Endurance Abs and Glutes Routine
I’ve been on an endurance kick lately based on all the upcoming activities my clients and I are up to. Lots of kickboxing, running, and mud run fun are in all of our futures so I’m been putting together routines that keep the core stable, work the hips and glutes to improve lower body mobility and stability, and throwing in as much fast twitch work as possible to build up the anaerobic system. Long distance running outside of these routines would be beneficial as well.
An additional benefit of these routines is that they help with the mental aspects surrounding training. The minute sprint or 30 seconds on / 10 seconds off routines are short enough that they don’t bore the mind, but are intense enough that you have to push yourself for that last 5 to 10 seconds.
The Endurance Abs and Glutes Warmup Routine
This warm up is almost identical to the one defined in the Spartan Style Mud Run Program so please jump over there for how to videos. I did adjust the order to go from slow to fast. Get your training timer set for 45 seconds of work, 0 seconds of rest for 10 rounds (7 minutes and 30 seconds of straight work.)
- Open the gate
- Close the gate
- High Knee hug stretch (video is called High Knee with External Rotation)
- Walking Romanian Deadlift Toe Touches
- Inchworms
- Alternating leg to hand kicks (kick your right leg into the air and touch your foot with your left hand, or vice versa)
- Jog
- High Knees
- Butt Kickers
- Karaokes / Grapevines
Now that you’re good and warmed up let’s get to the routine. Set your timer for 30 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest for 4 rounds.
Abs Routine
Standing Alternating High Knee Crunch
This variation is going to be same side elbow to same side knee. Lift your leg up and touch your knee to your elbow, working your obliques (or side abs.)
Now if you’re into Muay Thai kickboxing, you can practice your shield blocks while doing the high knee crunch. You’ll get less of the ab workout and more of the blocking technique down as you’re bringing your leg out to 45 degrees, but hey it’ll also help work the flexibility in your foot as you flex your foot up to block as well.
Spiderman Plank
Think plank meets moutain climber, at least kinda. Get yourself into a plank position then bring a leg (lets say left) off the ground and towards your elbow on the outside of your body. Touch your elbow then bring your leg back to its starting position. Do the other side. Core should be engaged and elbows / shoulders should be in a straight line.
Russian Twists
If you have yourself a medicine ball, do this with a medicine ball (or a kettlebell if you have one.) If not, bodyweight is cool. When I wrote up this routine I was planning on using a medicine ball, then modified for Morning Wellness to bodyweight. Feet on the floor, bent knees for a bit easier of a time, legs elevated in the air crossed at the ankles for a harder time. Twist at the waist touching your hands (or ball) down on the ground, then twist to the other side.
V-Ups
If you have a medicine ball, do this with the medicine ball. Lie on your back, arms behind your head and feet out as far away from your body as humanly possible. Bring your hands and feet up, placing your body in a V position. Go back down, then come back up.
Russian twists are at the 3:50 mark and V-Ups are at the 3:10 mark
Sprint for 1 minute
Glutes Routine
You’ll want a small resistance band for this portion of the routine. Use the same timer you did for the abs portion, 4 rounds, 30 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest.
Lateral (Crab) Walks
Place the band around your ankles, push your hips back, point your toes forward and move to the side until you run into a wall. For those of you into Latin dances, it looks like the basic step from the Bachata. The key is keeping your feet facing forward.
Check out the lateral crab walk at the 2:50 mark of this video
Forward Band Walk
You might know this one as the “monster walk.” Same concept as above only this time you’ll be walking forward instead of sideways. Take a step forward to create tension on the band then step with the opposite leg, far enough to create tension again.
Band Squats
Move the band to just above the knees. Perform a standard squat pushing your knees slightly out on your way down to create tension in the band.
Band Bridge with Knee Spread
Band stays above your knees. Lie on your back witth your knees bent, feet pointed straight away from your body. Push through your feet into a bridge position. Press your knees out for resistance from the band then bring your knees back together. Stay in a bridged position for the entire 30 seconds, spreading your knees apart and bringing them back together.
Sprint back and forth for 1 minute. These cones can help with a starting and ending point.
Once you’re done sprinting, repeat the abs routine, then sprint again, then do the glutes routine again and sprint again. You may omit the final sprint if your body tells you it needs to stop.
It’s also worth noting that the routine written above is a modified version of the original routine I came up with. The original routine is as follows –
- Warm up from above
- 3 3 minute rounds of boxing mitt work with 1 minute of rest between rounds
- You’ll need someone who is semi competent holding mitts to do this portion of the routine. I played around with the idea of using thai pads and changing the mitt rounds to kicking and punching rounds
- Sprint 1 minute
- Abs, sprint, glutes, sprint, abs, sprint, glutes
- Resistance band pull aparts – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6fVCKiLwNs
- Resistance band Behind the head tricep work – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi_zNoIsNcc
- Rest
- 10 kettlebell swings on the minute every minute for 6 minutes (60 swings in total.) Depending on how fast you swing, you should have about 40 seconds of rest after every 10 swings.
