Ryan_Weisser).
