I swapped crunches for standing abs — and my core has never been stronger

I’m no stranger to core workouts — I’ve done my fair share of planks, crunches, and Pilates roll-ups over the years. But lately, I’ve been looking to mix things up a bit, and standing ab workouts have been cropping up consistently on my social media feeds.

I often finish my strength training sessions at the gym with a floor-based mat routine, so the idea of a standing ab workout intrigued me. Common standing core exercises are often overlooked, but they have their perks — they can be more functional, more joint-friendly, and often recruit muscles beyond just your abs, like your glutes, back, and legs. Think standing knee drives, wood chops, or weighted oblique twists. And if you’re short on time, working out at home, or trying to find floor space in a crowded gym, skipping the mat can be