Start building up your abs with this five move, no equipment workout

Lots of people like to divide their fitness plans by muscle group, allocating days to their arms, back, and lower body. Often the core is neglected, and aside from the visual appeal of having a set of six-pack abs, strengthening your core can also really benefit your posture and prevent lower back pain. So if you have a habit of neglecting your abdominal muscles why not try this quick five-move ab workout.

There is no equipment required for this routine so you don't need to worry about accessing any weights. But you may wish to place one of the best yoga mats beneath you as you will be working on the floor for this full session.

As mentioned before, having a strong core is really important if you want to improve things like balance and stability as well as increase your endurance. This workout created by fitness trainer Lisa Lanceford, also known as LisaFitt, includes some of the best workouts for abs designed especially to tone this area as well as develop key strength in your stomach muscles.

Lanceford's fitness Instagram has over 2.8 million followers and is home to a plethora of workout content, much of which are ab focused. This five-move ab routine includes demonstrations of each exercise in a step-by-step format so it's easy to follow along.

This workout is to be completed as a circuit, spending 30 seconds on each exercise, for three rounds. Lanceford says no breaks are to be taken between each exercise, but you should take 30 seconds rest in between each round of exercises. Check out the full workout below:

Watch Lisa Lanceford's Five Move Ab Workout

Lanceford uses many staple ab moves like russian twists, superman lifts, crunches and mountain climbers to hit different parts of your core. A lot of fitness lovers think that ab training isn't necessary, because it gets constant low-level work during other compound exercises. But specifically targeting this key area of muscle can actually make your other workouts easier and reduce your risk of injury. 

According to Harvard Health, you should include abdominal and core strengthening exercises into your fitness plan. This combined with some moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and regular strength training is a sustainable recipe for staying in shape.

You may be set on building a set of abs but if you're frustrated with not seeing results, just remember that everyone is built differently so this will look different on all body shapes. 

Body fat percentage does determine how visible abs are so in addition to exercise, your diet also plays a key role. You should make sure you are eating enough food that actually keeps you fuller for longer and will help develop muscle in your core.

Eating more protein is really good for this and can be quickly added to your diet with one of the best protein powders for weight loss. The actual mechanisms around protein and muscle growth are discussed in our guide to a very commonly asked question – does protein build muscle – but the general gist of it is that if you're doing resistance training, you should be consuming more protein than normal to aid muscle growth.