When life gets busy, YouTube workouts have your back. Or, in this case, your abs. Quick workout videos are a great go-to when you can't make it to the gym, and with the right moves, you can get your abs burning in 15 minutes or less. Even better, you can do all of these workouts with nothing but a mat or a soft floor. (Although if weighted abs are your thing, we've got you covered, too.) Add an ab video to the end of your workout or do it as a standalone routine to squeeze in some at-home core work whenever you need it.
This Pilates-based workout starts with a short ab warmup on your back, and then it's all core-shredding plank variations (including my personal nemesis: the creepy crawler plank). The video has a natural-feeling flow and the beach is a positive distraction when your abs start to give out.
This Class FitSugar video, inspired by barre and dance workouts, is full of slow movements and lots of pulses to lengthen out the burn, plus fast transitions to keep your heart rate up the whole time. Bonus: it's all done on a mat, which is great if you're short on space.
The lower abs are the focus of this 11-minute workout, which is full of slow, painful leg lifts. The scissor variation at the end is so intense!
This workout takes Tabata to a whole new level by lengthening intervals from 20 seconds to a full 40. Dynamic movements like bicycles and oblique crunches are mixed in with static holds and planks. You'll work up a sweat for sure, and trainer Raneir Pollard is so funny that you'll get some extra core work just from the laughs.
This quick Love Sweat Fitness workout hits all areas of your core and abdominals, including your obliques and lower back. It includes plank pocket touches and a tough bird-dog exercise to challenge both your strength and balance, mixed in with classic core-burning moves like side crunches and Supermans.
Full-body exercises can work your core too, and this ab-focused Class FitSugar video is full of them. Single-leg bridges, burpees, and reverse-lunge variations will get your heart pumping. You'll also get down on the mat and burn out your core with planks, scissor kicks, and more for a fast-paced, effective workout.
This rapid-fire full core workout is just 10 minutes, but it doesn't let up. You'll do 20 seconds of each exercise, getting in as many reps as you can, with no rest between moves. Exercises include cross crunches, Russian twists, and plank variations, and doing them at full speed also makes this a sweat-inducing cardio workout.