The Best 15 Core Exercises From Home or Gym
Beginners Core Circuit
1. Crunches
Equipment: None
Method: Lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands by your forehead or cross your arms over your chest. Contract your abdominals by pulling your belly button in towards your spine, and slide your rib cage towards your hips, ensuring your lower back remains pushed into the floor. Your shoulders should lift slightly off the floor. Squeeze at the top of the movement and then lower yourself back to the starting position ensuring to control the movement.
2. Heel Reach
Equipment: None
Sets: 3 Reps: 15-20
Method: Lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, tucked close to your glutes. Place your arms at your side outstretched. Contract your right oblique reaching your right hand towards your right heel, as soon as you reach your heel contract your left oblique and drive your left hand towards your left heel. Keep the movement going one touch each side counts as a rep Ensuring your lower back remains pushed into the floor and your shoulders are lifted slightly off the floor. Squeeze at the bottom of the movement and before you move onto the opposite side.
3. Reverse Crunch
Equipment: None
Method: Lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, tucked close to your glutes. Place your arms at your side outstretched. Contract your right oblique reaching your right hand towards your right heel, as soon as you reach your heel contract your left oblique and drive your left hand towards your left heel. Keep the movement going one touch each side counts as a rep Ensuring your lower back remains pushed into the floor and your shoulders are lifted slightly off the floor. Squeeze at the bottom of the movement and before you move onto the opposite side.
4. Glute Bridge
Equipment: None
Method: Lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, tucked close to your glutes. Place your arms at your side outstretched. Engage your core and drive your hips up to the ceiling pushing through your heels (keeping your shoulders and arms on the floor). At the top of the movement pause and squeeze your glutes before slowly lowering back down to the floor.
5. Forearm Plank
Sets: 3 Reps: 30-60 sec hold
Equipment: None
Method: Getting yourself into the press-up position lower yourself down so your forearms are flat on the floor, hands should be clenched and elbows under your shoulders in a 90-degree angle. Pull your lats back and down, engage your core by pulling your belly button to your spine and brace.
Intermediate Core Circuit
1. Pike Crunches
Sets: 3 Reps: 15-20
Equipment: None
Method: Lay flat on your back with you arms by your sides and extend your legs up just above the hip and then lower them down towards the ground and just before you feel your lower back lose contact or pressure with the floor stop and hold. With your arms extended out in front of your drive your hands towards your feet lifting your shoulders off the floor. Ensuring to pull your belly button towards your spine and maintaining contact between the floor and your lower back.
2. Bicycle Crunch
Equipment: None
Method: Adopt a normal crunch position with your hands at your forehand, bend your knees and lift from the hip so that your legs are at a 90-degree angle. Engage your abs pulling your belly button to your spine and driving your lower back into the floor, as you do this bring your right elbow across your body to meet your left knee and simultaneously drop and straighten the right leg towards the floor but do not let it touch, return to start and then repeat on the opposite side by driving the left elbow to right knee and lowering the left leg (as if you were cycling). One movement each side counts as 2 reps.
3. High Plank with Toe Reach
Sets: 3 Reps: 20
Equipment: None
Method: Getting yourself into the press-up position with you wrists and elbows directly under your shoulders. Pull your lats back and down, engage your core by pulling your belly button to your spine and brace. Hold for a few seconds before driving your hip up and back and reaching your right hand to your left foot before returning to the plank position. Hold and then repeat by driving hips up and reaching your left hand to your right foot. A reach each side counts as 2 reps.
4. Leg Raises
Equipment: None
Method: Lay flat on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you, arms are by your side, palms flat on the floor or placed just under the side of you glutes (Hands should never be placed under the lower back). Engage your core pulling your belly button to your spine and with your lower back firmly pressed into the floor slowly raise your feet off the floor keeping your legs straight. Lift your legs to a 90-degree angle to the hip and then slowly lower your legs back down with control ensuring they do not touch the floor.
5. Windscreen Wipers
Equipment: None
Method: Lay flat on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you, arms are by your side, palms flat on the floor. Engage your core pulling your belly button to your spine and with your lower back firmly pressed into the floor slowly raise your feet off the floor keeping your legs straight. Lift your legs to a 90-degree angle to the hip toes pointed to the ceiling. Twisting from the hip keeping your back and arms on the floor lower your legs down towards the right but do not touch the floor, using your core bring your legs back to the start position before lowering down to the left. A lower on each side counts as 2 reps.
Advanced Core Circuit
1. V-sit Crunches
Equipment: None
Method: Lay on the floor with your legs out straight out in front of you and toes pointed. Arms should be slightly lifted over the side of your chest. Engaging your core lift your torso up driving your hands forwards while simultaneously pulling your knee up and in to meet your chest in the middle before lowering yourself back to starting position.
2. L-Sit
Equipment: Dumbbells
Method: Set your dumbbells up shoulder-width apart, holding onto them position yourself sitting between them with your legs straight out in front of you, toes pointed. Straighten your arms and lock your elbows to your sides, pulling your shoulder blades back and down to engage the lats. Pushing through your palms lift and engaging your core lift your legs off the floor and hold keeping your knees straight, and squeezing your quads together..
3. Ab Roller
Equipment: Ab Roller
Method: Starting on your knee with the ab roller in your hands on the floor in front of your body. Engage your core and slowly roll the wheel forward keeping your arms extended and your knees planted. Extend as far as you can ideally until your body is parallel to the floor and then without arching your back return to starting position.
Method: Start in the high plank position with your feet on the ball and your arms fully extended. Slowly bend your knees in towards the chest curling the ball in forwards, tucking your knees under your chest as your hips raise, and slowly return to the extended position. Once in starting position use your core to drive your hips up to the ceiling keeping your feet on the ball, you should bend from the hip keeping your legs and arms straight before returning to the start position. One movement of each counts as 1 rep.
5. Hollow Holds
Equipment: None
Method: Lay flat on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you and toes pointed. Raise so they are outstretched vertically over your head, engage your core and raise your arms/shoulders and legs off the floor (around 6-8 inches) ensuring your lower back is firming pressing into the floor. Hold this position for the intended time maintaining tension in your core the entire time.
Ab Workouts & Exercises: Your Questions Answered
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Take Home Message
Whatever your current level of exercise it’s important for everyone to continue to work on and strengthen their entire core. Building a solid foundation means that you are more effective and efficient in your other training and will help you work harder, lift heavier, and keep smashing PBs.
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