You are probably used to using weight plates to load up barbells or on the leg press machine at the gym, but this piece of strength training equipment is much more versatile than you might think. Take this weight plate workout from NASM-certified personal trainer and Sweat trainer Kelsey Wells. Wells put together a 15-minute ab burnout using a weight plate that will target your core and strengthen your abdominal muscles.
“All you need for this workout is a weight plate and about the space of a workout mat,” Wells tells POPSUGAR. “If you don’t have access to a weight plate, all the exercises in this workout can be done with a
dumbbell, kettlebell, or any weighted object with a handle.” This workout is inspired by Wells’s gym-based PWR program. Sweat launched PWR 6.0, which now has a total of 60 weeks worth of workouts for the gym.
Check out the workout below and scroll through to see demonstrations on how to do each move. Get ready to grab a weight plate (or any weighted object with a handle!) and get to work!
Kelsey Wells’s 15-minute Weight Plate Ab Workout
Equipment needed: A medium weight plate, dumbbell, or kettlebell and a yoga mat.
Directions: Before starting the workout, Wells recommends taking a few minutes to warm up. You can do three to five minutes of cardio, such as jogging in place or skipping, to get your heart rate up. You can also warm up with dynamic stretches such as leg swings and torso twists to increase range of motion.
After the workout, Wells suggests cooling down with with three to five minutes of walking to get your heart rate down and static stretching.
For the 15-minute workout, complete the first two exercises – scissors (20 reps, 10 on each side) and Russian twist (20 reps) – as a superset three times through. Then rest for 30 seconds. Continue to the next superset with two exercises – oblique crunch (20 reps) and sit-up (12 reps) – three times through. Then rest for 30 seconds. Finally, finish with the bent-leg raise as a burnout for 60 seconds to complete the workout.
Sweat
Scissors With a Weight Plate
- Start by lying flat on your back on a yoga mat. Bend your knees and position your feet firmly on the mat, ensuring that your hips and knees are together. Imprint your spine into the mat and bring your legs into tabletop position, ensuring that your knees are stacked over your hips, your toes are pointed, and your shins are parallel to the floor. Rest your hands gently on your knees.
- Lower your right leg towards the mat as far as you can while maintaining an imprinted spine.
- Elevate your right leg to return to the starting position.
- Lower your left leg towards the mat as far as you can while maintaining an imprinted spine.
- Elevate your left leg to return to the starting position. Continue alternating between right and left for 20 reps (10 per side).
Sweat
Russian Twist With a Weight Plate
- Holding a weight plate with both hands directly in front of your chest, start seated on a yoga mat with knees bent and heels firmly planted. Lean back slightly so that your abdominals are engaged and you are balancing on your sit bones. This is your starting position.
- While keeping your lower body as still as possible, twist your torso to the right and gently touch the medicine ball on the mat next to your right hip. Untwist your torso to return to the starting position.
- While keeping your lower body as still as possible, twist your torso to the left and gently touch the weight plate on the mat next to your left hip.
- Untwist your torso to return to the starting position. Continue alternating between right and left for 20 reps total (10 on each side).
Sweat
Oblique Crunch With a Weight Plate
- Holding a weight plate in your left hand, plant both feet on the floor shoulder-width apart. Place your right hand behind your ear. This is your starting position.
- Stretching your right obliques, lower the weight plate your left leg and draw your ribs towards your left hip.
- Contract your right obliques to straighten your torso to return to
the starting position. Complete 10 reps on the same side before completing the remaining 10 reps on the other side.
Sweat
Sit-Up With a Weight Plate
- Holding a weight plate with both hands, start by lying straight on your
back on the floor, with both arms extended above your head. Engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your heels firmly planted on the floor, slowly lift your head,
shoulder blades, and torso off of the floor. Ensure that it is your abdominals that initiate the movement, and that you do not use your arms to ‘swing’ your torso up.
- As you sit up, press the weight plate upwards. You should be in a seated
position with the dumbbell directly above your head at the end of the movement. Slowly release your torso to return to starting position. Repeat for 12 reps.
Sweat
Bent-Leg Raise With a Weight Plate
- Holding a weight plate directly above your chest with both hands, lie on
your back on a yoga mat. Extend both legs and engage your abdominal muscles by drawing your belly button in towards your spine. This is your starting position.
- Bend your knees and, using your abdominals, bring them in towards your chest, ensuring that your feet stay together.
- Slowly extend your legs to return to the starting position. Repeat for 60 seconds.
