4 Simple Exercises to Make your Core Stronger
In this article, we present to you 4 simple exercises to make your core stronger and will give you a stable and strong midsection. Some of the exercises are done on your knees; when you eliminate the feet and legs from keeping you stable, you are forced to work your core harder, which will have a great impact on your abs.
Incorporate these movements into your training regimen and you’ll see really fast results in the form of a flatter stomach, shrinking waist, more endure and more muscle which translated into more calories and fat being burned.
Always remember to keep the abdominal muscles tight and engaged throughout the movements to get the most benefit.
1.Plank
Do a plank for 30 seconds. Plank is an excellent isometric exercise to correct all the imbalances we have acquired from improper body position while hunched over desks in our office, the steering wheel. Crunches may not be the best corrective exercise since they may only exacerbate our neck and back problems. A plank will force the core to support the entire body.
Lie with your face down by resting on the forearms. Press up from the floor on the toes and rest on the elbows. Keep the back rigid and flat, contract the abs while holding the body in a straight line from head to heels. Don’t let your behind sag or stick it upwards. Keep the head up and your shoulders down.
2.Crab twist
Your oblique abdominals will get the greatest effect from this movement. Use the arm and the foot that are placed on the floor to help the core stabilize. If that’s too hard for you, place both hands on the floor.
Sit on the ground with the knees bent in the front, with your feet hip-width apart on the ground. Place the hands at shoulder-width apart on the ground behind you. Lift the butt in a way that the body is in reverse tabletop position. Extend the right leg and put the left leg behind the head with your elbow out. Crunch in a diagonal direction, bringing the right knee to the left elbow. That constitutes one rep. Do 10 reps, and then do 10 reps with the opposite knee and elbow.
3.Bird dog
This is a movement which is practiced a lot in Pilates and yoga and it uses the core to extend and contract the legs and arms.
Get down on the floor on your hands and knees and keep the palms flat on the floor at a shoulder-width. Relax the core in a way that the lower back and abs are in a natural position. Brace the abs and raise the right arm and left leg until the form a straight line with the body. Hold that position for 5-10 seconds and then go back to the starting position. Brace the abs and raise the right arm and left leg until they form a straight line with your body. Hold the position for 5-10 seconds. Then go back to the starting position. Repeat the same movement with the left arm and right leg.
4.Kneeling clamshell
This movement is a bit too difficult for you, go for a regular side plank. Lie on the side and get yourself up on the elbow with the elbow positioned under the shoulder. Bend both knees at a 45-degree angle, putting one knee on top of the other. Put the other hand on the hip. Squeeze your lower oblique abdominal so that the torso and the hips remain lifted. Whilst keeping the feet together and your hips lifted, raise the right knee as high as you can without parting the heels away. Pause, and then go back to the starting position.
