Every new year begins with a new slate. Once the calendar hits January 1, you have the opportunity to develop different habits, find engaging hobbies, and instill different attitudes for how you go about day-to-day life than you did the year before.
For most people, this focus on the “new” falls apart after just a few weeks, and their mindset falls back to how they were before the ball dropped on the previous year. The problem for most people is that they don’t have a well-structured plan, an easy-to-follow set of instructions, a predetermined calendar, or a community to hold themselves accountable. They set out to accomplish an abstract goal without any tools. We’re here to give you all of those things with the aim of accomplishing a specific goal for the first month of 2022: train your abs every single day to build a stronger core.
The key to your success will be programming. Rather than randomly assigning a set of crunches or planks from one session to the next, each day will focus on a specific function of the muscle group. Your abs handle several key functions for you every day, and your core training can be broken down by those functions. Your abs are responsible for spinal flexion (as you do during situps). They also brace your spine, protecting it against all motion (their key responsibility during planks) . They also help you rotate (or twist) your torso, and they help you fight all rotation (as you do during Pallof presses).
During the first four days of each week, you’ll focus on one key function each day. During the last three days, you’ll work through sessions that blend multiple core responsibilities and challenge your abs in all directions. The seventh day of each week will push you to attack your abs for five consecutive minutes without stopping (you can return to these “test” workouts and see if you can improve whenever you want an ultra-quick challenge for your core. To keep your workouts organized over the 30 days of the challenge, use these helpful shortcuts.
Each workout will take no more than five minutes, meaning you can squeeze these sessions in at the end of any other gym session you take on. As the weeks wear on, you’ll take on progressively more challenging sessions; they’ll still be quick, but they’ll ramp up the intensity on your abs.
The Men’s Health 30-Day Abs Workout Challenge
Week 1
Day 1: Bracing
Hollow Hold — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 2: Rotation
Hollow Hold Russian Twist — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 3: Anti-Rotation
Plank Shoulder-Tap — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 4: Spinal Flexion
Modified V-Up — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 5: Combination
Modified V-Up – 30 seconds; Hollow Hold Russian Twist – 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 rounds.
Day 6: Combination
Modified V-Up – 30 seconds; Hollow Hold Russian Twist – 30 seconds; Hollow Hold – 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 7: Nonstop Core Challenge
Plank Shoulder-Tap – 10 reps; Hollow Hold Russian Twist – 10 reps; Modified V-Up – 10 reps; Hollow Hold – 20 seconds. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes.
Week 2
Day 1: Bracing
Hollow Rock — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 2: Rotation
Side Plank Thread the Needle — 2 sets per side of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 3: Anti-Rotation
Uneven Hollow Rock — 2 sets per side of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 4: Spinal Flexion
Situp with Cross-Body Fist Punch — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 5: Combination
Hollow Rock – 30 seconds; Uneven Hollow Rock – 30 seconds per side. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat twice.
Day 6: Combination
Hollow Rock – 30 seconds; Uneven Hollow Rock – 30 seconds per side; Hollow Hold – 30 seconds. Repeat twice. Finish with 1 full minute of Situp to Cross-Body Punches.
Day 7: Nonstop Core Challenge
Hollow Rock – 10 reps; Hollow Hold Russian Twist – 10 reps; Modified V-Up – 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes.
Week 3
Day 1: Bracing
Plank Reach — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 2: Rotation
Tipping Hollow Rock — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 3: Anti-Rotation
Plank Up-Down — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 4: Spinal Flexion
V-Up — 4 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 off
Day 5: Combination
Plank Reach – 30 seconds; Plank Up-Down – 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 6: Combination
Plank Reach – 30 seconds; Plank Up-Down – 30 seconds; V-Up – 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 7: Nonstop Core Challenge
V-Up – 10 reps; Plank Reach – 10 reps; Plank Up-Down – 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes.
Week 4
Day 1: Bracing
Hollow Hold – 30 seconds; Hollow Rock – 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 2: Rotation
Side Plank Thread-the-Needle – 30 seconds per side; Tipping Hollow Rock – 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 3: Anti-Rotation
Plank Shoulder-Tap – 10 reps; Uneven Hollow Rock – 10 reps per side. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 4: Spinal Flexion
V-Up – 10 reps; Modified V-Up – 10 reps. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 5: Combination
V-Up – 30 seconds; Plank Shoulder-Tap – 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 6: Combination
Side Plank Thread-the-Needle – 30 seconds per side; Plank Up-Down – 30 seconds, Hollow Hold – 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.
Day 7: Nonstop Core Challenge
Tipping Hollow Rock – 10 reps; Uneven Hollow Rock – 10 reps per side; Hollow Rock – 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible for five minutes.
Week 5
Day 1: Plank Moves Challenge
Plank Shoulder-Tap – 10 reps; Plank Reach – 10 reps; Plank Up-Down – 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes.
Day 2: Hollow Hold Challenge
Uneven Hollow Rock – 10 reps per side; Tipping Hollow Rock – 10 reps, Hollow Rock – 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes.
Day 3: V-Up Countup Challenge
5 V-Ups, 5 Modified V-Ups, 20-second Hollow Hold. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes. Every round, add 1 V-Up and 1 Modified V-Up.
The Abs Exercises
Spinal Flexion-Focused Moves
V-Up
Modified V-Up
Situp with Cross-Body Punch
Bracing-Focused Moves
Hollow Hold
Hollow Rock
Plank Reach
Rotation-Focused Moves
Side Plank Thread-the-Needle
Tipping Hollow Rock
Hollow Hold Russian Twist
Anti-Rotation-Focused Moves
Uneven Hollow Rock
Plank Shoulder-Tap
