5 Ab Workout Moves that Aren’t Crunches

If you’re relying on those stomach crunches to bust your belly fat and improve your fitness, you’ll be waiting a long time. Crunches just aren’t the most effective way to target belly fat; crunches only target select ab muscles. Those get toned, while flab located elsewhere isn’t touched at all.

Refresh your ab workout and tone your tummy with these 5 killer workout moves that aren’t crunches!

1. Medicine Ball Bounce – Let your inner child play with this fun and easy core movement. Standing up completely straight with your tummy tucked in, hold a 4 to 6-lb. medicine ball over your head. Throw the medicine ball down at the ground as hard as you can — just be careful it doesn’t bounce back at you. Repeat for a total of 20 reps to begin working on that 6-pack.

2. Pendulum Swing – Work your abs so you’ll be sore the next day with this deep core move. Lying on the ground, hold both legs so they are perpendicular with the ground. Lower your legs to the right so they hover 1 inch above the ground. Raise your legs back to center, then down to the left, then back up. That’s one exhausting, core-blasting rep!

3. One-legged Plank – Upgrade your basic plank by lifting one leg off the ground so you’re balanced on only 3 points of contact. This reduces your stability and ups the intensity for your core.

4. Side Plank – You’ve mastered basic and one-legged planks. Take it up a notch with a move that requires greater stability, and works your core even harder. Start with a 30 second side plank, then extend your hold for 60 seconds. To get into a side plank, lie one one side with your elbow beneath your shoulder and your legs stacked. Push your hips up so that only your elbow and feet touch the ground. Switch sides after you’ve done one side.

5 Wall Push-Up – A wall push-up exerts your full core and can be done anywhere there’s a wall. Standing arm’s length away from the wall, put out your palms and touch the wall. Contract your stomach muscles and lean in to the wall, bending your elbow down. Come close to the wall, then use your arms to push back. That’s one push-up. Now, drop stand and give me 20!