Abs and Glutes Workout (No Squats, No Lunges)
Sculpt your abs and define your glutes with this quick and effective ab and booty workout. This knee-friendly workout fires up the abs and lower body without any squats or lunges. Grab a resistance band to increase the intensity, or perform these core exercises with just your bodyweight to make this workout beginner-friendly.
This is Day 1 of my new 8-Minute Burnout Challenge. Get the remaining videos when you become a YouTube Member!
No lunges, no squats, and no standing — this strong core workout routine at home combines six ab and butt exercises from the mat to effectively sculpt and strengthen your glutes and ab muscles.
I get messages daily asking for the best exercises for “flat abs” and a “round booty.” Although I don’t believe in spot reduction (or trying to burn fat from one specific area of the body by doing targeted exercises), I do think there are benefits to specifically training the glutes and core.
Your core muscles are much more than your “six-pack” abs. They wrap all the way around your body, and include the obliques (sides of your body), erector spinae, pelvic floor, transverse abdominis (or deep, corset-like ab muscles), diaphragm and your glutes.
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Get access the remaining 4 ab burnout videos when you become a member of Team NML on YouTube.
I personally love training the abs and butt together because you get a “total core” workout in one, hitting every muscle between your collarbones and pelvis. It’s also incredibly efficient and functional to train the abs and glutes at the same time because these muscle groups work together to stabilize the body during both your workouts and your everyday life.
For women in particular, the benefit of training the core and glutes goes far beyond just aesthetics. These muscles play a crucial role in supporting the pelvic floor, which is especially important for women’s health, especially around pregnancy, postpartum, and healthy aging.
Use these glute and ab exercises for women as a warm-up/glute activation for your leg day workout or perform them on their own as a quick and efficient 10-minute workout.
Workout Insights
Build strength, core stability and confidence with this at-home ab, butt and thigh workout. I’ll coach you through each exercise, offering verbal cues and motivation so you can finish this workout feeling strong and successful, no matter what your fitness level is.
Today’s home workout is a combination of pilates-inspired core, mat abs and low-impact glute exercises.I recommend adding quick ab and glute workouts like this one to your Workout Plan 1-2 times a week. If you’re looking for extra core engagement, check out my 30-Day Ab Challenge.
Workout Equipment
Optional mini loop resistance band. To make the workout easier, perform each exercise with no equipment, just your bodyweight. As you advance, you could add a set of dumbbells to increase the intensity.
Workout Instructions
Follow along with the guided full video: 8-Min Abs and Glute Burnout, led by me — your certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren.
Your Workout Looks Like This:
- 6 Ab and Booty Exercises
- Timed Intervals (perform each exercise for 40 seconds, then rest for 20 seconds)
- Perform Each Exercise x1 Set, Alternating Sides As Needed (No Repeat)
Note: I re-filmed this ab and booty burn workout to make the workout more concise, improve video and sound quality and update some of the exercises. You can find the original 10-minute workout video here.
Workout Outline
Screenshot or Pin this Workout:
1. Fire Hydrant
Targets: Gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, hip abductors and core.
How to Do a Fire Hydrant
- Start in a tabletop position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees. Option to drop your left forearm to the mat for more stability.
- Maintaining a 90-degree bend in your right knee, lift your right leg up and to the side so your right knee is in line with your right hip. Left knee remains stable on the ground.
- With control, reverse the motion, slowly lowering your right knee to the ground, returning to the starting position.
2. Plank Step-In to Bear Crawl Hover
Targets: Upper abs, lower abs, obliques, shoulders, glutes and thighs.
How to Do a Plank Step-In to Bear Crawl Hover
- Start in a high plank position. Place your hands directly under your shoulders, feet hip-width apart, and engage your core to keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Without dropping your hips, step first your left foot, then right foot in, bending your knees at a 90-degree angle and hovering them just off the ground. Hips should be stacked over knees
- Then, reverse the motion, stepping your feet back to find a high plank, returning to the starting position.
Modification: If being in the plank position hurts your wrists, check out these modifications for wrist pain.
3. Side Lying Leg Lift and Double Knee Crunch
Targets: Internal and external oblique muscles (the muscles that run along the side of your core), transverse abdominis, lower abs and hip abductors (outer thighs).
How to Do a Side Lying Leg Lift and Double Knee Crunch
- Start lying on your right side. Place your left hand behind your head and your right forearm on the mat, then lift your upper body off the mat. Extend both legs long, feet stacked on top of one another. Brace your core.
- Keeping your left leg straight, squeeze through the left obliques and side glutes to lift your left leg towards the ceiling.
- With control, lower your left leg, stacking it on top of your right leg.
- Then, with knees bent, pull your knees towards your chest, squeezing through your outer ab muscles to bring your knees to tap your left elbow.
- Slowly and with control, reverse the motion, returning to the starting position.
4. Full Body Crunch (Big X Crunch)
Targets: The upper abs and lower abs, inner thighs (adductors) and outer glutes (abductors).
How to Do a Full Body Crunch
- Lie flat on your back and make an “X” shape with your body. Send your arms long overhead, hands wider than shoulder-width apart and stretch your legs long, feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Perform a full-body crunch by engaging your core, pulling your knees in to meet your chest as you bring your arms in to hug your body.
- Hold for a second, then reverse the movement, sending your arms and legs long to find the “X” shape again.
5. Glute Bridge
Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, hips and pelvic floor.
How to Do A Glute Bridge
- Start lying on your back, feet flat on the floor under your knees.
- Press through your heels to lift your glutes off the mat, squeezing your glutes as you lift. Think about keeping your core engaged and knees in line with your hips.
- Exhale, slowly lowering your hips to hover an inch above the mat, and then repeat.
6. V-Tap and Sit Up
Targets: Deep transverse abdominal muscles (TVA), lower abs, upper abs, hips and pelvic floor.
How to Do a V-Tap and Sit Up
- Lay on your back, then engage your core to press your lower back into the mat. Knees are bent at 90 degrees and stacked over your hips.
- Maintaining the 90-degree bend in your legs, inhale as you lower both feet towards the outside of your mat.
- Exhale, pulling your knees back to center.
- Then, keep your heels hovering off the mat as you perform a sit-up, rolling your chest up and off the mat as you bring your hands to tap your heels.
- With control, reverse the motion, rolling your spine down the mat to return to the starting position.
FAQs
How can I tone my stomach and glutes fast?
Although you may see advertisements promising “abs in 2 weeks,” it’s important to set realistic expectations: muscle growth and body composition changes take time. A more realistic timeline to see and feel changes in your glutes and core is 8-12 weeks.
If you want to tone your stomach and glutes, I recommend focusing on a combination of targeted strength training exercises (such as hip thrusts, glute bridges and planks), cardio and a high-protein diet.
Do ab exercises at the end of a workout kill gains?
No, adding abs at the end of your workout doesn’t negate your strength session. In fact, this is often the best (and safest) time to do abs. Your core is a stabilizer in almost all compound lifts. If you train abs hard first, your core might fatigue early and compromise your form during heavy lifts like squats and deadlifts.
Saving abs for the end of your workout allows you to fully fatigue your larger muscle groups (like the upper body and legs) first before moving on to the smaller core muscles.
Can I work out my abs and glutes every day?
If you’re fully working the muscle to fatigue, I don’t recommend training abs and glutes more than 3x/week. That’s because your muscles need time to recover between training sessions (this is the time when muscle growth actually happens).
If you want to train abs daily, you can rotate between different focus areas each day, such as the lower abs (exercises like leg lowers), upper abs (exercises like crunches) and obliques (exercises like side planks).
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Leave a Comment
4 comments
Great workout to add onto a leg day. Just wanted to let you know that I love the timer and up next feature!
Rebekah! Thanks so much for giving this workout a try, and for the feedback on the workout timer! So glad you like it! -Lindsey
Great workout, as always! Love the timer and the pop up for what’s next.
Andrea! Thanks so much for giving this workout video a shot! So glad you loved the timer + ‘up next’ features….we are hoping to continue to add features like this for the future! -Lindsey