I’m sure most people have heard of a “10 minute core workout”, or have tried performing 100 sit ups a day in order to loose weight and gain a “six-pack” with little results. Unfortunately I am here to tell you that these alone wont really work.
The abdominals are part of the core muscles but in order to see them (the six-pack) you would need to get down to a low body fat percentage which would require a different way of working.
This does not mean that core exercises are generally pointless- quite the opposite! The core muscles are so important in our everyday lives and strengthening them will only help you.
Your abdominals, the muscles running up your back either side of your spine (spine extensors), muscles that wrap around your mid-drift (external and internal obliques and your transverses abdominus) and then the top and bottom of the can- your diaphragm and your pelvic floor. All of these muscles make up the core or centre of your body.
Strengthening these muscles can help with most movements you perform in everyday life as well as any movements required for physical activity or sport. Anything that requires you to bend forward, pick something up, twisting your torso and even standing all rely on core musculature.
So the stronger these muscles are, the less likely you are going to injure yourself when moving around- this can also help with good posture and minimising common lower back pain.
The exercises
Dead bugs
Start lying on your back, lift the feet off the floor so there is a 90-degree angle at your hips and knees (see video) and raise your arms so they are pointing towards the ceiling. Brace the core by thinking about flattening the curve in your lower back. Extend one leg so it almost touches the floor, at the same time move the opposite arm over the head towards the floor. Then replace both the arm and the leg and repeat on the opposite side. If you are struggling with the core engagement, place your finger-tips (only!) under the natural curve in your lower back and think about squeezing down on your fingers- and keep that squeeze throughout the whole movement.
Back extension
Lie face down on your matt with your hands at your temples. Use your back muscles to lift your head and chest off the floor as high as you can while keeping your feet in contact with the floor. Lower the upper body back to the floor nice and slowly with control.
Bear Crawl Hold Shoulder Taps
This is a bit like a plank but scrunched up. Start on all hands and knees in a table top position, then tuck your toes under your feet. From here lift your knees off the floor about 2 cm. From here take one hand off the floor and touch the opposite shoulder, then place the hand back and repeat on the other side. You need to focus on keeping that core stable and hips as still and level as possible.
Plank
Place forearms on the floor with elbows underneath and in line with your shoulders, trying to achieve straight line with your body from your heels to the crown of your head. You want to try and squeeze all your muscles, especially focusing on your core by keeping your hips in line (not allowing them to sink or rise). Shaking is okay- just be sure to breathe throughout! This can also be done on the hands rather than the forearms.
Plank taps
Now you are going to start in the same plank position, but this time you are going to lift your right foot, take it slightly out to the side and tap the floor with your toe. Then replace the foot and repeat on the other side. Sounds easy enough, however, while you are doing this you need to try and keep your hips as still as you possibly can.
While you could perform all of these exercises together to form a form specific workout, it might be more beneficial to add one or two of these on to the end of your other workouts so you are working different movements of the core muscles more consistently. Try adding 2/3 sets of 12-16 repetitions of any of these exercises to your next workout.
Enjoy!
