When we talk about doing exercises to strengthen the core, we must remind ourselves that it is highly difficult to train our core muscles. The core muscles actually hold both the upper and lower half of your body together, which helps in maintaining your body stability. Your abdominals, hips, obliques and lower back are the areas of your body that normally go through the strength conditioning process. The core muscles mainly work to ensure proper body stability is developed in individuals. As you exercise the core area in your body, it helps strengthen the joints that are connected with the knees, shoulders, elbows, apart from providing increased energy as well as endurance for your arms and the legs. Further, these exercises help individuals in improving their performance in sports activities, apart from decreasing the chances of occurrence of injury in individuals.
Following are some of the exercises that can be performed by individuals to strengthen their core:
1. Russian Twist:
This is one of the workouts that tone your core, including other parts such as your shoulders, lower rectus abdominis muscle as well as the group of muscles present close to the top of the thighs. If you are able to do this exercise in the proper form, you will be able to obtain the desired results within a month. Apart from targeting your oblique muscles, this exercise provides you with strong and well-developed muscles and appearance around your stomach.
Equipment Required:
• No equipment is required for performing this exercise. However, you may use a dumbbell if you would like to, for performing this exercise with greater intensity. A heavy book can also be used by you for performing this exercise.
How to do this exercise?
• Start off by getting seated on the floor and keep your legs a little bent.
• Now, you can lean a bit behind, so that the upper body as well as your legs gets on to a V-shape position.
• You can keep a heavy object on your hands near your chest or you may keep the hands at the center for getting a balance.
• Now, you can begin to turn the torso from side to side while stopping at the center every time.
• You have completed one rep.
You can do about 2-3 sets comprising of 15 reps each on either side.
2. Cross-Body Mountain Climber:
This is one of the exercises that strengthen your core, besides targeting your abdominal area. With the cross-body movement taking place, this exercise helps you by engaging your obliques as well as the muscle groups close to the top of the thighs. Moreover, by doing this exercise, there is a tremendous improvement in your upper body strength, apart from keeping your chest and triceps stable.
Equipment Required:
• No equipment is required to perform this exercise. You may use a mat if you wish to, in order to perform this exercise.
How to do this exercise?
• Start by getting yourself onto a push up position and keep your hands a bit wider than shoulder-width apart.
• You must make sure to see that the body forms into a straight line starting right from your feet and reaching up to your head.
• You must keep your core tightened as well as be able to maintain the contraction for the entire time period.
• Now, bring your right knee onto your left elbow and come back to the starting position.
• Similarly, bring your left knee onto your right elbow and come back to the starting position.
You must keep your back flat at the time of doing the exercise so that you can protect yourself against any injury. You must continue to engage your core at all times when you are performing this exercise.
Try and repeat as many movements that you are comfortable with, at the time of doing this exercise.
3. Side Plank:
This is one of the exercises in which you will be using your body weight and gravity very effectively. This will in turn help burn a lot of fat, including increasing the strength of your obliques. Those who have been waiting to have a stronger core can start including the side plank exercise as a regular workout routine for themselves. Being a full body exercise, it also trains your hips, chest and the shoulder muscles.
Equipment Required:
• No equipment is required for performing this exercise.
How to do this exercise?
• You can start off with this exercise by lying on the floor to your right and pile the feet on top of each other.
• Keep your torso raised with the help of your right elbow beneath your shoulder.
• After contracting your core, start raising your hips till your body becomes parallel to the floor.
Try to hold on to this position as long as you can and subsequently you can gently drop down the hips.
Once you have finished on the right, you can turn to the left and once again repeat the movement.
You can try and complete three holds each for both the sides.
4. Spiderman Crawl:
This is an excellent core body workout that helps in increasing the strength of your core, including all of your abdominal muscles. Your oblique muscles are targeted at the time of performing this exercise. As you move onto a plank position, your core gets activated even more intense. Moreover, as you do the spiderman crawl, you stretch the whole leg starting from your hamstrings and subsequently your quads, calves and going up to your hips.
Equipment Required:
• No equipment is required for performing this exercise.
How to do this exercise?
• You can start off by lying down on a flat surface by getting into a plank position.
• Your arms should have a gap that will be at a distance that is a little wider than your shoulders.
• Now, you must start pulling your right knee to the outer part of your right elbow.
• Try and stay in the same position for a few seconds.
• You can again come back to the plank position and repeat the movement with your left elbow.
• You have completed one rep.
You can try and do at least 3 sets comprising of 20 reps each per set.
Image Source: www.coachmag.co.uk
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
