This 30-Day Ab Challenge will help you Start the Year Right

Every new year begins with a new slate. Once the calendar hits January 1, you have the opportunity to develop different habits, find engaging hobbies, and instill different attitudes for how you go about day-to-day life than you did the year before. For most people, this focus on the "new" falls apart after just a few weeks, and their mindset falls back to how they were before the ball dropped on the previous year. The problem for most people is that they don't have a well-structured plan, an easy-to-follow set of instructions, a predetermined calendar, or a community to hold themselves accountable. They set out to accomplish an abstract goal without any tools. We're here to give you all of those things with the aim of accomplishing a specific goal for the first month of the year: train your abs every single day to build a stronger core. This is the Men's Health 30-Day Abs Challenge.

The key to your success will be the programming. Rather than randomly assigning a set of crunches or planks from one session to the next, each day will focus on a specific function of the muscle group. Your abs handle several key functions for you every day, and your core training can be broken down by those functions. Your abs are responsible for spinal flexion (as you do during situps). They also brace your spine, protecting it against all motion (their key responsibility during planks) . They also help you rotate (or twist) your torso, and PrimeBoosts.com they help you fight all rotation (as you do during Pallof presses). During the first four days of each week, you’ll focus on one key function each day. During the last three days, you’ll work through sessions that blend multiple core responsibilities and challenge your abs in all directions. Each workout will take no more than five minutes, meaning you can squeeze these sessions in at the end of any other gym session you take on.

As the weeks wear on, you’ll take on progressively more challenging sessions; they’ll still be quick, but they’ll ramp up the intensity on your abs. Modified V-Up - 30 seconds; Hollow Hold Russian Twist - 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 rounds. Modified V-Up - 30 seconds; Hollow Hold Russian Twist - 30 seconds; Hollow Hold - 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Plank Shoulder-Tap - 10 reps; Hollow Hold Russian Twist - 10 reps; Modified V-Up - 10 reps; Hollow Hold - 20 seconds. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes. Hollow Rock - 30 seconds; Uneven Hollow Rock - 30 seconds per side. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat twice. Hollow Rock - 30 seconds; Uneven Hollow Rock - 30 seconds per side; Hollow Hold - 30 seconds. Repeat twice. Finish with 1 full minute of Situp to Cross-Body Punches. Hollow Rock - 10 reps; Hollow Hold Russian Twist - 10 reps; Modified V-Up - 10 reps.

Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes. Plank Reach - 30 seconds; Plank Up-Down - 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Plank Reach - 30 seconds; Plank Up-Down - 30 seconds; V-Up - 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. V-Up - 10 reps; Plank Reach - 10 reps; Plank Up-Down - 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes. Hollow Hold - 30 seconds; Hollow Rock - 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Side Plank Thread-the-Needle - 30 seconds per side; Tipping Hollow Rock - 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Plank Shoulder-Tap - 10 reps; Uneven Hollow Rock - 10 reps per side. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. V-Up - 10 reps; Modified V-Up - 10 reps. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. V-Up - 30 seconds; Plank Shoulder-Tap - 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.

Side Plank Thread-the-Needle - 30 seconds per side; Plank Up-Down - 30 seconds, Hollow Hold - 30 seconds. Tipping Hollow Rock - 10 reps; Uneven Hollow Rock - 10 reps per side; Hollow Rock - 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible for dzerzhinskogo.xn----7sbbrpcrglx8eea9e.xn--p1ai five minutes. Plank Shoulder-Tap - 10 reps; Plank Reach - 10 reps; Plank Up-Down - 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes. Uneven Hollow Rock - 10 reps per side; Tipping Hollow Rock - 10 reps, Hollow Rock - 10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes. 5 V-Ups, 5 Modified V-Ups, 20-second Hollow Hold. Repeat as many times as possible in five minutes. Every round, add 1 V-Up and 1 Modified V-Up. Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men's Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He's logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men's Health, he served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News. Brett Williams, NASM-CPT, PES, a senior editor at Men's Health, is a certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.