Brooke Burke’s four-minute feel-the-burn ab burn workout

In this month’s Shape Magazine, Brooke Burke is showing off her abs… and more power to her. It’s in style to love your body and that applies to all body types including curvy body shapes and figures coated with muscle.

Turn to page 38 in the glossy and you’ll be greeted by Brooke’s toned figure and six moves to start an ab-action plan of your own. Don’t worry, your goal doesn’t have to be to get skinny or to look just like Burke, or even to get flat abs in four minutes (impossible). But if you want to add more movement into your life or simply break a sweat because it’s good for you, these next four minutes are going to be a lot of fun. It will only sting a little.

The game plan: Start with three days a week and work your way up to five days. You’ll need a dumbbell (weight is your preference but Shape recommends three to eight pounds).

1. Cheek to cheek

Start in modified plank on your forearms and rotate your hips to the right and left, lowering your hips to the ground without actually touching it. Do this for 30 seconds.

2. Tap-out plank

Now raise to full plank position and rotate tapping your right then left foot out to the side, then jumping both feet out and back to your center line. Feel the burn for 30 seconds.

3. Cross chop

Feet should be wider than your shoulders. Then lunge your right arm to your left foot while contracting your abs. Switch to the other side and repeat for, the magic number, 30 seconds.

4. Russian twist

If your abs don’t really burn after this, you’re doing something wrong. In this sitting position, you should be leaning back far enough that you feel your abs “turn on.” Your abs should stay tight and face forward as you move the upper body to either side for 30 seconds.

5. Dead bug

Think about a dead bug upside down, get in that position and then straighten and tighten your limbs. That’s how I like to picture this exercise.

6. Side crunch

You can probably uncover this in a Jane Fonda video somewhere, too. Make sure your body makes a straight line from head to toe and then crunch your leg and your elbow up like you’re trying to make a U (but don’t actually go that far, please).

All photos courtesy of Don Flood

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