Chris Heria Shares A Killer 15-Minute Calisthenics Abs Workout

Known for his incredibly shredded physique, Chris Heria is a Pro Bar athlete, street workout champion, and certified personal trainer. He is also an entrepreneur and founder of ThenX, The Miami Trainer, and other fitness institutions like Calisthenics Evolution Institute and Calisthenics Academy.

Recently, Heria shared a 15-minute calisthenics abs workout with his 4.1 million-plus YouTube followers. Calisthenics is a training system where an individual relies solely on his bodyweight for exercise. While training equipment can be used in calisthenics, its use is significantly limited.

Chris Heria’s 15-minute abs workout

Phase I

Leg raise

Chris Heria started the workout with a simple and effective exercise to work the lower abdominal—the good ol’ leg raises.

“Keep your legs as straight as you can. Squeeze your core, and don’t allow your feet to touch down,” Heria said.

Heria kept his arms stretched out above the head as the extra pull helps engage the abdominal muscles to a greater extent. As simple as they look, leg raises can make it difficult to laugh or even cough for a few days if you’ve never done them before.

Lying flutter kicks

Heria next performed the lying flutter kicks. This movement starts with the same position as leg raises—lying flat on the ground with hands stretched above the head. The next step of the exercise is to raise your legs alternatingly as high as you can in rapid succession without bending at the knees.

Hip raise

Once again, the exercise starts in the same position, and one has to abide by the following steps:

1. Bring the knees in towards your chest
2. Lift your hips up
3. Lower the hips
4. Stretch your legs out

This movement can be a little challenging for beginners as one has to maintain balance throughout the range of motion. Beginners should start practicing this exercise by grabbing onto a table’s legs or any other heavy object with hands extended above the head.

Alternate single-leg raise

Most bodyweight exercises are composite movements that activate different muscle groups in the body in addition to the target muscles. As a result, the stronger side tends to compensate for the weaker during many of these movements.

Performing this variation of leg raises eliminates this possibility and helps fix strength imbalances. Here is how to perform alternate single-leg raises:

1. Lie down flat on your back with your hands above your head
2. Raise one leg as high as possible without bending at the knee
3. Raise the second leg with the same form
4. Lower the first leg
5. Lower the second leg 
6. Repeat the process starting with the second leg

Lying around the worlds

The final exercise in the first phase of Heria’s abs workout is another variation of leg raises—lying around the world. To do this exercise, perform the concentric part of a leg raise on your left side and the eccentric on the left. Alternate between sides with every rep.

Heria performed this exercise for 45 seconds before moving on to the second phase of the workout.

Phase II

Switching mountain climber

The second phase is a series of exercises performed in the high plank position and switching mountain climbers is the first exercise of this phase. In addition to working the abdominal muscles, the switching mountain climber works the obliques. Since this movement involves consistent work, Heria advises slowing down the pace when you start to fatigue. 

High plank to low plank

Also known as plank switches, this movement starts in a high plank position. The next step is to transition from the palms to elbows and then return to the push-up plank position.

“Make sure to control yourself and not slam yourself on the ground. The more you control yourself, the more you’re engaging your abdominals as well,” Heria said.

Open, close, in, and out

This abs exercise includes the following steps:

1. Start in a high plank position
2. Jump out your legs, so they are wider than shoulder-width apart
3. Return to the starting position
4. Frog jump so your knees are under your chest
5. Return to the starting position
6. Repeat at a moderate pace

“Just make sure that you’re engaging your core, squeezing your core, squeezing the grip on the ground,” Heria said.

Side plank

Side planks served as the last exercise in the second phase of the abs workout (exercises starting in the high plank position).

Half burpee

A great way for beginners to advance toward full burpees. Half burpees are a less intense but effective exercise to work the core. The steps include:

1. Get into a high plank position
2. Jump up and take your hands off the ground so your feet are flat on the floor
3. Repeat

Phase III

Overhead sit-ups and press

A variation of the classic sit-up, this exercise involves the following steps:

1. Lie down while facing the ceiling and your hands at your sides
2. Perform a sit-up
3. Push your hands above your head
4. Go back to the lying position and repeat

Bicycle crunch

Bicycle crunches are arguably the best exercise to work the abs and oblique. To perform:

1. Lie down with your back flat against the floor
2. Put your hands on the side of your head
3. Lift your legs off the ground without bending at your knees
4. Bend one knee towards your chest
5. Bring the opposite arm towards the knee by twisting at your midriff
6. Repeat with the other side

Crunch reach through

Another variation of the sit-up, the crunch reach through works the obliques along with the abs. Steps include:

1. Lie down with your back flat against the floor
2. Sit up and lift one knee and bring it towards your head
3. Reach out with the opposite hand from behind the knee (resembles punching through the back of your knee)

Russian twist

The Russian twist targets every muscle in the core and therefore it is an effective way to train your abs and core when you’re running short on time. This exercise by itself can qualify as a complete core workout. To perform Russian twists, you have to:

1. Lie down flat on your back
2. Lift your torso so it is at a 60-degree angle with the floor
3. Place your feet flat on the floor
4. Keep your palms on the side of your head
5. Twist the torso from side to side

Twisting sit-up

Heria wrapped up his abs workout with this variation of the sit-up. In this variation, an individual twists his torso from side to side after reaching the top of the sit-up position.

Chris Heria Calisthenics Abs Workout

Overall, the workout included:

Phase 1 – From the lying position

• Leg raises – 45 second
• 15-second break
• Lying flutter kicks – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Hip raise – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Alternate single-leg raise
• 15-second break
• Lying around the worlds – 45 seconds
• 15-second break

Phase II – From the plank / push-up position

• Switching mountain climber – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• High plank to low plank – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Open, close, in, and out – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Side plank – 45 seconds (~22 seconds on each side)
• 15-second break
• Half burpee – 45 seconds
• 15-second break

Phase III – Off the ground from the sit-up position

• Overhead sit-up and press – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Bicycle crunch – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Crunch-reach through – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Russian twists – 45 seconds
• 15-second break
• Twisting sit-up – 45 seconds

In the video’s closing, Heria said:

“It’s going to develop insane core strength that’s going to transfer over to the more advanced skills all the while simultaneously working on your cardio and developing the physique.”

Calisthenics training can sometimes be frustrating as the progression often takes a lot of effort, and the results take a long time to show. However, it is also amongst the most cost-effective and challenging training methods. Additionally, most calisthenics exercises are compound movements that are beneficial in improving functional strength. So, will you start with this abs workout to test the benefits of calisthenics?

You can watch the full abs workout video here, courtesy of Chris Heria’s personal YouTube channel:

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