--- title: 10 Killer Ab Workouts That Aren't Crunches description: Get your ab workout with these plank moves: no crunches or abdominal exercises necessary canonical: https://time.com/4159440/plank-moves/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-22T22:13:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:42.536Z article:section: Health og:title: 10 Killer Ab Workouts That Aren't Crunches og:description: Get your ab workout with these plank moves og:url: https://time.com/4159440/plank-moves/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Killer Ab Workouts That Aren't Crunches twitter:description: Get your ab workout with these plank moves twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 10 Killer Ab Workouts That Aren't Crunches > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Kristin McGee / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Kristin McGee / Health.com Contributor Dec 22, 2015 10:13 PM UTC by [Kristin McGee / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Kristin McGee / Health.com Contributor Dec 22, 2015 10:13 PM UTC Planks are one of the best ways to [tone your abdominal muscles](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20813896,00.html) and strengthen your entire body. Once you’ve mastered holding a perfect plank, you can challenge yourself a bit more with one of these new variations. Watch the video above to learn five [plank variations](http://www.health.com/health/video/0,,20822583,00.html) including: * Running Man Plank * Bird Dog Plank * Uneven Plank * Hamstring Curl Plank * Wide Stance Plank Then keep the challenge going by trying five more plank upgrades: ### Flipped Wrist Plank  Kristin McGee I love this plank for stretching out tight wrists and shoulders. Come in to a regular plank then flip both hands around so the fingers face the toes and the inner elbows face forward (try this on all fours at first if it’s too intense on the wrists or just do one hand at a time). Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. ### One-Arm Plank  Kristin McGee Come into a plank then place one hand on your lower back with your palm facing up. Try your best to keep your body parallel to the floor. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch hands. ### Toe Lock Plank  Kristin McGee Come into a plank then rest your right foot on top of your left by taking the space between your big and second toe of your right foot and clipping it around your left Achilles heel. Pull back with your heels as much as you can to engage your core even more. Hold 30 seconds then switch sides and hold another 30 seconds. ### Extended Plank  Kristin McGee Start in a plank then walk your hands forward 10 to 12 inches in front of you (or as far as you can) and try to hold for 15 to 30 seconds. ### Tree Plank  Kristin McGee From plank bring your left heel up on your right inner thigh (like a yoga tree pose or ballet passé) turning your left knee open to the side. Hold for 30 seconds the switch legs. Bonus: Extra toning and tightening for your butt! [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2014/07/22/10-new-ways-to-do-a-plank/?xid=time) _More from Health.com:_ * [How to Avoid Holiday Travel Weight Gain](http://news.health.com/2015/12/15/avoid-holiday-travel-weight-gain/?xid=time) * [How Your Yoga Class Might Actually Save You Money](http://news.health.com/2015/12/18/how-your-yoga-class-might-actually-save-you-money/?xid=time) * [4 Steps You Can Take to Avoid Thyroid Problems](http://news.health.com/2015/12/18/healthy-thyroid/?xid=time) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4159440/plank-moves/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4159440/plank-moves/"},"headline":"10 Killer Ab Workouts That Aren't Crunches","datePublished":"2015-12-22T22:13:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:42.536Z","description":"Get your ab workout with these plank moves.","url":"https://time.com/4159440/plank-moves/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","fitness","Exercise"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kristin McGee / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4159440/plank-moves/","name":"10 Killer Ab Workouts That Aren't Crunches"}}]}] ```