Brooke Burke is revealing the secret to her abs – in her swimsuit. In a new social media post the television personality-slash-exercise queen looks incredible in a rainbow two-piece as she gives her followers a tutorial on a key exercise. “Morning moves 💛🧡💜 @brookeburkebody #stretch #yoga,” she captioned the post with her followers. What is the exact exercise that helped Brooke achieve her killer six-pack? Here is everything you need to know about her “morning moves.”
In the video, Brooke lays on her side, propping herself up on her arm with her legs bent and does “what is essentially a variation of a side crunch,” says Philadelphia-based trainer Kendra Gamble of HIT Fitness. The low impact exercise is a great way to strengthen the entire tummy.
“So here’s what it is going to look like,” Brooke says in the clip. “You are going to crunch and straighten and crunch,” she says, recommending “15 on each leg.” She adds: “Point your toes and reach, make sure you are engaging your core.”
What muscles does it work? “The way she’s doing it specifically works the internal and external obliques, which are core muscles,” says Gamble. She does note that side crunches aren’t going to be the miracle move to get rid of love handles. “Only diet does that,” she reminds. “You can’t spot reduce fat.”
Gamble says it is a great exercise for beginners, “who don’t work out much,” because it can help them learn how to activate their core to get stronger core muscles and help them understand what’s really working. However, she wouldn’t recommend side crunches to a person with a spinal injury like a herniated disc.
As for the early morning workout, Brooke is definitely onto something. A 2023 study published in the journal Obesity found that early morning sweat sessions — between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. — could help with weight loss. According to their research, people who did moderate to vigorous exercise in the morning had lower body mass indexes than people who exercised at midday or in the evening. “Working out in the morning is beneficial because you are rested and refreshed and your body is full of energy,” Gamble adds. “If you work out in the morning it sets the tone for the day giving you more energy.” And, “most people when they save a workout for after work they end up not doing it because they are tired.”