Forget the gym — this Pilates abs workout strengthens your deep core muscles in just 8 minutes

a photo of a woman holding a side plank
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

When it comes to strengthening your deep core muscles, you’d be amazed at how much you can achieve with short workouts where you actually don’t move very much at all.

This eight-minute abs workout from Pilates instructor Lilly Sabri is a great example of this. Throughout the workout, you do moves where you either hold a fixed position or do small movements like pulses, which quickly exhaust the deep core muscles.

Pilates in general is great for working the core like this and if you can do this workout or ones like it regularly you’ll see the benefits in terms of stronger abs in just a few weeks, as long as you’re backing up your efforts with a healthy diet.

You don’t need any equipment for this workout beyond one of the best yoga mats, which will provide better grip for moves like planks and side planks and make the exercises more comfortable if you’re training on a hard floor.

Watch Lilly Sabri’s 8-minutes Pilates abs workout

8 Min Intense Pilates Abs Workout | Slow & Controlled Core Burn | At Home - YouTube 8 Min Intense Pilates Abs Workout | Slow & Controlled Core Burn | At Home - YouTube
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There are eight moves in the workout, and you do each of them for 50 seconds before resting for 10 seconds. Most of that rest period will be spent getting in position for the next exercise though, so keep your attention on Sabri to see and hear her instructions.

Sabri does the workout with you and provides pointers on form and breathing throughout, which are helpful to ensure you’re engaging the right muscles with each exercise.

I often find with Pilates-style workouts that focusing on my breath not only helps me engage more muscles but also distracts me from my burning abs during long sets.

There is a short kicker at the end of the session, where you do one more 10-second hold as a finisher, so it does extend slightly past eight minutes but you’ll still be done and dusted in no time at all.

The workout is suitable for all fitness levels but some of the exercises might be too difficult to do for the full 50 seconds if you are a beginner, so don’t be afraid to adjust the session to have longer rest periods if required.

While the workout stands alone as a great quick session in its own right, if you do have more time then it would work well as an abs-focused finisher for a full-body workout, or you could brave a second round of the moves for a harder core session.

If you enjoyed the Pilates-style approach to the workout then you could give this 35-minute legs and core workout a go for a well-rounded lower-body session, and if you prefer to stay standing during core workouts then try these five standing abs exercises recommended by a personal trainer.

More from Tom's Guide

Nick Harris-Fry
Senior Writer

Nick Harris-Fry is an experienced health and fitness journalist, writing professionally since 2012. He spent nine years working on the Coach magazine and website before moving to the fitness team at Tom’s Guide in 2024. Nick is a keen runner and also the founder of YouTube channel The Run Testers, which specialises in reviewing running shoes, watches, headphones and other gear.

Nick ran his first marathon in 2016 after six weeks of training for a magazine feature and subsequently became obsessed with the sport. He now has PBs of 2hr 27min for the marathon and 15min 30sec for 5K, and has run 13 marathons in total, as well as a 50-mile ultramarathon. Nick is also a qualified Run Leader in the UK.

Nick is an established expert in the health and fitness area and along with writing for many publications, including Live Science, Expert Reviews, Wareable, Coach and Get Sweat Go, he has been quoted on The Guardian and The Independent.

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