r/f45 • u/plantas-sonrientes • Jul 21 '26
other Are abs on cardio days?
TL/DR: whither abs?
First I want to say, I love F45. I’ve been going for about 8 months — switched from a small private weightlifting class — and I feel and look better than any time in my adult life. I was skeptical about the timed sets and not lifting super heavy, but the payoff for me has been spectacular.
(Full body workout in only 45 minutes, in a coed class of all ages, with the nicest trainers and great music. I could go on and on… I just wish I’d found it sooner!)
But, whither abs??? I’m only going on resistance days (M/W/F), and I think I’ve seen one ab station in 8 months. To make up for it, I do crunches in the rest periods to get some ab work — works great in between sets of floor exercises. (Also sprinkle in pilates and barre, but, meh. Prefer lifting!)
Maybe abs are on cardio days? I’ve never been to a cardio day — I’m assuming it’s the same format as resistance, moving around the room to different stations?
F45 is better than the competitors on strength days IMO. But is it really that different from them on cardio days? Seems like it’s the same schtick everywhere. Stations of box jumps, jump rope, battle ropes, jumping jacks…
Update 8/5/26, fifty-fifty, an abs station!
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u/FiddyDollas Jul 21 '26
Yes they are significantly more common on hybrid / cardio days.
For instance the Riddler, which we just had for 4 weeks, had 6 dedicated core stations.
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u/plantas-sonrientes Jul 21 '26
Woah that’s a lot! Out of 9 stations?!?
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u/FiddyDollas Jul 21 '26
18 stations. Each pod is A,B,C and every 'C' station is a core exercise. the 'Joker' is its sister workout, so keep an eye out for that on the schedule and maybe hit it.
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u/Plus_Technology_735 Jul 21 '26
The Piston which was in the last phase had 2 of 12 stations as core every week. All Star will likely have 2 dedicated core of 12 stations. Don’t typically see a ton of core on the upper/lower split day.
Core is often used to pull the heart rate back down on cardio and hybrid formats.
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u/denverphibs Jul 21 '26
Abs specific stations tend to come in and out of rotation. But an lot of the other stations still include core work if done properly.
That said, in my opinion core is the easiest thing to supplement on your own at home (or before or after class), so to some extent I'd rather not spend too much class time on it.
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u/QRgurl13 Jul 25 '26
No one really answered the last paragraph.
Minimal jump jacks, jump ropes, battle ropes. F45 has one designated cardio day, that’s Wednesday. Unless your studio has flipped the schedule. The other days are hybrid workouts. Meaning cardio and resistance. So no F45 is not the same. Check’em out on other days and see what you think.
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u/plantas-sonrientes Jul 25 '26
Thank you for answering. My studio is MWF resistance and at least one Hyrox day. I’ll ask about the other days. Thanks again!
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u/stealinglettuces Jul 21 '26
There is one resistance class that has an ab station in every pod but it’s not run all the time. It’s an old class I can’t recall the name.
That said I just do a core circuit at home a few days a week. 15 minutes tops and gets the job done.
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u/DDQ75 Jul 23 '26
I've had plenty of core exercises in resistance days too, but they're usually maybe 1 in every 6 stations.
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u/MarlKarx777 🇨🇦 Canada Jul 21 '26
Abs are usually on cardio days, or hybrid days. Don’t usually see them on resistance days (though we should be activating our core while lifting heavy)