At Everybodys we are often asked “what are the best core exercises?”
Most people would say Crunches or sit ups but we are talkong about the core!
CORE
A common misconception is that exercising your core simply means working your abdominal muscles. Core exercises also strengthen your hips, back and all muscles in the midsection of the body. The core is your center of gravity and where all body movements begin.
1. Plank Variations
If you’re just starting out on your journey to get fit and healthy, planks can make a good starting point.
The only problem is that the standard plank quickly becomes too easy (the world record for the longest held plank is 1 hour and 20 minutes!)
If you want to build a strong and muscular core, you need to challenge yourself in new ways. SEE YOUR TRAINERS FOR ADVICE
2. Reverse Crunches
These are reverse crunches which, as the name suggests, are the opposite of regular crunches. And unlike regular crunches, they help improve your posture.
It’s important that you keep your core tight throughout this exercise.
3. TRX Fallouts
Ab wheel rollouts are thought to be one of the most effective exercises.
But as the name suggests, you need an ab wheel to perform them. You probably don’t have room for an ab wheel in your suitcase or backpack, so the next best thing is a suspension trainer (such as TRX).
Using a suspension trainer, you can perform fallouts, which challenge your core in much the same way as the ab wheel.
One added benefit of using a suspension trainer is that it is easy to adjust the difficulty of the exercise. If you stand close to upright it will be fairly easy, but if you lengthen the straps and lower yourself closer to the ground it will be much tougher.
4. Hanging Leg-Raises
To do hanging leg-raises you’ll need something to hold on to.
Get the eblow straps in the gym or hang from a bar to proform.
They’re a relatively simple looking exercise, but believe me; they’re tough.
If you’re struggling, start by bending your leg and raising your knees to your chest instead.
For any advice on how to proform these exercises safely and effectively please ask your trainers or pop into the gym.
Everybody’s Gym Team.
