21 Day Fix Deluxe Workout Review: Flat Abs Fix

There is an option when you purchase the 21 Day Fix program to get the deluxe workouts (I believe they're called 'Ultimate' in this particular program).  I always buy the deluxe workouts so I have more variety in my program and I figured since I have them, I'll review them!

Deluxe Workout 1:  Flat Abs Fix

Autumn's Inspirational Quote of the Day:  "Tomorrow you'll be glad you did this today"

Equipment:  1 weight (heavy), mat (optional)

Total Workout Time:30:12

Set up:  5 circuits, 2 exercises each circuit, repeated, 1 minute per exercise, 1 bonus circuit with 2 exercises

Exercises:
No warm-up in this one, we jump right into the ab work!

Circuit 1:  2 exercises, repeated, 1 minute each
Oblique Crunch (30 seconds each side):  standing, with the weight in one hand, lift arm overhead and contract knee up and elbow down.  Do this for 30 seconds on one side, then switch to the other.
Standing Crunch:  hold weight on both sides, contract abs and crunch forward, return to standing.
Repeat

Circuit 2:  2 exercises, repeated, 1 minute each
Side Bend (30 seconds each side):  hold weight in one hand, bend down as far as you can with weight staying close to your left, return to standing.  Do this for 30 seconds on one side, then switch to the other.
Plank Rock:  in a plank position on your elbows, rock forward onto your toes, then push weight back into plank position

    

Repeat

Circuit 3:  2 exercises, repeated, 1 minute each
Plank Knee Pull:  in a plank position on your hands, pull alternating knees in to the chest, then alternate legs in to the outside of your elbow
Side Hip Drop (30 seconds each side):  in a side plank position, stack legs on top of each other and drop hips down to the ground.  Do this for 30 seconds and then quickly switch to the other side to repeat.
Repeat

Circuit 4:  2 exercises, repeated, 1 minute each
Crunches:  standard crunch, with hands lightly behind your head, neck neutral, abs tight, knees bent
Frog Crunches:  lay flat with your legs pointed up towards the ceiling, toes turned out and heels touching.  Bring your elbows and knees together and then return to start position.
Repeat

Circuit 5:  2 exercises, repeated, 1 minute each
Oblique Crunches (30 seconds each side):  with your chest pointing towards the ceiling, drop your legs to one side, knees bent, stacked on top of each other.  Crunch towards your knees for 30 seconds, then repeat with knees facing the other side.
Sit up Lift:  holding a weight in both hands, lay flat on the floor, arms overhead.  Lift weight as you crunch your abs and bring one leg up.  Bring weight to shin, lower back to the floor, repeat with other leg.

    

Repeat

Bonus Round: 2 exercises, repeated
Flutter Kicks (30 seconds):  lay flat on the floor on your elbows, alternate quickly kicking legs
Cross Kicks (1 minute):  in the same position as the previous exercise, cross your ankles quickly
Repeat

No cooldown.

Personal Opinions and Difficulty:  Hmm, what shall I say about this workout? (This can't be good if this is how I'm starting...)  I do like this workout and I think there is a great variety of ab moves but it's also not necessary to do 30 minutes of ab moves.  I much prefer the 10 Minute Ab Fix that comes with the base program.  I also don't like that there isn't a warm up or a cool down.  Yes, I can do this on my own, but there should be at least some sort of stretching included.  Also, I'm not really sure where to put this in the rotation.  I typically sub this for Pilates, but then I'm not getting the active recovery day of stretching and resting my muscles.  I also would have liked to see some back work to really strengthen the core.
Difficulty: 3/5 There are definitely some challenging moves in this workout (particularly the ones in plank position) but nothing over-the-top crazy.
Enjoyment:  4/5  Nothing unenjoyable about it (except maybe that last minute of cross kicks--yikes!)
Overall:  3/5  Okay, does it work the abs?  Yes.  It is the most effective ab workout there is?  No.  I also feel like it doesn't really fit in with the Fix workouts in general.  If you've got extra time to do this, go for it, but it's not that fabulous as a stand-alone workout.