On October 21st, we did an abdominal workout and had a lecture on nutrition. The intensity was a 6/10 though my abs were definitely sore the day after. The duration of the workout was 45 min and my heart rate was around the low nineties. I did not achieve my target heart rate zone but it is to be expected due to the low cardiovascular intensity of the workout. My observations are that a core workout can be quite misleading, you feel like you have not worked too hard as you take some breaks between the exercises, but the next day you wake up and it hurts to breathe due to sore muscles.

Abdominal workouts have been around for a long time and have been surrounded by the common misconception that they will make you lose weight around your stomach. That is a myth, you cannot spot reduce fat and also, to lose fat you should implement cardiovascular exercises into your routine, not simply resistance.

If you were to participate in a core workout, remember that proper posture is vital in most of the exercises. Furthermore, remember to use your abdominals when doing crunches, don’t strain your neck.