I tried the 20-minute Caroline Girvan abs workout — and it’s a killer

I tried the 20-minute Caroline Girvan abs workout — and it's a killer

a photo of Caroline Girvan doing an abs workout

(Image credit: Caroline Girvan/YouTube)

There are some workouts that fly by in the glimmer of an eye, and there are others where yous experience every single second. This xx-minute Caroline Girvan abs workout falls into the latter — it hurts, but if yous're looking to blast your core, I've found a way to do it, without any equipment. Girvan's workout has a whopping 1.8 million views on YouTube, and a quick roll through the comments shows how hard information technology is. Read on to detect out what happened when I unrolled my exercise mat and gave it a go.

If like me, you're new to Caroline Girvan and her workouts, she is a personal trainer who has ane.39 1000000 followers on her YouTube channel. As well every bit being a personal trainer, Girvan is an ultramarathon runner, a marathon runner, a triathlete and she'southward completed an Ironman. In other words, she's super-fit.

As a fitness editor, I'm always on a quest to find new ways to mix up my workout routine. For me, cadre strength is as much an aesthetic goal every bit a applied 1 — information technology'll help me run stronger. In improver to this workout, I've tried the Pamela Reif six-pack ab workout, the Chloe Ting ab workout, and a seven-day Lily Sabri ab challenge, all to meet the results. Think of me as your fitness republic of guinea pig (if guinea pigs had abs).

What is the Caroline Girvan 20-minutes ab workout?

Girvan has lots of different ab workouts on her folio, but this is a 20-minute, null-equipment workout that can exist done from merely about anywhere. Like Girvan, I used an practise mat, and if you're looking to invest in one, nosotros've hand-picked the best yoga mats for home workouts hither.

The workout is 20 minutes of exercise, with 45 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of balance. The video is easy to follow along with, but if you prefer to read the exercises beforehand, here's what y'all'll be facing:

Plank twist: Also known as plank hip dips assume the plank position on your forearms. Once you're in the plank position, drop the right hip downwardly to the floor, then the left hip. Continue dipping to each side. Girvan fully drops the hip downwardly until it is practically touching the flooring and does the whole movement very slowly and controlled.

Plank knee tuck on alternating sides: This exercise is sometimes referred to as Spiderman planks. Starting from a plank position, bring ane genu out to your side to touch the elbow on the same side, and then take it back to your starting position. Repeat on the other side.

Expressionless bug: Start with your back and shoulders flat on the floor. Elevator your artillery direct higher up your shoulders and your legs in a tabletop position. Accept a breath in and as you exhale, slowly lower and straighten your left leg and your right arm until just to a higher place the floor. As y'all inhale, bring them back into the starting position. Repeat on the opposite side.

Toe taps: Lying on your back in tabletop position, engage your core and lower your feet to the floor, so your toes tap against your mat. One time they've tapped, slowly raise them back to the starting position and repeat.

Elbows alternative tuck to extension: Leaning your torso weight on your elbows, bend your knees up towards your torso. As y'all pull 1 human knee in towards your chest, extend the opposite leg outwards away from the torso, so echo on the other side.

Reach to leg opener: For this exercise, showtime lying on your back, reach your arms up towards your toes, then lower your torso back to the floor, extending your arms out behind your head. As you lower your torso back, extend your legs down until they are a few inches above the ground, and take each leg out to the side, keeping your cadre engaged. Bring your legs back together and heighten them back to the ceiling and echo.

Direct leg reverse crunch: To practice a reverse crunch, lie on your back and straighten your legs to the ceiling. Engage your cadre and breathe in to lift your hips off the floor and your legs up and back over your trunk. Breathe out as yous lower dorsum into your starting position. That'due south one rep.

Leg lower to frog tuck: The kickoff half of this practice is a leg raise — starting flat on your back, with your legs up to the ceiling, slowly lower them downward until they are a few inches from the floor, keeping your core engaged. One time they are a few inches off the floor, press your feet together and your knees out to the side, and so bring your heels in to your body to frog tuck back to the starting position.

Tabletop same leg extension (right): This is like to a bicycle boot but on ane side. Start by lying on your back, with your spine pressed into the floor and your legs in a tabletop position. Extend your right leg out until it is a few inches off the floor, so bring information technology back to the starting position.

Tabletop same leg extension (left): Get-go past lying on your back, with your spine pressed into the flooring and your legs in a tabletop position. Extend your left leg out until information technology is a few inches off the floor, then bring it dorsum to the starting position.

Contrary hand to human foot chop (correct): Start on your back with your feet pressed into the floor. Extend your right leg out away from your torso, and extend your left arm behind your head. Lift your right leg and your left arm, chopping the left arm to the outside of the right leg equally information technology reaches the top of the motility and is stretched upwards towards the ceiling. Repeat.

Opposite hand to foot chop (left): Echo the exercise above, just with the left leg outstretched, and the right arm reaching up to chop.

Hip lift to alt twist: Lying on your back, raise your legs to the ceiling, and use your cadre to raise your hips upward off the flooring. Equally you practice and then, twist to the right. Lower dorsum to starting position and repeat, twisting to the left this time. Warning: this i is hard!

Crunch with a pulse: Lying on your back with your anxiety pressed into the floor, engage your core and crunch upward, pulsing for a few times at the top.

Opposite elbow to genu crunch (right): From your starting position on your back, raise the right knee and cross it over your aptitude left leg. Put your left arm behind your head and crunch your left elbow to your right knee.

Contrary elbow to knee crunch (left): Repeat the exercise above on the opposite side.

Hug to hollow: Starting lying on your dorsum, bring your knees up to your breast and hug your arms behind your thighs. From the hug, extend your legs out in front of y'all so that they are a few inches from the floor. At the same time, extend your artillery out behind your caput and so that you are in a hollow hold. Pause for a few seconds, before bringing your knees up to your breast and repeating.

Butterfly crunch with a pulse: At last, the final exercise! Showtime lying on your dorsum with your knees out to the side and your feet pressed together. Crunch upwardly, engaging your core, and pulse for a few times at the peak.

I tried the Caroline Girvan abs workout — here'south what happened

Every bit I mentioned in a higher place, this abs workout isn't for the faint of heart. The outset thing I noticed was that this is 20 minutes, yes, twenty minutes, of exercises that crunch and work into the abdominal muscles. Most of the other YouTube ab workouts I've tried accept been half the duration of this 1, and I really felt it in my core. I too noticed that the intervals of 'work' felt longer during Girvan'south workout — during some of the exercises, 45 seconds felt a challenge, especially with the breaks betwixt exercises only being ten seconds.

Following a horse-riding blow as a teen, I endure from sciatica simply institute this workout to be pretty gentle on the spine. I didn't need to tweak many of the exercises and enjoyed how much of the conditioning was working on the dorsum, so I could ensure my lower dorsum stayed pressed confronting the floor.

Equally an teacher, I enjoyed how Girvan'south ab workout was piece of cake to follow, without the chatter or pausing you lot oftentimes experience in YouTube workouts. That said, beginners might want to pause and watch Girvan's demonstration during the remainder period to ensure they're getting the technique right.

All in all, this was ane of the hardest free cadre workouts I've tried to date, but I thoroughly enjoyed the claiming. A lot of Girvan'southward exercises are Pilates-inspired, and it didn't take long for me to feel that shake in my deeper abdominal muscles. I'll definitely be trying Girvan's xxx-minute ab workout next, once my abs take recovered from this round, that is.

Jane McGuire is Tom's Guide's Fitness editor, which means she looks after everything fitness related - from running gear to yoga mats. An gorging runner, Jane has tested and reviewed fettle products for the past four years, so knows what to wait for when finding a good running watch or a pair of shorts with pockets large enough for your smartphone. When she's not pounding the pavements, you'll find Jane striding round the Surrey Hills, taking far too many photos of her puppy.