While I like to listen to music during my training, I’d never tried an abs-to-the-beat workout before I gave this quick abs blast a go. It’s something I’ll definitely do again because I found it a surprisingly engaging way to train.
The seven-minute abs workout was put together by fitness trainer Maddie Lymburner, who goes by MadFit on YouTube, and it’s set to the beat of Daft Punk’s Around The World.
That means you do your reps in time with the music, keeping pace with the beat and switching between moves quickly without taking any real breaks.
The fast pace of the session means that it engages all the main muscles in your core in just seven minutes, and all you need is one of the best yoga mats.
Watch MadFit’s 7-minute abs to the beat workout
There are four sections within the workout, each of which has a different focus with variations on a classic core exercise. The first involves doing crunches and toe-taps, the second is mainly sit-ups, the third is planks and the fourth is bicycle crunches.
Lymburner does the workout with you and helps you keep time with the music, as well as demonstrating good for each exercise. There are also beeps throughout the workout to alert you that you’re about to switch to a new move.
While the workout is suitable for all fitness levels, the fast pace and the fact you have to move into a new move quickly means that beginners might struggle to keep up with Lymburner.
That’s fine though, just take extra rests and watch her at the start of each move to make sure you’re getting your technique for the exercise right.
I did the workout myself and enjoyed it more than most abs sessions I’ve done lately, here’s what I took away from it:
Sticking to the beat is good motivation
When I’m working to time during workouts I find that I can get lazy late in the set and slow down my reps, knowing I can stop once the time is up regardless.
I found that being asked to stick to the beat was a challenge, but one that motivated me to keep going with each exercise, and I managed to complete each one without dropping off the pace.
The tempo was perfect for abs exercises
The beat of Around The World is ideal for abs exercises, because you move at the right pace to ensure you’re engaging the right muscles without rushing.
For crunches and pulses, you can go up and down, while for longer moves like sit-ups, you can go up for one beat and down for one.
When it comes to the planks section you do walking planks or bring your knee to your chest in time with the music, always working in groups of four, eight, 12, or 16 reps.
The sit-up twist down is a great move
One move you do in the workout that was new to me is the sit-up and twist down. For the move you sit-up as normal then twist your torso to each side twice on the way back down, kind of like a Russian twist.
This allows you to work your obliques as well as your central abs muscles during the move, and it’s definitely an exercise I’ll be adding to future workouts.
