You just need 10 minutes and a resistance band to sculpt your abs with this 4-move home workout

Crunch Resistance Band
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

It’s easy to buy gym equipment for your home, but not always so easy to actually use it. If you have a mini loop resistance band sitting in a drawer, this quick core workout is going to help you make use of it.

The workout has been put together by fitness trainer Kat Boley and takes just 10 minutes. Each move in the session makes use of a mini band, and that’s all the equipment you need. Boley is using a heavy band, but pick whatever resistance you need to ensure you can do the moves in the workout with control.

If you don’t have a looped resistance band, you can use a straight one and tie it in a knot — our round-up of the best resistance bands contains great options for all budgets if you need to pick up a new band.

Perform Better Extreme Mini Band Resistance Loop
Perform Better Extreme Mini Band Resistance Loop: at Amazon

If you need mini bands for this workout, you can't go wrong with this set of four bands, each offering a different resistance level so you can pick the one that suits you best.

Watch Kat Boley’s 10-minute abs workout

The workout comprises four moves, and you do three rounds of those four exercises in total. Boley says to do 10-12 reps of each move — if you alternate sides for the exercises, do 10-12 reps in total — and keep your rest breaks to a minimum.

If you maintain a high pace and don’t rest for too long, you’ll be through the three rounds in under 10 minutes, and along with working your abs, the session will get your heart pumping for additional cardio benefits.

Here are the four moves you’ll be doing:

  • Standing crunch with band
  • Reverse woodchop with band
  • Crunch with knee to chest
  • Mountain climber with band

Boley demonstrates each of the exercises on her Instagram post, so it’s worth watching them all so you know what you’re doing before you start, especially if you’re aiming to push through the workout at a fast pace.

Even if you are doing that, make sure your form is spot on and slow down if needed to make sure you’re engaging your core properly. You’ll get more from the workout in terms of strength benefits if you focus on using the right muscles rather than rushing.

Aim to do the workout once or twice a week, and you’ll start to notice your core getting stronger in no time, as long as you’re backing up your efforts with a healthy lifestyle in general.

Using the right workouts and exercises, you really can accomplish your fitness goals using just one band, or ideally a set of them, and resistance bands are also highly portable, so you can take them with you to train during trips.

If you have some bands at home already and are looking to make more use of them, this five-move workout is also worth trying, and this 20-minute session strengthens the whole body using just one band.

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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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