Fire Up Your Core With Kayla Itsines’ 5-Minute Ab Challenge

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again - you do not need a huge amount of time to have a great workout, nor should the length of a workout determine whether it’s worth doing or not.

Quick workouts (or exercise snacks as we like to call them) can be extremely effective, a smart hack to squeeze more movement into a jam-packed day, or a great way to ease your way into your fitness journey if you’re not quite ready to dive into a full-length workout.

This five-minute ab challenge is similar to the workouts in Kayla Itsines’ popular three-week Ab Burn Challenge program in the Sweat app, and is a perfect little standalone core blast, or something you can easily use as a fiery finisher at the end of your next workout. The best part? You don’t need anything except a yoga mat to get started.

The original workout involves 30 seconds of each exercise for three rounds (taking you about five minutes per round) but feel free to go for more (or less) depending on how much time you have up your sleeve or how much of a challenge you’re in the mood for!

Need a step-by-step breakdown of how to do each exercise? We’ve got you covered.

Plank and leg lift

1. Start by placing your forearms (wrist to elbow) firmly on the mat. Extend both legs behind you, resting on the balls of your feet. Brace your abdominals and maintain a straight back, ensuring that your elbows are directly below your shoulders. This is your starting position.

2. While keeping your upper body as still as possible, lift your right toe slightly off the mat.

3. Lower your right toe and place it back on the mat, next to your left foot.

4. While keeping your upper body as still as possible, lift your left toe slightly off the mat.

5. Lower your left toe and place it back on the mat, next to your right foot. Continue alternating between sides.

Leg raise

1. Lie on your back on a yoga mat. Extend both legs and engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine to keep your back flat on the mat throughout the movement. This is your starting position.

2. While keeping your legs extended, slowly raise your legs upwards until they form a 90-degree angle with your hips.

3. Slowly lower your legs to return to the starting position, but without lowering your feet fully to the floor. Repeat.

Straight leg sit-up

1. Start by lying straight on your back on the floor, with both arms extended above your head. Engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. This is your starting position.

2. Keeping your heels firmly planted on the floor, slowly lift your head, shoulder blades, and torso off of the floor. Ensure that it is your abdominals that initiate the movement, and that you do not use your arms for momentum to swing your torso up.

3. As you sit up, reach forwards with your hands and touch your toes (or as close as you can). Slowly release your arms and torso to return to the starting position on your back. Repeat.

Side plank with crunch

1. Start by lying on your left side on a yoga mat. Place your left forearm firmly on the floor, ensuring your elbow is directly below your shoulder and your forearm is in line with the short edge of your mat. Extend both legs and, using your obliques, gently raise your hips off the mat. Position your feet one on top of each other with your right arm extended above your head. This is your starting position.

2. While maintaining a straight back and stabilising through your abdominals, simultaneously bend your right knee, hip and elbow to draw your elbow and knee together.

3. Extend your right arm and leg to return to the starting position. Repeat half of the specified amount of repetitions or time, before completing the remaining repetitions or time on the other side.

Ab bikes

1. Start by lying straight on your back on a yoga mat with your legs extended out in front of you, arms resting by your sides. Gently raise both legs and your head and shoulders off the mat. This is your starting position.

2. While keeping your right leg extended, bend your left knee and draw it in towards your chest. At the same time, rotate your torso to the left to bring your right shoulder to your knee, arms resting by your sides on the mat.

3. Untwist your torso and extend your left knee to return to the starting position. Immediately bend your right knee and draw it in towards your chest and rotate your torso to the right to bring your left shoulder to your knee, once again resting your arms by your sides on the mat.

4. Untwist your torso and extend your right knee to return to the starting position. Continue alternating between left and right sides.

Bent leg jackknife

1. Start by lying on your back on a yoga mat with your arms extended above your head. Engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine and elevate your legs off the mat slightly. This is your starting position.

2. Bend your knees and using your abdominals, draw them in towards your chest, ensuring that your feet stay together. At the same time, bring your arms forward towards your feet, slowly lifting your head, shoulder blades and torso off the mat.

3. Slowly lower your arms and extend your legs to return to the starting position, but without lowering your feet to the floor. Repeat.

Plank dips

1. Start by placing your forearms (wrist to elbow) firmly on the mat, ensuring that your elbows are directly below your shoulders. Extend both legs behind you and elevate your hips off the mat, resting on the balls of your feet. Brace your abdominals and ensure that your spine remains in a neutral position. This is your starting position.

2. Keeping your core engaged, lower (dip) your hips to the left side in an arc until they are just above the ground. In a twisting motion, return back to the starting position before lowering your hips to the right side and then back towards the starting position.

3. Ensure you keep pressing away from the ground through your forearms and shoulders. Try to prevent your hips from sagging throughout the movement, ensuring you are breathing deeply throughout. You should feel tension in your abdominals and shoulders during the movement. Continue alternating between sides.

Alternating bird dog

1. Starting on all fours on a yoga mat, ensure that your knees are below your hips and your hands are below your shoulders. Set your spine in a neutral position and draw your shoulder blades down and back. This is your starting position.

2. Gently draw your belly button towards your spine to engage your core. Release and elevate your right arm and left leg until they are in line with your spine, ensuring that your shoulders and hips remain parallel to (in line with) the floor.

3. Lower your right arm and left leg to return to the starting position.

4. Release and elevate your left arm and right leg until they are in line with your spine, ensuring that your shoulders and hips remain parallel to (in line with) the floor.

5. Lower your left arm and right leg to return to the starting position. Continue alternating between sides.

Take it to the next level

Ready for your next spicy ab session? Good - there’s plenty more where that came from! Alongside Kayla’s full 3-Week Ab Burn Challenge, the Sweat app also features thousands of On Demand workouts, full-length programs and endless options to keep your core challenged.