Lord of the Abs: Phenomenal Abs & Core

Breakdown:
Warm-up : I really liked this segment. It reminded me of the "Strength & Balance" segment from the Express set. It had the typical Gilad warm-up moves (stepping side to side, stepping forward and back with running arms). Then it moves on to some twisting moves and movements in Warrior 2 and Triangle pose.

Crunch series : (starts at approx. 7 min.) Lots and lots of crunch variations, bicycles, lower ab lifts with legs

Bridge series : (starts at approx. 19:30) Mostly variations of ONE-LEGGED bridge which I had to modify by putting a squishy pilates ball under my butt to even be CLOSE to being able to do this segment. Even with the ball, I thought my hamstring was going to explode.

Plank series : (starts at approx. 27 min.) All done on forearms, with knee drops, side-planks, then with side reach throughs and crunches.

Yoga/Pilates series : (starts at approx. 39 min.) Bird-dog, down dog with knee in/out, rolling like a ball, modified plow pose

Stretch : (starts at approx. 46:30 min.) Very brief, includes something Gilad calls a "models walk" and some reaching stretches


The only chapter points are the warmup, the workout, the stretch. The series "names" above are what I called them, but this workout would lend itself SOOOO well to chaptering at each of those groups of exercises. That way I could skip the crunches, if wanted, or move on to plank when I can't take any more bridge. That said, I enjoyed this workout and I'm very surprised because I never do ab/core work.

Instructor Comments:
Gilad looks the same as always -- the man doesn't age! And the ocean background is lovely (as usual).
Collage rates this workout as Intermediate/Advanced ... I'd even bump it up to Advanced because there really aren't any modifications shown.

Alisoncooks