Summer Workout Challenge Day 9: 20-Minute Core Workout (Max 20)

This is day 9 of my Max20 program where strength training is made simple. 20 minutes a day, max impact. You can get the full program when you click the link in the description below. While you're there, hit subscribe to my channel. All right team, uh, welcome back to day 9 of Max20. Today is all about the abs, core, and we're hitting your accessory hip muscles that stabilize your pelvic floor. It's going to be an awesome workout and I'm joined by the amazing Caroline. Hello. She's gonna be offering modifications throughout today's workout so you can follow along with Caroline. She's gonna be doing everything from the mat and be offering core modification. And all you're gonna need today is a single dumbbell. We have one heavier, one lighter. I also have a bench on set. Caroline's gonna show you how you can do it from the floor, but you could grab a chair if you want to. And for a little extra bonus inner thigh engagement, I threw in a Pilates ball I'm gonna be using for move number 4. Again, totally optional. You could totally use your kid's squishy ball. I know I have a Paw Patrol one in my basement. So use whatever is available to you. We're going to get ourselves warmed up and we're going to jump into today's workout. 4 big core exercises. You're going to do 4 sets alternating sides as we go, doing each exercise for 45 seconds of work followed by a 15-second transition. It's going to be a really fun workout. I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to this. After a heavy leg day yesterday, it's nice to have a little bit of a lighter load today. We're focusing on abs and core but also strengthening your accessory hip muscles and working on your mobility. Yeah, I'm excited. It's going to be a great workout to throw into the program. Let's get started with a warm-up. We're going to start by bracing our core. So opposite arm and leg are going to lift and you're going to brace your core at the top. So it's a big breath out, breath out. As you exhale, think about contracting your core with that knee drive, engaging those low abs, right? Our arm— our core is truly meant to stabilize us as our arms and legs move, which is exactly what you're doing in this warm-up. This is not a traditional core workout. It is a very functional ab workout. We're going to train the core in every plane of motion. Nice. Give me one more here. Big push. Nice. Remember those airplanes we did on week 1? We're going to do those again to get those hips. So I'm actually going to use the wall here behind me to support me. So one leg kickstanded on the wall, and you're just simply going to open T-spine. So gaze follows fingertips. Now you're going to open to the other side. Oh, forcing all those hip muscles, those tiny hip stabilizers. To start activating. Again, like I said, in physical therapy, this is one of the greatest exercises you could do for hip pain, I have been told. Nice. Give me one more, and then you're simply going to switch legs. Other leg, Caroline's giving you a kickstand option from the ground. Same thing here, you're going to open, and you might notice one side is easier than the other, totally normal. Right. Ooh, there it is. Nice. Soft bend in that front leg. Woo! Find your balance. You can always hold on to something if you need to, a broomstick, a countertop. One more here. Awesome job. Walk it in, shake it out. Okay, we're going to go to a little wide lateral squat. We're going to hit those outer glutes and inner thighs that we're going to hit in today's workout. So you're simply going to sit side, center, side, center. Ooh, feeling that from leg day yesterday. Like the first sit back, you're like, oh yeah, there it is. Oh yeah, there it is. Stretch through those legs. Nice. Okay, shake out that lactic acid, move things around a little bit here. Nice. And one more. And take a wide forward fold. Toes are gonna face me. You're gonna step back into a high plank position, and you can drop all the way down to tabletop. Little cat-cow. Drop the belly, lift the chin. Reverse it. Tuck the chin, roll that spine. Let's stabilize that spine and the hip, um, your hips and glutes are actually— for your glutes and hips are part of it. So bird dog, opposite arm and leg extend, and then recover. And another 3-second hold on the other side. Think about really reaching fingertip to heel away from each other. Reach, hold for 3, 2, 1. Do it again, same thing, other side. Reach, hold for 3, 2, and 1. Nice. We're gonna take it over into a side plank. You're gonna see some of these today. We're gonna be working on a Copenhagen, which targets your adductors, your inner thighs. This is a modified version of a Copenhagen, uh, Copenhagen or a side plank. So outside leg, top leg fully extended, inside leg is giving you a little kickstand here. The goal is to slowly work up to getting this foot off the ground, really putting the work into that adductor. But if you're not there yet, this is going to be your modification. All right, that's going to be your good modification for you. Come up to a seated position. It's a little butterfly stretch before we go to the other side. Open up those adductors and those inner hips. A little butterfly flap. I always say my daughter's dance class, they like have them flap their, flap their wings. They say, where do you want to fly to today? I'd take a little trip to Hawaii right about now. Sounds kind of nice. All right, same thing, other side. Gonna fire up the adductor on the other side. So top leg is straight, inside leg is your support system right here. Again, the whole point is eventually to get this leg lifted off the mat. If you can do that, great. You're going to get additional inner thigh or adductor hip engagement. Or you can put it down the ground for a little kickstand. You get to choose today, your level. It's your workout. We're gonna go all the way up and over, a little version of what your 20-rep buy-in is gonna look like today. We're gonna do a dead bug. This is what you're gonna see for your 20-rep buy-in. Opposite arm and leg extending and reaching away from each other, creating as much distance from heel to thumb as you can. Nice work. Awesome job keeping those ribs down towards those hips right there. Full warmup. Option to stay here. Option, if you want to pick it up a notch, you can go ahead and grab a dumbbell with me. I'm going to use one dumbbell. You could always use two, one in each hand. I'm going to use one that's going to go overhead in between each rep. We got 20 dead bugs to kick off today's core workout. Great way to start this workout. Here we go, in 3, 2, let's go! Here's your 20 rep buy-in. Nice. Exhale as you pull the legs and arms together. Inhale, extend. Exhale, pull together. Inhale, extend. Exhale, pull together. Nice work. Adding the weight is definitely going to increase the intensity. Today's core workout is all at your level. We're going to train core in all planes, getting everything nice and warm and activated here with the dead bug. Very classic core exercise. You're also going to feel your hip flexors turn on. We're going to target hip flexors in move number 1. Nice work. Is that 10? We're 10 down, 10 to go. 10 down, 10 to go. Slow and steady is the name of the game when core training. We're really going to slow things down for that first exercise, put some emphasis on eccentric or time under tension to build lower ab strength and strengthen our hip flexors. Nice work, team! Keep breathing through this, firing up that core. Not gonna lie, today is meant to be a slightly easier day. If you can't do those 3 days we just did in week 2 and come back and just crush day 4 of the week. So we're taking a little bit easier today, focusing on range of motion. You got one more focusing on core strength and mobility. Nice work, that's 20 reps. So that's your 20-rep buy-in. If you wanted, you could grab your PDF tracker and you can track your weights and your reps you're using today so you can track your progress. This is all available for free when you click the link in the description below. We're going to set up our first move. Caroline's going to show you how to do it from the ground. I'm going to show you how to do it from a bench, which increases the intensity. You're going to want one heavy weight. This heavy weight is going to go under one foot. Doesn't matter which foot on the ground. Okay, we're going to strengthen our hip flexors right here as well as our low abs. So opposite leg is going to come up. I'm going to sit back on a 3 count and up on a 1. Okay, this is a hip flexor strengthening crunch is what we're doing. Caroline has your modification on the ground. 45-second timer starts in 3, 2, and 1. Here we go. So you're sitting back, 2, 3, up on 1. So it's a slow controlled lower drive to the top. Again, we're targeting low abs and hip flexors here. A great exercise for runners. Back, 2, 3, up on 1. Most people will say, I have weak hip flexors or tight hip flexors, and they will focus on potentially stretching their hip flexors but not necessarily strengthening them. This exercise is meant to do both, strengthen and stretch, working on an eccentric motion, low on the way down, 2 2, 3. You're in that final 3, 2, 1. All the way up. Nice work. Awesome job. Move 2, we're going to take it— I'm going to stay on the bench. Caroline's going to show you this on the ground. We're going to go into a bird dog row. So same arm and knee are on the ground, other leg extends long, just like you're doing a bird dog. And you row in 3, 2, let's go. Row, slow controlled lower. Row, slow controlled lower. So now we're hitting a little bit more of our posterior chain, hitting back, which we haven't hit since arm day, as well as— do you feel all those tiny hip stabilizing muscles working? Not only in the bent leg, but the straight leg that is extended. Fun fact is that your hips and glutes are actually part of your core, which is why we are building them into today's core training. We hit the front side. Now we hit the back side. This is anti-rotation core, also strengthening your back. Everything is fired up here. Come on. Keep pulling for 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Nice work, team. I'm going to keep using this bench. We're going to go into that Copenhagen plank we talked about. Caroline is going to show you that modification from the ground. I'm going to get one leg up on my bench, side plank, Copenhagen style, in 3, 2, lift off and hold. So now the farther I go away from the bench, the harder this is. I'm going to be completely honest with you. Adductors, which is your inner thigh, my weakest muscle group and actually a wildly undertrained muscle group specifically in females. I've struggled specifically with adductor weakness since having SPD through my pregnancies, which is pubic dysfunction. I have my knee on the bench. This is as good as I've got right now. I have continually been working to get farther and farther away. Start with where you can. And continue to build up. Adductors are something I'm continuing to train and work on strengthening. We're hitting obliques here and adductors, inner thigh. For 3, 2, and recover. Nice work. A challenging move for sure. Your final move, if you want to increase adductor tension, which I'm working on, I'm going to take a Pilates ball between my leg and we're going for a seated twist. Well, adding a little rotation to today's core move. In 3, 2. Let's go through twist and twist, getting that dumbbell all the way to the outside hip. Option to keep both feet on the ground and squeeze that ball. Option to float your feet and squeeze that ball. I'm gonna keep my feet on the ground because it's going to allow me to increase that squeeze on the Pilates ball. I want you to sit up tall, chest proud. Think about rotating from your rib cage. Rotate from your rib cage side to side. So several of today's core exercises were anti-rotation focused. This one is adding a little rotation, hitting that transverse plane, rotating that weight all the way outside the hip. 10 more seconds. Can you increase that squeeze? Can you rotate a little farther? You got this, team. Last 4, 3, 2, and recover. Awesome job. Those are your 4 moves you're gonna see in today's workout. We're simply just gonna switch sides through the next round. So set 2, we are back on the hip flexor crunch. Caroline's got it from the ground, I have it standing, and all we are going to do is switch legs. You're going to take that heavy weight again. It's going to go over to the other leg this time. Heavy weight over to the other leg. Other leg is going to come up. It's that slow eccentric lower. Back on a 3-count, up on 1. You're there in 3, 2, let's go. Take it down. 3, up on 1, down, 2, 3, up on 1. Nice work, team. This is core training and hip flexor training done in our sagittal plane. We're hitting the sagittal plane. The Copenhagen plank takes us into the frontal plane. Then the last move, the twist, takes us into the transverse plane. Just to give you a look inside what's going through my brain when I program a core workout, Right, as I still want to make sure we're hitting every single plane of motion. We are strengthening the core literally from every angle. Nice work, team. You're here. Final 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Woo! Nice work. Bird Dog Row, other side. So you're just going to switch sides. Okay, rowing from that other arm. Same arm, same leg. Think about, again, nice length from the leg that's kicked back behind you. We row in 3, 2, let's row, row. Benefits of doing this on a bench: you get a little bit more length and extension in that row. See my arm drop down, then contract. Shoulder blade is pulled down and back, elbow to hip pocket, hips stay square to the ground. This is an anti-rotation core exercise. With that uneven load, it's really going to force those obliques and those deep transverse abdominals to fire up, as well as all those tiny hip stabilizing stabilizing muscles that are keeping that leg lifted and keeping you stable on the bench. You'll even see me shaking here. Totally normal. Nice work, team. Come on, you got 10 more seconds. Nice work. Deep hip stabilizers working, glutes, back. Come on, final 3, 2, and recover. Awesome job. We're going Copenhagen plank on the other side. Caroline is again going to have your modification. You get my beautiful backside. So maybe we'll have Caroline watch our timer for this one. She can be our counter. You're up in 3, 2, let's go. Holding here, shoulder stacked on top of elbow, holding here. Nice work. Thinking about really driving. If you're with me, the knee or the leg that is on the bench is driving into that bench, creating that adductor, that inner thigh engagement. Hips are lifted high, squeezing through those obliques. If you're with Caroline on the ground, you're thinking, can I lighten the load in the bent leg? How do I put more work into that straight leg? That's what you're working towards, whatever side you're on. All right, how we doing, Caroline? Got 10 seconds left. We're in that final 10. Caroline's gonna give us the final countdown. We're gonna pass the mic. You got 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, rest. Nice work. Awesome job, guys. Going back to that seated twist, add the ball or don't. Again, literally you can add one of your kids' squishy balls, whatever's available to you. Or a pillow. A pillow. You're twisting in 3, 2, and 1. I'm going to keep my feet on the ground so I can focus on those adductors. Again, an undertrained muscle for me specifically. Adding the ball to glute bridges, adding the ball to anything like this. Is going to be a great way to just recruit those inner thigh muscles and help strengthen them. Again, sitting up tall, chest proud, really rotating that weight outside, hip to hip. Think about rotating from that rib cage. Hips are steady, you're not rocking. Nice work, nice work. Come on, keep moving, keep squeezing right here. You got this. Team, woo! Your core doesn't just stabilize you, it also helps you rotate. For 3, 2, and 1. Awesome job. All right, third set, Caroline. Best set. Best set. And we're switching sides a lot, so you're really only training each side twice. Again, today is a little bit of an easier day. It is specifically programmed that way. You are coming off 3 very challenging strength days. My ball's gonna roll, roll away on me. Okay, back to the leg you started with. Back to the leg you started with. 45 seconds on that crunch with hip flexor engagement. You're there. In 3, 2, let's go, let's go. All the way back and up. Nice work. Again, like I mentioned, a really great exercise for runners and lifters and anybody who wants a strong core and strong hip flexors. Also, these are good moves that you could just think about building into your repertoire, whether it's a burnout or whether it's a warm-up exercise. This would make a great warm-up exercise to a leg day, to a core day. This would make just a great warm-up exercise any day, truly. Nice work, team. Using your breath to help lift you up. Inhale on that slow 4, and then really use your breath. Exhale as you come up. Nice work. You're in the final 5, 4, 3, 2, and recover. Bird dog row, bird dog row. Back to that first arm, back to that first arm. All right, really think about keeping a 2x4 from head to tailbone here. Hips are not rocking. This is anti-rotation. In 3, 2, let's go. Shoulder blade down and back. Pull strong. Lower with control. Pull strong, lower with control. A little bit of shaking is totally normal. Hit the front side, now we hit the back side, and then we train side to side, and then we rotate. A complete core workout that doesn't look like your traditional core training but has so many benefits built into it. I like that we're calling this— this is our first time ever doing abs, core, and accessory muscles. Those accessory muscles are so important, often undertrained. Today we're focusing on the hips, adductors, abductors, those deep hip stabilizing muscles. In week 1, we hit the calves. Woo! Gonna keep you waiting to see what we hit in week 3. 3, 2, and recover. Back on your Copenhagen plank. Okay, can you pick up that inside leg just a little bit? Or maybe can you move off your bench a little bit? Those are things I'm working towards. Lift off in 3, 2, lift off and hold. Speaking of week 3, you have to be in the NML app to get week 3. Yes, that's a great point. If you're like, wait, what week 3? I don't see week 3. When you train with us inside the Nourish, Move, Love app, you get 10 additional workouts to this Max 20 program. So instead of getting the traditional 10 workouts you're seeing on YouTube, 2 weeks, you're actually getting 3 weeks plus 5 bonus burnouts for a complete 3-week, actually a 6-week program because this program is to be repeated. You're not supposed to do it once and then walk away. You're supposed to repeat the program. That's why we give you those downloadable PDF tracking sheets so you can track your weights, track your reps, track your progress as you repeat the program. All right, team, you're almost there. Last 3, 2, and recover. Awesome job. Seated twist, seated twist. Grab that weight and that ball if you want it. We are rotating. Sit up nice and tall. On those sit bones. Grab that dumbbell if you can, squeeze that ball if you can. In 3, 2, let's go. Rotate and rotate. Again, this is our rotating or our pivot twisting, very functional, great for spine health, strong core built right here. Slow controlled reps today, slow controlled core training. You guys have continually been asking for longer core training workouts this is definitely one I would come back to. It's got core, it's got mobility. It is a solid day for the days you're not feeling maybe super motivated or don't feel like you have the capacity to lift heavy. This is a great workout to add to routine or come back to. Nice work, team! Finish strong. Last 5, 4, 3, 2, and rest. All right, Caroline, core set! Strong set, strong set. We are heading into that final set. Hopefully you remember which leg you did. We're heading into that final round of hip flexor crunches. Hip flexor crunches for the last time. Back on the slow controlled 3-count. Up on a 1. You're there. In 3, 2, let's go. Take it down, 2, 3. Up on 1. Nice work. Down, 2, 3. Again, my goal is to continually give you mobility moves like this that not only increase the range of motion but build strength using just your body weight that you can add to your routine every single day. Building strength through every single season of life. Big exhale brings you up. Nice work, team. Halfway, 20 seconds left. Come on, keep moving. Last set. Starting to feel that muscle fatigue set in, in that core. You got it, keep fighting, keep pushing right here. Finish strong. Last 5, 4, 3, 2, and recover. Last round of bird dogs, last round of bird dogs. Switching arms, all right, really focusing on the posterior chain here. Keep that leg long, other leg steady. You're rowing, building that upper body strength at the same time. In 3, 2 Let's go, pull. Hips are square and stable to the ground. Again, every day of this program is strategically programmed to follow and build off each other. Week 2 builds off Week 1. The work you did in Week 1, we are building off it in Week 2. And like Caroline said, if you want to see what's available in Week 3, train with us inside the Nourish Move Love app. Full details in the description below. 20 seconds Team, keep pulling, keep training right here, building strength one rep at a time. Let's go! Strong core, strong back, strong hips and glutes. Final 10, final 10. Yes! This— Copenhagen and seated twist. You are in that home stretch. For 3, 2, and 1. Nice work! Copenhagen plank, other side. Caroline's gonna be our counter again. Bring it home. Whoo! Nice work. Legs on the bench. Here we go. Lift off in 3, 2, let's go. Lift up, hold. 45 seconds is a solid hold, especially for sets. Starting to feel those inner thighs really fire up here. Come on, team, drive that knee into that bench or slightly lift off that bent leg off the ground. How can you increase the intensity and challenge yourself? In this core workout. I know I have a lot of work and improvement to do in my adductors, and actually that kind of excites me. I'm excited to keep coming back to this workout and see how I can get better and better every single day. We're looking for those incremental changes, that 1% better every day. All right, Caroline, bring us home. You're in that final 5, 4, 3, 2 1. Nice work, team. All right, you guys, final time with the seated twist. Grab that ball if you have it. Let's go. Here we go. Grab that weight. Last 45 seconds in 3, 2. Let's go. Rotating through that trunk. This is it. There's no burnout round. This is it. If you want the burnout video that goes with this workout, it is a 10-minute cardio and agility workout. A chance to get those steps in, and raise that heart rate and sweat it out. Again, that's available for you in the Nurse Move Love app. We're so grateful for you guys doing this program with us. I hope you are feeling stronger every day you check off your workouts from this program. Let us know in the comments how you're feeling. Tomorrow we're building up to day 10, always a fun full body workout. Excited to be back on the mat with you. Come on, 10 more seconds, 10 more seconds. Bring it home right here. Last 5, 4, 3, 2, and recover. Weights are down. Nice work. We're stretching. Yes, let's stretch it out. I don't know about you, but my hip flexors are feeling it. We're just coming to a half kneeling position here. Half kneeling, you're going to tuck your tailbone towards me. You can give a little slight lean forward if you need to. Take this arm up and actually give me a little side body reach. Open up these hip flexors, open up these lats. Nice work. Open up these obliques you just trained. So proud of you guys. Thanks for showing up, knocking out this workout. Your body is going to thank you for doing this workout. Same thing, other side. Tuck that tailbone towards me, reach this right arm up and give me a little side body lean on the right. Open up the hip flexor, the obliques, the lats. Open it all up. Awesome job. So excited to finish day 10. 2 weeks will be done tomorrow. I hope you're proud of yourself for all the work you have put in and that progress you have made. Here we go, finding a tabletop position. Cat-cow, drop the belly, lift the chin, reverse it, tuck the chin, roll that spine up. Nice work. Take it to your backside. One final butterfly stretch. Open up those inner hips and those adductors. We worked really hard today. Thanks for knocking out this workout, team. We're excited to finish Week 2 strong with you. See you back on the mat tomorrow for Day 10. Awesome job knocking out that core workout. If you loved it, hit subscribe to my channel. I've queued up Day 10 right here. Otherwise, you can find this entire 2-week strength challenge in this playlist right here. Have a great day.