Your core is the central part of your body, including your abdomen, pelvis, lower back, and hips. Core strength is essential for overall body stability, pain-free movement, and injury prevention.
Core exercises target muscles in the abdomen, lower back, and pelvis to support everyday activities and improve your athleticism.
The side plank loads half of your spine and challenges your obliques, the muscles on the sides of your torso. Training your obliques assists with movements like twisting, bending, and rotating your spine.
When you do this exercise, make sure you align your pelvis, shoulders, and feet and concentrate on feeling the side of your torso where your obliques are. Here’s how to do a side plank:
- Set a mat down and align your body by propping yourself up on your elbow. Your pelvis, shoulders, and feet should remain in a straight line. Protect your shoulder by lining it up directly above your elbow, forming a 90-degree angle with your rib cage.
- While holding the position, keep your hips elevated several inches off the floor, making sure they don’t sag.
- Hold the side plank for as long as you can without your form breaking down, and then switch sides once you reach fatigue.
To make this exercise more challenging, lift the top leg and top arm (the ones closer to the ceiling) so your body forms a star shape.
During a single-arm carry, you should be able to feel your core engage as you hold the weight in your hand and keep your stomach tight. Here’s how to do a single-arm farmer’s carry:
- Find a weight that’s moderately challenging to pick up but that you could carry in one arm for around 30-60 seconds.
- Keep your torso tall, your shoulders back and tall, and your core engaged (no slouching forward or arching the back). Pick up the weight with one hand, keeping your grip tight and wrist neutral, and hold it for an equal number of seconds on each side. Do not allow your body or posture to drop toward the side of the weight.
- Switch sides and carry the weight in the other hand. Grip tightly and keep the weight slightly away from your side. Keep breathing while you hold the weight.
Cable wood chops challenge your entire core and train the obliques, rectus abdominis (the top layer of your ab muscles, also known as your six-pack), hip flexors, and glutes. This full-body exercise can support movements relating to twisting or rotating the torso, which can translate to sports like tennis or many daily life tasks.
During this exercise, exhale on the twist so your core contracts with greater intensity. Proper form and breathing are key for executing this exercise. Here’s how to do cable wood chops:
- Adjust the cable machine tension so it’s about a 6 out of 10 difficulty for your fitness level.
- Position the handle at about chest height and take a few steps to the side to generate tension in the cable.
- Grab the handle with both hands, engage your core, and place your feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale as you load and, as you exhale, rotate your torso against the resistance in a “chopping” motion across your midline.
- When you return to the starting position, allow for a slight counter-rotation before completing another rep.
- After completing your desired number of reps, switch sides and do the same number of reps on the other side.
Leg raises are a challenging core exercise. They require adequate strength to complete a full-range repetition safely. Leg raises train your lower abdominal muscles and hip flexors.
If you have issues with lower back pain, be cautious with this exercise. Your back may try to support other muscles, causing strain. Maintain a pelvic tilt (with your lower back pushed into the ground and ribs flat on the floor) throughout this exercise to avoid hyperextending the lower back.
You can also keep your hands under your butt in a diamond shape to support your pelvis as you go through each rep.
Here’s how to do a leg raise:
- Begin by lying on the floor or a mat with your hands under your butt in a diamond shape.
- Keeping your core engaged from the start, flex your feet and lift your legs off the ground as far as you can (or until you reach 90 degrees) while keeping your legs straight.
- Gently lower back down, almost touching the floor, before exhaling and completing another rep.
This bird dog variation challenges several complex core muscles, including the rectus abdominis (six-pack), obliques, transverse abdominis (deep ab muscle), and spinal erectors (vertical back muscles that run down the spine and support posture and movement).
The static bird dog is similar to the regular bird dog, but you’ll hold the position without moving while maintaining stability in your pelvis and engagement in your core. Here’s how to do it:
- Get onto the floor on all fours with your hands and shoulders aligned directly under you and your back flat. Keep your knees positioned under your hips.
- Keep your core engaged, and extend and lift your right arm and left leg back simultaneously, ensuring your pelvis doesn’t drop on either side.
- Hold the position for as long as you can (up to 30 seconds), making sure to breathe. Switch sides to extend your left arm and right leg.
- Go back and forth between sides. Completing a round on each side equals one set.
A classic stability exercise, the dead bug challenges your core muscles while keeping your spine neutral. It is suitable for people with back pain and those who are flexion intolerant, meaning they experience pain from holding a flexed position.
During this exercise, make sure your lower back doesn’t come off the floor as you extend your arms and legs. Here’s how to do a dead bug exercise:
- Start by lying on your back on the floor, with your legs and arms in the air and your knees bent at 90 degrees. Keep your lower back pressed into the floor and your core engaged.
- Exhale and extend your right arm and left leg simultaneously. Stop before your foot hits the ground. Return to center.
- Switch sides, now extending your left arm and right leg simultaneously.
If you want to make this exercise more challenging, hold dumbbells in each hand.
Another core classic, the plank challenges your core muscles in a neutral spinal position and targets your triceps and shoulders. Always aim to keep your back flat and ensure it doesn’t sink in while you hold the position. Perfect form is more important than how long you hold the plank. Here’s how to do it:
- Place your elbows on the floor and extend both legs back into the plank position while keeping your core engaged, glutes flexed, and back flat.
- Hold the plank for as long as possible until your form starts breaking down.
- As soon as your form breaks, release yourself from the position and rest.
Lower abs can be challenging to isolate, but butterfly kicks are the perfect exercise for the job. The exercise’s difficulty can be modified by how far you lean back. The more extended you are, the harder it will be. Strike a balance between difficulty and the ability to maintain perfect form. Here’s how to do butterfly kicks:
- Start by sitting on the floor with your legs extended straight.
- Lean your torso back until you feel your core engage. You can also lie flat on your back.
- Lift your legs off the floor and flutter your feet.
- Keep your core engaged the whole time and kick with your knees straight until you fatigue or your form breaks down.
A dynamic and challenging core exercise, the suitcase crunch brings your knees and elbows together, similar to how you might fold a suitcase. It targets your rectus abdominis, along with your obliques and hip flexors. Here’s how to do it:
- Lie flat on your back, keeping your legs extended and arms overhead.
- Engage your core, bring your knees toward your chest, and curl your upper body forward, bringing your elbows toward your knees.
- Slowly extend your legs back down and lower your upper body toward the floor.
The biggest mistake people make when training their core is not creating intra-abdominal pressure, which is crucial for spinal stability and protecting your lower back.
Intra-abdominal pressure is exerted within the abdominal cavity when you brace your core muscles. It’s created by engaging the diaphragm (muscle that helps you breathe in and out), deep ab muscles, pelvic floor, and lower back muscles.
Here are a few steps to create intra-abdominal pressure while training your core:
- Tighten the muscles around your abdomen as though you’re preparing to be punched in the stomach.
- Maintaining this tightness, take a deep breath into your diaphragm, letting your belly expand out rather than your chest rise.
- Hold that tension as you perform the exercise, ensuring the pressure remains constant throughout the movement.
You shouldn’t hold your breath while maintaining intra-abdominal pressure. Instead, engage your core muscles while continuing to breathe naturally. It will take some practice, but you’ll eventually master the skill and be able to maintain it every time you do a core exercise.
When performing core exercises, it’s important to be mindful of your lower back. If you perform core exercises incorrectly, your lower back is the most likely body part to be strained or injured.
Avoid training your core to failure, as your lower back will start to take over the exercise, causing strain. Maintaining energy during each set helps ensure you’re maximally targeting your core without engaging accessory muscles.
If you are concerned about your form, consider booking a session with a personal trainer to ensure your movements are correct and controlled.
Your core is the central part of your body and includes your abdomen, pelvis, lower back, and hips. Core strength is essential for overall body stability, pain-free movement, and injury prevention.
Core exercises are essential to any well-rounded workout program. They’re easy to implement and don’t require a lot of equipment.
Be mindful when practicing your core exercise, and always aim to maximize form and minimize injury. If you need help with your form, ask a personal trainer.