A short and simple post about strengthening your core with simple body weight exercises you can do at home, or with minimal equipment in the gym. There is too much talk about just doing compound exercises and avoiding core work these days – whilst this is true it leads to neglected direct core work which is not a good idea.

You are better off finding a balance between the two. Doing exercises like pullups, squats, pushups, and sprinting. Whilst also using some more direct core work to help improve your posture, balance, co-ordination and everyday movement. Basically helping you in the real world. A weak core is not a good thing….

weak or inflexible core muscles can impair how well your arms and legs function. And that saps power from many of the moves you make. Properly building up your core cranks up the power. A strong core also enhances balance and stability. Thus, it can help prevent falls and injuries during sports or other activities

So what exercises are we recommending and when? How about doing some core work on its own when your body is strong or after doing some cardio or playing sports. We aren’t going for rippling abs but rather a tight, balanced, and strong set of core muscles that will decrease your chance of injuries, improve your posture and athletic prowess.

Reverse Crunch – One of the best, it is scalable and gives the lower abs and back a challenging workout.

Twisting Crunches – Throw some of these in to work the obliques and mobilise your spine.

Planks – Simple but extremely effective at working deep into the core.

Spidermans – More compound ab exercise that will work your hips and lift the heart rate

So 4 exercises. How about doing 3 sets of each without break for 1 minute each. That is a total of 12 minutes and a great core workout that you can do 1-2 times a week. Stick to it for a month ans see the difference.

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