5 Best Core Exercises for Summer-Ready Abs

Written by
Ashley Lauretta
If you're looking to get slim and trim as summer approaches, a core routine is essential.

Go beyond the plank exercise to trim fat and flatten your stomach. For summer-ready abs, you've got to test your core. It takes less time than you might think.

Maybe you're a new mom looking to lose baby weight or just a busy professional looking to fit in a quick workout before you head to the office. Reggie Chambers, a progressive trainer and fitness specialist at High Performance NYC, has shared the five best core exercises that will kick your weight loss into gear and sculpt your midsection.
MOVE ONE: Medicine Ball Table Top Crunches
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MOVE ONE: Medicine Ball Table Top Crunches
Lie down with your legs in tabletop position and place the medicine ball on top of your legs. Then, sit up and grab the ball, lie all the way back, sit up, and then put the ball back on your legs. Repeat this action 10 times.

TARGETS: Upper and lower abs
More: 3 Medicine Ball Moves to Build Your Core
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Core Workouts Fitness Tips Training Essentials
MOVE TWO: V-up's
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Lie flat on your back with your legs and arms stretched out. Then, as you come up, your hands and legs should meet in the middle to make a 'V' shape. Repeat this 10 times.

TARGETS: Upper and lower abs
More: 4 Yoga Poses to Lose Love Handles Fast
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Core Workouts Fitness Tips Training Essentials
MOVE THREE: Pelvic Thrust with a Twist
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Lie on your back with your hands under your butt (palms face down). Then, thrust your legs up into the air while twisting, from the hips, to the right. Lower your legs and then thrust your legs up into the air while twisting to the left to complete one rep. Repeat this 20 times.

TARGETS: Lower abs

More: Finding Your Core
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MOVE FOUR: Side Winders
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Lie on your back with your legs in a tabletop position. Then, slightly lift your shoulders off the ground. Move your hips side to side while your upper body stays in a neutral position. Do this 20 times. TARGETS: Oblique muscles
More: Best Oblique Exercises to Lose Your Muffin Top
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MOVE FIVE: Bicycles
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Lie on your back with your hands behind your head. Then lift your shoulders off the ground. Take your right elbow up and across at the same time your left knee pulls in toward your chest. Try to get your left knee and right elbow to meet in the center. Come back to starting position and repeat on the other side. Alternate 20 times. TARGETS: Lower abs and oblique muscles
More: 3 Tricks for a Flatter Stomach
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Core Workouts Fitness Tips Training Essentials
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Core Workouts Fitness Tips Training Essentials