I started running track and field when I was around 7 years old, and it didn’t take long for me to set the goal of becoming an Olympic sprinter. Track was my world, and every Olympic year was like a holiday in my household. I loved the entire event, but I couldn’t wait for track and field to be on TV. I remember watching my favorite sprinters like Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards, and Veronica Campbell-Brown run with grace and dominate their events and wanting to be just like them.
I also remember sharing this goal with my coaches and them pushing me to train hard every day. We did everything from 300-meter repeats (every sprinter’s kryptonite) to strength sessions, and there was always an emphasis on building core strength and stability.
Having a strong core helps with so many things like stabilizing your spine and improving your posture, and as an athlete, it helps you perform explosive movements like sprinting and jumping better. As one of the most decorated athletes of all time, Felix knows how important core strength is.
“Core strength is important for every single person, and I think we think of it in this way of ‘I want these great abs.’ But it’s so much bigger than that,” Felix told POPSUGAR while discussing her new Allyson Felix collection with Athleta. She said she loves doing ab workouts because they can be done absolutely anywhere and don’t take much time to do. “And I love to do them in conjunction with my [track] workout,” she added.
Felix loves classic moves like planks and V-ups, and in honor of her new collection dropping, I got to try out her signature ab workout in some of her gear. Felix’s ab workout is a classic track-and-field ab routine, and it reminded me of my summer club track days and sweating profusely in the Arizona heat. It’s definitely going to challenge your mental and physical strength, but it’s so worth it! If this sounds like exactly what you need, check it out ahead.
Allyson Felix’s “Abs by Allyson” Bodyweight Workout
Equipment needed: a yoga mat
Directions: Do Felix’s ab workout alone, before/after a workout, or mixed into the middle of your preferred workout. This workout consists of three circuits. Take little to no rest in between each exercise and 30 to 60 seconds of rest in between each circuit. Complete for a total of one to three rounds, depending on your fitness level.
- Circuit 1, Exercise 1: Forearm plank: 30 seconds
- Circuit 1, Exercise 2: X plank: 10 reps
- Circuit 1, Exercise 3: Forearm plank with hip dip: 10 reps
- Circuit 1, Exercise 4: Side plank: 30 seconds (15 seconds on each side)
- Circuit 2, Exercise 1: Runner’s crunch: 10 reps
- Circuit 2, Exercise 2: Toe touch: 15 reps
- Circuit 2, Exercise 3: Single-leg V-up: 10 reps
- Circuit 2, Exercise 4: Hollow hold: 15 seconds
- Circuit 3, Exercise 1: Russian twist: 15 reps
- Circuit 3, Exercise 2: Scissor kick: 15 seconds
- Circuit 3, Exercise 3: V-up: 10 reps
- Circuit 3, Exercise 4: Bicycle crunch: 15 reps
Related: Allyson Felix on Raising Her Daughter: "I Want to Expose Her to All the Right People and Cultures"
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Circuit 1, Exercise 1: Forearm Plank
- Start face down on the floor resting on your forearms and knees.
- Push off the floor, raising up off your knees onto your toes and resting mainly on your elbows.
- Contract your abdominals to keep yourself up and prevent your booty from sticking up.
- Keep your back flat – don’t let it droop or you’ll be defeating the purpose. Picture your body as a long, straight board or plank.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
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Circuit 1, Exercise 3: Forearm Plank Hip Dip
- From an elbow plank, slowly rotate your spine to lower your left hip to just above the floor (about one to two inches from the ground). Come back to elbow plank.
- Now lower your right hip toward the floor. This counts as one rep.
- Complete 10 reps.
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Circuit 1, Exercise 4: Side Plank
- Begin by lying on your right side. Bring your right elbow directly under your right shoulder. Engage your core, press your right elbow into the floor, and rise into side elbow plank.
- Place your top foot in front of your bottom foot, or stagger your feet if your balance feels off.
- If you feel discomfort in your bottom shoulder, place your left hand on your right shoulder and pull your left elbow down across your chest.
- Hold for 15 seconds on each side.
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Circuit 2, Exercise 1: Runner's Crunch
- Start on your back with your elbows resting on the floor at a 90-degree angle.
- With your core engaged, roll up to almost sitting while bringing your right knee up to meet your left elbow. It should feel a little like running.
- With control, straighten your leg as your slowly peel your back down, vertebra by vertebra, until your shoulders touch the mat last. This counts as one rep.
- Complete 10 reps.
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Circuit 2, Exercise 2: Toe Touch
- Lie on your back on the floor, raising your arms and legs to a 90-degree angle. Lift your head and shoulder blades off the floor as you reach your fingers toward your toes.
- Pull your abs to your spine as you lift your pelvis an inch off the ground, bringing your toes toward your fingers. This is a small, concentrated movement. Then lower your pelvis to complete the rep.
- Do 15 reps.
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Circuit 2, Exercise 3: Single-Leg V-Up
- Start lying on your back with your arms reaching toward the ceiling.
- Exhale and roll up while lifting your left leg up. Pause at the top and reach for your toes before rolling slowly back down to the mat. This counts as one rep.
- Complete 10 reps.
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Circuit 2, Exercise 4: Hollow Hold
- Begin on your back with your legs straight and your arms extended overhead.
- Actively press your lower back into the floor and draw your belly button into your spine.
- Inhale to slowly lift your shoulders, arms, and legs off the floor. Keep your hands and heels as low to the ground as possible, while still pressing your lower back into the floor. Maintain tight abs and glutes.
- Hold for 15 seconds.
POPSUGAR Photography / Kyle Hartman
Circuit 3, Exercise 1: Russian Twist
- Sit on the ground and lean slightly back without rounding your spine at all. It is really important, and difficult, to keep your back straight, but don’t let it curve.
- Pull your navel to your spine, and twist to the left. Inhale through center, and rotate to the right.
- Complete 15 reps.
POPSUGAR Photography / Kyle Hartman
Circuit 3, Exercise 2: Scissor Kick
- Lie flat on your back. Extend your arms so they’re against the sides of your body with your palms pressing into the floor, or bend your elbows, place your palms under the back of your head, and bend your knees and draw them into your ribs. (This will make it easier to pull your navel in toward your spine and actively press your lower back flat on the ground.)
- Lift both legs straight up toward the ceiling, continuing to engage your abs and pressing your lower back into the ground.
- Keeping your core strong, slowly lower your right leg down toward the ground until it is a few inches above it. Then slowly scissor your legs, lifting your right leg back up as you lower your left leg down toward the ground.
- Complete for 15 seconds.
POPSUGAR Photography / Kyle Hartman
Circuit 3, Exercise 3: V-Up
- Lie on your back, and lift your legs and arms up so they are extended toward the ceiling. Lift your upper back off the floor, reaching your hands toward your feet.
- Lower your arms and legs toward the floor at the same time, keeping your arms at your ears, shoulders off the mat, and lower back pressed into the mat. This is one rep.
- Complete 10 reps.
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Circuit 3, Exercise 4: Bicycle Crunch
- Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground.
- With your hands behind your head, bring your knees toward your chest and lift your upper back until your shoulder blades are off the mat. Be sure not to pull on your neck.
- Straighten your right leg out to about a 45-degree angle to the ground while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow toward the left knee. Make sure your rib cage is moving and not just your elbows.
- Switch sides, and do the same motion on the other side to complete one rep.
- Complete 15 reps.
