Your Abs Will Cry Just Watching Rita Ora Crush This Core Workout

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

If you're looking for some inspiration for your next core workout, activewear look, or even a reason to reactive your gym membership after more than a year of at-home fitness, singer Rita Ora has you covered in one fell swoop.

Her trainer, Jono Castano, founder of Acero Gym in Australia, just posted a video of Ora absolutely crushing an abs workout that's one for the books. Give it a peep, and you'll want to copy her style as well as the workout — if your abs can handle it, that is.

In the workout, Castano has Ora doing some cable machine abs exercises, weighted hanging abs exercises, leg raises on a bench, and — last, but certainly not least — doing a sort of revolving plank using a HIITAXLE, what's essentially an ab roller on steroids and which Castano calls the "hamster wheel."

All in all, it looks like an absolute killer core workout, though Ora is making it look way easy. Her 'fit is super cute, too; she's wearing a matching set of burgundy leggings and a sports bra from Aussie activewear brand STAX, high socks, and what looks like a pair of New Balance 827 sneakers (Buy It, $120, asos.com). (Shop some similar chunky dad sneakers and other affordable workout sets right here.)

Want to give the workout a try for yourself? Here's a breakdown of the moves, including everything you need if you want to tackle it at home. (And if you want to make it a total-body affair, tack on this butt workout that Ora's other trainer shared.)

Rita Ora abs Workout
Rita Ora abs Workout

Getty Images

Cable Machine Push to Rotation

ICYDK, cable machines make for a stellar addition to your core workout. This move, in particular, forces you to engage your core to keep from rotating, as well as use those muscles to rotate and pull the handle away from the machine. (See: Why You Should Do Weighted Abs Exercises with the Cable Machine)

To set it up, place the cable pulley at about hip height and select a weight on the machine (start small, and you can always bump it up). Stand to the side of the machine with feet wide, hold the handle vertically in both hands, and bring it in directly in front of your chest. Resisting the pull of the cable and keeping feet planted, press the handle away from your chest, then rotate your torso to pull the handle the the side of your body furthest away from the machine. Reverse the movement with control to return to start.

No cable machine? No problem — loop a large resistance band around something sturdy (like a pole or the knob on a closed door) and use that for resistance instead. Just be sure to step far enough away that you maintain tension on the band the entire time.

- 9 Available at Amazon

Hanging Overs

While you could totally do this ab exercise without the dumbbell below, using it forces you to make sure you're pulling your feet up and over and also reaching them far enough on each side. (Related: The Best Dumbbells to Add to Your Home Gym)

To set it up, place a dumbbell vertically directly under a pull-up bar. Use a box or bench to step up up (if needed) and hang off the pull-up bar or handles. Keeping upper body still, straighten legs to lower feet to one side of the dumbbell. Keeping them together, pull knees in toward chest, then straighten legs to lower onto the other side of the dumbbell.

- 46 Available at Amazon

Leg Raises

These aren't your average leg raises (which you're probably doing incorrectly, BTW). Hop onto a bench, and you can take this classic core move to a new (deeper) level.

Start by lying face-up on a bench with your head situated at one end and legs extended. Grab onto the edges up the bench right next to your ears, elbows pointing up. Pull knees in toward chest, then lift hips off the bench and extend legs toward the ceiling. Reverse the movement with control, lowering hips and bending knees in toward chest, then extending them parallel to the floor (but without resting them on the bench).

- 160 Available at Amazon

Hanging Dumbbell Hold

Abs still functional? Hop up and head back to the pull-up bar — with a dumbbell in tow. Next up is a weighted hanging hold with a dumbbell between your knees.

Place a dumbbell between your legs just above the knees. Squeeze to hold it there as you use a box or bench to step up (if needed) and grab the pull-up bar or handles. Hang there, squeezing the weight as you raise your knees to hip height. Hold this position.

- 70 Available at Amazon

Hamster Wheel, aka HIITAXLE

In case your abs weren't already on fire, meet their new nemesis: the HIITAXLE. This thing looks like an ab roller and a hand ergometer had a baby, and it will surely be the new piece of gym equipment you love to hate.

To use it, you place the roller on a base, assume a high plank position with your hands on the padded handles, and essentially pedal with your hands while trying to maintain good plank form (forming a straight line from shoulders to feet; hips stable).

While you can score one of these online and fully trick out your home gym, you could also sub in an ab roller or commando planks (aka moving from high plank on your palms to your elbows and back) for this one. Guaranteed, your core and shoulders will still be burning even without the HIITAXLE.

- 999 Available at Amazon