The 5-Minute “Trouble Zones” Arms and Abs Burner

Set a timer for 5 minutes and complete as many rounds of the following circuit as you can in that time. Rest only if needed, but try not to stop!

CIRCUIT:
5 reps Mountain Climber Push Ups
10 reps Spiderman Mountain Climbers
5 reps per side Oblique V Ups

Exercise Descriptions:

Mountain Climber Push Ups:

To do Mountain Climber Push Ups, each rep will be push up, knee, push up, knee, push up. That will be one rep if you are advanced. Beginners can take out 1 or even 2 of the push ups and/or do them from their knees.

To start, set up at the top of a Push Up with your hands outside your chest and your body in a nice straight line down to your heels.

Then perform a Push Up, dropping your chest to the ground before pressing back up and fully extending your arms. Make sure your body moves as one unit and that your butt doesn’t go up in the air or your hips don’t sag toward the ground.

At the top of the Push Up, then drive one knee in toward your chest. As you pull the knee in, don’t let your butt go up in the air.

Extend the leg back out and place the foot back down. Perform another Push Up then tuck the other knee in. Do one final push up for one rep.

Spiderman Mountain Climbers:

To do Spiderman Mountain Climbers, start in the high plank position from your hands and feet. Then, keeping your core engaged, step one foot up and outside your hand into a nice low spiderman or runner’s lunge. Try not to let your butt go way up in the air as you step your foot outside.

Beginners will then quickly step back into plank and then step the other foot forward into a lunge on the other side. They will move as quickly as possible, stepping their foot all the way outside their hand.

More advanced exercisers will jump from lunge to lunge. The faster you jump between lunges and the less you pause on each side, the harder the move will be. Still try to keep your butt down and make sure to land in a lunge with your foot outside your hand each time.

Oblique V-Ups:

To do Oblique V-Ups, lie on your side, slightly rocked back onto the fleshy part of your glute so that your body is slightly rotated open toward the ceiling. Place your bottom arm out in front of you just below shoulder height and angle your straight legs out a bit out in front of you with one stacked on top of the other.

Keeping your legs together, lift your feet up toward the ceiling as you crunch your upper body up to reach your top arm toward your feet. “V up” on your side, pressing off your bottom arm as you use your abs to lift your legs and reach your top hand toward your toes. Lift your legs up as high as you can as you reach up as high as you can.

Then relax back down, but don’t completely release at the bottom. Keep your legs slightly lifted and only lightly touch your bottom shoulder back down to the ground.

Then lift back up, pushing through your arm on the ground as you use your abs and glutes to lift your legs and reach up toward your feet.

Complete all reps on one side before switching.