This 12-Minute Core Workout Doesn’t Contain A Single Crunch

I threw my neck out once, and that was enough to give me a pathological fear of doing it again. That's one of the reasons I love a quickie ab workout — I figure strengthening my core is a great way to protect against future back and neck issues, especially while working from home.

For week two of the three-week, 12-minute exercise series Kayla Itsines' created just for Refinery29, the celebrity trainer and co-founder of the Sweat app developed a workout that targets the abs. It can be done alone or added on to your regular sweat session.

And trust us: It's short but kind of deadly. In fact, Itsines recommends turning up your music for this one. "I always need to have music playing while I workout out because if I can hear myself or anyone else
breathing and puffing I can’t focus," she says.

You'll perform each move for 30 seconds, and repeat each lap three times total, resting for 30 seconds between labs. What I love about this workout is it's functional — you won't be crunching for 12 minutes straight. But tomorrow, you'll definitely notice that your core feels sore.