Bird dog works all the same muscles as bicycle crunches but with less pressure on the neck and back.Stephanie Mansour / Illustration
As a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor, I pride myself on being able to teach my clients how to really engage their core. Many people are shocked that they’ve been working out for decades and have never felt their core turn on like it does during our workouts! This is because Pilates focuses on precise engagement of the core muscles while using the limbs to make it more challenging.
If you’re a beginner, you may be at an advantage, since you don’t have to fight the muscle memory from years of doing core exercises without the proper activation of your deepest core muscles. You'll learn proper form from the onset!
Exercises For Ibs Relief
These exercises are not only more effective at strengthening and toning, but studies show that core strength training focused on the deep trunk muscles can help alleviate chronic lower back pain. So whether you’re starting from scratch or you’ve been working your core for years but don’t “feel the burn” anymore, this beginner core workout is for you. These exercises will help you reconnect with your core muscles and activate them in a more effective way.
This move works the same muscles as the bicycle crunch, but from a different position. Get on all fours with your palms and knees on the ground. Straighten your left arm out in front of you and your right leg out behind you, balancing on your opposite hand and knee. Hold for a few breaths. For an added challenge, bend your left elbow and your right knee in until they touch underneath your stomach. Switch sides and repeat using your right arm and left leg. Continue alternating, performing 10 reps on each side.
Lying on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the ground. Make sure your feet are open as wide as your hips. Reach your arms down toward your feet. Take a deep breath in and feel your low back arch slightly off of the ground. Then exhale as you tilt your pelvis forward and press your low back into the ground. Pull your naval in toward your spine as if you’re zipping into a tight pair of pants. Release and repeat 10 times.
Diastasis Recti Exercises (video)
Come into the pelvic tilt position from the exercise above. From this tilted position with your low back pressed into the ground, place your hands behind your head. Exhale as you curl up with your head, neck and chest. Pretend that you’re holding an egg in between your chin and your chest that you don’t want to crack. Then gently pulse upwards 10 times and rest.
Lying on your back, place your left foot on the ground with your knee bent and lift your right leg up toward the ceiling. Tilt the pelvis to press your low back into the ground. Hold this pelvic tilt as you lower the right leg down toward the ground, stopping at about 45 degrees, then bring it back up to center. Repeat 10 times and then switch legs.
Begin lying on your back with your feet straight out in front of you. Lift your legs straight up toward the ceiling, engaging your abs. Exhale as you slowly lower your legs toward the mat to a 45-degree angle. Inhale as you lift your legs again. Repeat 10 times.
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Start lying on your back with your hands behind your head. Slowly lift your shoulders off of the floor and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle, looking at your thighs. Squeeze your abs while you reach your right elbow toward your left knee while straightening your right leg. Move through center and then reach your left elbow toward your right knee, straightening the left leg. Alternate for about 30 seconds.
Lie face down on the floor. Place your forearms flat on the mat and bend your knees so that they are touching the mat. Engage your core and lift your body up off the mat, creating a straight line from your head to your heels. For a modification, keep your knees on the mat. This modified plank ensures core engagement while increasing balance and decreasing risk of injury.
Stephanie Mansour is a contributing health and fitness writer for . She is a certified personal trainer, yoga and Pilates instructor and weight-loss coach for women. She hosts “Step It Up with Steph” on PBS. Join her complimentary health and weight-loss challenge and follow her for daily inspiration on Instagram and in her new app.Associate Director of Fitness Programming Michelle Grabau gave birth to her daughter Mia in June 2021. One year later, she says her core is stronger than ever, though she hasn’t done a single sit-up since finding out she was pregnant.
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Why? Because traditional sit-ups only target the rectus abdominus, or the bulging muscles that create your “six pack.” Grabau says a truly solid midsection requires core exercises to target the muscles that surround those six-pack muscles: the transverse abdominus, internal and external obliques, erector spinae, the diaphragm, and pelvic floor.
“Having a six-pack is great, but it’s essential to build a strong and stable base to allow you to perform powerful, complex movements and support your body, especially when it’s under load, ” she says.
While these core exercises may give you more visible abdominal muscles, the real benefit will be felt when you lift your kids up to the top bunk, swing your suitcase into the trunk, or head outside to chop some firewood. Here are 9 core exercises you can do at home for a rock-solid midsection.
Medium Is The Message
The Benefit: So many of us spend hours each day bent over phones and laptops. This exercise counters that position, restoring balance to the body by strengthening the erector spinae and glute muscles of the posterior chain.
The How: Lie face down. Extend the arms upward and out, at about a 45-degree angle from your head. Extend your legs hip-distance apart. Imagine strings from the ceiling pulling all four limbs off the floor. As you lift up, engage your back and glutes and balance on your pelvis and low belly. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.
The Benefit: Like all planks, the bear hold builds strength to prevent you from extending your back. “This variation is more active than a traditional plank, engaging the hips, quads, and transverse abdominus, which wraps around the lower trunk like a corset, ” says Grabau. To make it more dynamic, try a bear crawl, moving forward and backward while holding the trunk in the same stable position.
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The How: Start on all fours on a mat, with your knees under your hips, wrists under your shoulders, and your toes tucked. While keeping your torso and limbs stationary, lift your knees an inch off the floor and hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.
The Benefit: “The bird dog is a classic anti-rotation exercise, ” says Grabau. It strengthens the core, hips and back muscles, increases range of motion, encourages stability and a neutral spine, and can help to alleviate lower back pain.
The How: Start on your hands and knees, with your wrists under your shoulders, knees under your hips and your toes tucked. Lift one arm out in front of you, with the thumb toward the ceiling, while simultaneously extending the opposite leg behind you. Engage the core to keep the hips level. Lower your arm and leg and switch to the other side. Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps on each side.
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The Benefit: This is a great beginner exercise that teaches you to hold a position under tension and rotation. To modify, Grabau suggests dropping the bottom knee to the ground or elevating the supporting arm on a bench.
The How: Begin on your left with your elbow on the mat directly under your shoulder and your feet stacked on top of one another. Engage your core to lift your hips away from the floor, creating a straight line from your hips to your feet. Reach your right arm underneath your torso and rotate your body as if you’re trying to grab something on the floor behind you. Unwind and repeat. Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps on each side.
The Benefit: While this move works the quads and glutes, it is also a sneaky core exercise. “Goblet squats are great because you have to really engage your core and upper back and work hard to resist the weight pulling you forward into spinal flexion, ” Grabau says.
Strength & Conditioning Exercises
The How: Hold the handles at your chest with your thumbs wrapped around the top and position it in front of your chest. With your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes slightly turned out, send your hips back and down like you’re sitting into a chair. Push through your heels to stand tall, powering the hips toward and repeat. Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps.
The Benefit: Because the weight is unbalanced in this unilateral move, your core works overtime to keep you from tipping to one side. “This exercise especially targets the obliques, and is
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