Forget Russian twists — hit your abs smarter with these 3 dumbbell moves that torch your core

Forget Russian twists and sit-ups for a moment and try this three-move core workout with just a light set of dumbbells. With just these three moves and some spicy targets to hit, you can work your core harder and smarter in a short time.

Your core muscles help stabilize your trunk and pelvis, so strengthening as many of them as possible is crucial for better balance, coordination, injury prevention and driving heavy weights. Always aim to engage your core by drawing your stomach toward your spine while bracing and directing your breath down and out.

Here’s how to do this dumbbell abs workout step-by-step. Grab two of the best adjustable dumbbells, and read on.

Watch:

3 moves, 4 rounds, rest 30-60 seconds between rounds:

• Round 1: 20 on 10 off
• Round 2: 30/ 15
• Round 3: 40/15
• Round 4: 50/10

Complete all moves for 20 seconds on with 10 seconds off between exercises. Enjoy 30-60 seconds rest, then move to the next round, and so on.

This midsection-melter is low-impact on your spine as you'll be resting your back on a mat at all times. Focus on keeping your lower back pressed gently down without flaring your ribs or arching your spine. Try to use your core to "pull" you up as you reach forward, and keep your chin tucked to take some pressure off your neck.

The focus is on your abs, obliques and deeper stabilizer muscles as you hold, crunch and rotate your way to stronger core muscles. Most of us are familiar with the abs or six-pack muscles, even if we maybe can't see them day-to-day, but your lesser-known obliques also work hard — a group of superficial (external) and deeper (internal) muscles that run along the waist, helping to stabilize your torso and support rotation and lateral movement.

Your hips will also play a role during this workout, although you should aim to feel the movements mostly in your torso, without your hips or lower back taking over.

Why does it work?

Whether you’re kneeling, standing, lying, or sitting, core exercises that target multiple muscle groups using different planes of motion will be effective at building strength, endurance, posture and stability.

Whether or not you grow muscle will depend on how frequently and consistently you train while applying progressive overload to your routine, meaning you'll increase the intensity or volume of training as your body adapts.

For that reason, you'll either need to repeat this workout several times per week or add it to an existing routine that you follow already. You can play with the dumbbell weights, sets, or times as you wish.

If your goal is to develop “tone" (definition), this comes from balancing a low body fat percentage (think diet and lifestyle factors) with growing muscle in the more superficial muscles that will help you define your midsection.

Unless you’re genetically gifted, it can be more difficult to achieve, but it's achievable for many; be patient and focus on factors you can control, like sleep hygiene, food intake and consistency.

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