The Flat Belly Workout You Can Do On Your Lunch Break

By: Kim Pieper // July 31, 2018

Try this quick ab workout when you're short on time.

Got a lunch break? Then let’s be honest: you have time to work your core. If you can sneak away to a conference room or make a little space in your office, then you can do this 10-minute workout and still have time for lunch—no excuses allowed!

This workout will teach your body to engage the most important abdominal muscle you own—your transverse abdominus. Through a series of planks and other core body moves you’ll feel the muscle getting tighter right away and, over time, you will train it to stay pulled in which keeps your abs looking flatter and your back more stabilized and strong. Win win!

Quick 10-Minute Flat Belly Workout

These are some of the best of the core body-weight moves to flatten your belly and strengthen your back all without the hassle of changing into workout clothes or getting super sweaty. Try to do these exercises 3 times a week and mix in your cardio before or after work for real results.

Push-Up T

Begin in a plank position with hands below shoulders, legs long and abdominals tight so your body is in a straight line.
Bend elbows lowering chest to the ground, keeping gaze in front of fingertips.
Press chest back to start position and open right hand and hip to the ceiling so you end up in a side plank position. Feet stay staggered and legs long.
Rotate right hand back to start position and repeat exercise, this time opening the left hand into side plank. This is one repetition.
Continue for desired number of repetitions.

Do 10 total push-ups, 5 on each side.

Mid-Back Extension

Start lying face down on mat. Lift abs away from mat to engage them and slide the shoulders down the back. The head is lifted in a low hover. Your body is one long line.
Using your back muscles and core, lift the chest away from the mat into extension as you exhale. Think of lengthening from the crown of the head.
Inhale and return back down to the mat slowly getting longer through the spine as you return.

Try for 10-12 lifts.

In In Out Out Plank

Begin in a forearm plank position with your body in a straight line and abdominals contracted.
Step your left foot out to the left.
Step your right foot out to the right.
Step your left foot back to center.
Step your right foot back to center.

Repeat 10 times leading with the left foot, then 10 times leading with the right foot.

Related:15-Minute Flat Ab Workout

Bend Extend Ab Tuck

Start seated on mat with arms behind you, hands on the mat and fingers facing your backside. Sit back on your hands and lift up your feet off the mat keeping the knees bent.
Keep abs tight and press your legs out long and lower back down slightly. You should feel your lower abdominals working, then push yourself back up and pull your knees in to return to your starting position.

Perform 10-12 repetitions.

Plank Single Arm Reach

Begin in a plank position with your shoulders over your wrists and your body in a straight line.
Raise your right arm and hold keeping abs tight. Repeat on the other side.

Try 10-12 total reaches.

Side Plank Lift and Lower

Start by laying on your right side with forearm below shoulder, body lifted and legs long and feet stacked. Keep body straight, abs tight and place left hand on hip.
Dip your hips down towards the mat and lift back up using your obliques and core muscles.

Try 10-12 lifts on the right, then switch to the left.

Hip Dips

Begin in a forearm plank position with your forearms flat on the mat, making sure that your elbows are aligned directly under your shoulders, your core is engaged, and your body is in a straight line from your head to your feet.
Lower your left hip toward the floor until it almost touches and then immediately raise back to center.
Repeat on the right side.

Try switching back and forth right to left 10-12 times, making sure you don’t scrunch up at your shoulders and neck.

Modified Side Plank Crunch

Begin lying on your right side with your right forearm down beneath right shoulder and right knee bent on the floor with left leg long and straight. Keep your abdominals engaged and try to to not let your hips rise or drop.
Pull left elbow and knee together on top so they crunch right above your hips. Lengthen left arm and leg back straight to start position. Repeat for desired number of reps and switch sides.

Perform 10-12 crunches on one side, then switch sides and repeat.

Why Bodyweight Exercises Work For Abs

The fact is that the best core exercises are done using bodyweight and no equipment. Stabilization moves like planks, side planks and core body lifts are some of the most effective ways to train your core muscles, including your transverse abdominus and obliques.

Even better, you don’t need equipment for bodyweight workouts and because you’re not making a big range of motion with this workout in particular, you won’t get super sweaty. Instead, by doing a lot of squeezing and pulling in of the muscles, you are training your abs to do what you want them to do—pull your tummy in!