"These are the exercises I always come back to"—an expert trainer shares five of the best moves to build strong abs

There are many ways to strengthen your core muscles, but simple is often best. Unless you're able to perform hundreds of sit-ups without breaking a sweat, bodyweight movements are all you need to train your abs.

And it looks like trainer Kayla Itsines shares this belief. The trainer and founder of workout app Sweat recently highlighted five of her go-to abs moves in an Instagram post—all equipment-free and firm favorites.

How to do Kayla Itsines favorite abs moves

While you don't need equipment for these exercises, Itsines uses an exercise mat so if you own one and you're working out on a hard floor, it's worth rolling it out for extra comfort.

According to a comment Itsines left on this video, you should perform each move for 30 to 45 seconds and repeat the routine three or four times for a full workout.

If you allow 15 seconds of rest to move between each exercise, it should take between 15 and 20 minutes.

Itsines recommends doing this sequence as a finisher, at the end of a strength session like this full-body dumbbell workout.

Benefits of abs finisher workouts

Short abs workouts like this are often programmed at the end of strength workouts. So what's the benefit of an abs finisher?

Adding a finisher that concentrates on one muscle, or muscle group, can help push your muscles further, ensuring you've worked them as hard as possible. The goal is to push your muscles to fatigue at the end, maximizing your results without wearing them out earlier on in your session. That's especially important with the core which is used in almost every compound exercise. Wear out your core too quickly and your form will probably suffer.

A finisher often keeps rest periods short, to raise your heart rate and burn more calories, with the aim of lowering your body fat percentage.

Try adding this finisher to your next few sessions to see improvements in your core strength. If you're more comfortable on your feet, try this standing abs finisher.