2 Abs And Glutes Workout Formats Worth Your Time

Tasha Boyd07.08.2026

My phone lands in my hand about four times a week from a rec-center regular who found a graphic promising a strong core and a lifted backside from a hundred reps a day. I get why they catch the eye — and underneath the flashy numbers, two genuinely solid training formats are hiding. Here are the two abs and glutes workout structures worth building into your week, minus the arbitrary rep counts.

The Mat Flow: Plank, Reach, and Hold

Instructor-led abs and glutes workout flow on mats, moving through a plank-to-reach sequence in class

This is the format I teach most often on the floor half of my Tuesday class — a slow, connected sequence that moves through a low plank into a reach or extended hold, working the core's job of resisting movement while the glutes and shoulders share the load. It looks simple. It is not easy when it's done correctly, which is exactly the point.

Supported version: knees down, hands stacked under shoulders, hold the reach for two to three breaths.
Standard version: full plank, one arm reaching forward while the opposite hip stays level — no rotation.
Harder version: add a slow mountain-climber tap between reaches, keeping the hips quiet the whole time.

About that hundred-reps-a-day claim on graphics like this one: volume without control is just fatigue with extra steps. I would much rather someone do twenty of these with a flat back and a braced belly than a hundred with a sagging spine.

In twelve years of cueing this exact position, the mistake I see most isn't weak abs — it's a hip that drops the second the reaching arm goes out. Fix the hip, and the abs finally get to do their job.

Adapt it at home with nothing but a mat, and if your wrists complain, drop to forearms — same benefit, kinder joints.

The Circuit: Squat, Hip Thrust, and Kickback

Sample abs and glutes workout circuit graphic showing squats, hip thrusts, and glute kickbacks

This is a classic strength circuit, and I like it a lot more than the marketing around it suggests. Five moves, repeated for three to four rounds, training the glutes through hip extension from three angles while the plank hold closes out each round with the core.

Squat: 15 reps — chair-height depth is plenty to start.
Hip thrust: 15 reps — shoulders on a bench or the floor, drive through the heels.
Mountain climbers: 20 reps — slow them down before you speed them up.
Glute kickback, each side: 15 reps — small range, big squeeze at the top.
Plank hold: 30 seconds — knees down if the lower back rounds.

Three ways through it: supported means bodyweight only and a chair nearby for balance on the kickbacks; standard adds a resistance band around the thighs; harder adds dumbbells to the squat and thrust. None of these moves shrink anything — they build strength you'll notice the next time you're carrying groceries in one trip.

Total time with a proper warm-up: about twenty-two minutes for three rounds. That's the number I'd actually put on the graphic.

The Takeaway

Both of these formats hold up once you take the poster math out of them — they're just good, honest training dressed up in a hundred-reps promise. Pick the one that fits your week, give it real rest days, and let the numbers on the graphic stay exactly where they belong.

Hi! I'm Tasha

Hi, I'm Tasha! Certified personal trainer and twelve-year community rec center instructor — the room where a 68-year-old and a college athlete…

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Your Questions, Answered

Can I do an abs and glutes workout every day?

I wouldn't program it that way. Muscles need recovery time to actually get stronger, so I'd rotate this with a rest day or a different focus, not repeat it daily.

Will this workout burn fat off my stomach specifically?

No — spot reduction isn't how bodies work, and I don't build plans around that claim. This builds strength and endurance in the core and glutes; fat loss is a separate, individual conversation for a registered dietitian, not a workout graphic.

What if my lower back hurts during the hip thrust or plank?

Stop and drop to the supported version first. If pain continues beyond normal muscle fatigue, that's a question for a doctor or physical therapist, not something to push through.

What equipment do I actually need?

A mat for the floor work is enough to start. A resistance band and a pair of dumbbells let you progress the circuit when bodyweight stops feeling like enough.