POPSUGAR

Shakira's Longtime Trainer Shared the Ab Exercises That Keep Her Shredded

Jan 23 2023 - 12:00pm

Between her new single "Shakira [1]: BZRP Music Sessions #53" and the "jam gate" alleged cheating scandal [2] with Gerard Piqué [3], Shakira [4] is probably all over your news feed. With the star top of mind, you may be wondering what kind of training she does to keep those "Hips Don't Lie" dance moves so on point.

In general, Shakira isn't shy about sharing her workouts [5], and neither is her longtime trainer, Anna Kaiser [6], NASM-certified personal trainer and CEO of Anna Kaiser Studios [7]. The duo has been training together for more than a decade, including in preparation for Shakira's halftime performance with Jennifer Lopez [8] at the 2020 Super Bowl [9]. Back in 2018, POPSUGAR just spoke with Kaiser [10], who shared how she was training the Colombian singer and mom of two to prep for an international tour. At the time, they were "working on increasing her endurance and stamina because she's going to be on stage for two hours at a time, singing and dancing [11]," Kaiser said. Around the same time, Kaiser also shared a butt workout [12] on Instagram she was doing with the singer.

Now, Kaiser is opening up about Shakira's current fitness lineup. "She loves core work but knows she needs the cardio," Kaiser said in an interview with Shape. [13]

Kaiser shared six Pilates-style core moves that she does with Shakira using a towel, a Pilates ball, and light weights, saying the sequence trains "every muscle in your core." It also works your body "as a unit, not a combination of parts," she says, which is important for building functional core strength [14]. ICYMI, Pilates has been having a serious moment lately, so it's no surprise that Shakira and Kaiser are on board with the practice (along with plenty of other celebs [15]).

Want to try all of Kaiser's go-to ab moves for yourself? Here are some of the exercises Kaiser recently shared with Shape, as well as some of the core exercises Shakira and Kaiser shared around the 2020 Super Bowl. Cherry-pick a few for your next ab workout, or try them all in a row (for example, doing each move for 30 seconds with 10 seconds of rest in between) for a circuit that's sure to burn.

—Additional reporting by Lauren Mazzo

Side Bend With Dumbbells

In January 2020, Shakira did this classic weighted oblique move [16] while her kids pegged her with exercise balls (likely relatable for moms everywhere). Then Kaiser shared this move again with SHAPE in January 2023.

High-Knee March With a Twist

In the ab workout Kaiser shared with Shape, she demoed a weighted variation of a standing march crunch. Try this one without weights if you're a beginner or don't have any equipment on hand.

Pilates Ball Ab Curl

Kaiser shared a few Pilates ball core moves with SHAPE, including a (literal) twist on this classic Pilates ab exercise. Perform the move as shown in the photo, and follow the written directions to incorporate a little rotational work from Kaiser's SHAPE move.

Side Plank

Side planks challenge your obliques enough as is, but if you want an extra challenge, drop down to one knee and crunch it up to tap your top leg, as Anna demoed in this Super Bowl circuit [17] just before the 2020 Super Bowl.

Squat

Your glutes are a key part of your core, and Shakira [18] strengthened hers with classic squats in one of her Super Bowl prep workouts [19].

Bicycle Crunches

In a January 2020 Instagram post [21], Anna demoed a version of this exercise using a ball to support the lower back, but you can do this simplified version with just your mat.

Lying Overhead Reach

This compound move challenges both your shoulders, chest, back, and core, so it's no wonder it was one of Anna and Shakira's go-tos [22].


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/shakira-ab-exercises-47174542