Get a Stronger Core in 2 Weeks

 Benefits of core training•

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Tightens the abdominal structures involved in movement andimproves the transfer of power to and from the extremities.Teaches the muscles to work together efficiently andeffectively.Aids in the prevention of injury.Strengthens and improves the torso’s stabilization.Can improve respiratory function.Facilitates proper distribution of weight and assists the body inabsorption of force and transfer of forces.Enhances neuromuscular efficiency throughout the body andneuromuscular control for efficient movement and physicalpositioning.Improves spinal and postural control while the body is still andin motion.Helps to stabilize and align the spine, ribs and pelvis of aperson to withstand static and dynamic force.Tightens and flattens the tummy.

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Note:Progression of load should be increasedin every three daysDay 1 to 3 - 45 secDay 4to 6 - 50 secDay 7 to 9 - 55 secDay 10 to 12- 60sec

Plank

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recovery betweennext exercise one

min

1

"Holding the plank position takes strength and endurancein your abs, back, and core.Exercise Procedure Rest your forearms on the floor, with your elbows directlyunderneath your shoulders and hands facing forward sothat your arms are parallel.Extend your legs out behind you and rest your toes on thefloor. Your body should form one straight line from yourshoulders to your heels.Squeeze your entire core, your glutes, and your quads, andtuck your butt under a little to keep your lower back straight.Make sure you are not dropping your hips or hiking yourbutt up high toward the ceiling.Position your head so that your neck is in a neutral positionand your gaze is on your hands.Hold this position.

PantherShoulder Tap

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoverybetween

nextexercise one

min

2

"I absolutely love training my core from a bear crawlposition.Exercise Procedure Start on all fours.Engage your core and while keeping your back flatand your butt down (like you're in a plank), lift yourknees off the floor about 1-3 inches. Gaze at thefloor a few inches in front of your hands to keepyour neck in a comfortable position.Tap your right hand to your left shoulder, and thenyour left hand to your right shoulder, while usingyour core strength to keep your hips as still as youcan.Continue alternating sides.

Butterfly Sit-up

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recovery

between nextexercise one

min

"Putting your legs in the butterfly position eliminates theoption to use the hip flexors, Exercise Procedure Lie face up with the soles of your feet together,knees bent out to sides. Reach your arms overhead.This is starting position.Using your core, roll your body up until you aresitting upright. Reach forward to touch your toes.That's 1 rep.Slowly lower back down to starting position andcontinue immediately into the next rep.

Dead Bug

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoverybetween

nextexercise one

min

"This is great for connecting your mind and to your core.

Exercise ProcedureLie face up with your arms extended toward the ceilingand your legs in a tabletop position (knees bent 90 degreesand stacked over your hips). This is starting position.Slowly extend your right leg out straight, whilesimultaneously dropping your left arm overhead. Keepboth a few inches from the ground. Squeeze your butt andkeep your core engaged the entire time, lower backpressed into the floor.Bring your arm and leg back to the starting position.Repeat on the other side, extending your left leg and yourright arm.

HalfKneeling

Wood Chop

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoverybetween

nextexercise one

min

"I love the wood chop because it requires you to work inthe transverse plane.Exercise Procedure Start on your knees, and then step one leg a few feet infront of the other, foot flat on the floor and knee bent at 90degrees. Hold a light-to-medium dumbbell by the kneethat's on the floor. Grasp onto both ends of the weight.This is starting position.Bring the weight diagonally up toward the ceiling on theopposite side of your body, twisting your abs as you do.Keep your hips facing forward—only your core musclesshould be rotating.Bring the weight back down to starting position.Do all your reps on one side, and then repeat on the otherside.

High Boat toLow Boat

Training

Instruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This exercise strengthens the hip flexors, erector spinae.Exercise Procedure Sit up straight with your legs bent, feet flat on the floor.Keeping your legs together, slowly lift them off the floor until they forma 45-degree angle to your torso. Engage your entire core, keep yourback flat, and balance on your tailbone.You can keep your knees bent (as pictured) or straighten them out formore of a challenge.Reach your arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the floor. If youfeel that you need some extra support, place your hands on the floor,underneath your hips.This is High Boat. Hold here for three deep breaths.Then, lower your legs, straightening them out, while also lowering yourupper body. Both your shoulder blades and legs should hover a fewinches off the floor. If that is too challenging, keep them slightly higheroff the floor and work toward bringing them lower and lower.This is Low Boat. Hold for one breath, and then lift your legs and torsoback to High Boat.

Body Saw

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This is one of my favorite core exercises because itbuilds both core strength and stability.Exercise Procedure Put your toes on a set of gliders or towels and then getinto a forearm plank with your forearms on the floor,elbows directly underneath your shoulders, hands facingforward so that your arms are parallel, and legs extendedbehind you. Tuck your tailbone and engage your core, butt,and quads. This is starting position.Slowly push with your forearms and elbows to slide thegliders or towels back toward the wall behind you. Moveas far as you can without losing core engagement. Don'tlet your hips sag.Slowly pull with your arms and elbows to return to thestarting position.

Side Bend

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This exercise activates the deep core muscles and theobliques.Exercise Procedure Start in a side plank with your right hand on thefloor, directly underneath your right shoulder, andyour feet staggered so the left is right in front ofthe right (as shown). You can also stack your leftfoot on top of your right.Engage your core and your butt. Let your left armrelax by your left side.Dip your hips down toward the ground and then liftthem back up. This is 1 rep.Do all your reps on one side, and then repeat onthe other side.

Jackknife

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This is my go-to core exercise because it’s a completecore exercise.Exercise Procedure Lie face up with your legs extended and armsextended overhead on the floor, keeping themclose to your ears. Contract your abs to press yourlow back into ground. This is starting position.Point your toes, squeeze your thighs together,squeeze your glutes, and simultaneously lift yourlegs and upper back off the ground, reaching yourhands forward to meet your feet so that your bodyforms a V.Keep your core engaged as you slowly lower toreturn to starting position.

Hollow Holdto Jackknife

Training

Instruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" I love to combine these two exercises into one killer core workout.Exercise Procedure Lie face up with your legs extended and arms straight over yourhead, keeping them close to your ears.Contract your abs to press your low back into ground.Point your toes, squeeze your thighs together, squeeze yourglutes, and lift your legs off the ground.Lift your shoulders off the ground and keep your head in aneutral position so that you're not straining your neck. Your legsand mid-back should both be off the ground, and you should bein the shape of a banana with just your low back and hips on theground. This is starting position, a hollow hold.Stay in the hollow hold position for as long as you can, up to 10seconds.Then, lift your arms and legs to meet so that your body forms a "V" hold for a breath, and slowly lower back down to hollow holdposition.

Hollow BodyRock

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" The Hollow Body Rock works basically the entire core.Exercise Procedure Lie face up with your legs extended and arms straightover your head, keeping them close to your ears.Contract your abs to press your low back into ground.Point your toes, squeeze your thighs together, squeezeyour glutes, and lift your legs off the ground.Lift your shoulders off the ground and keep your head in aneutral position so that you're not straining your neck. Yourlegs and mid-back should both be off the ground, and youshould be in the shape of a banana with just your low backand hips on the ground. This is starting position.Slowly rock forward and back, keeping everything tight, tothe point that your feet and hands nearly touch the floor.If this is too difficult, get into the starting position andsimply hold

C-Curve

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This is an isometric hold in the most intense part of a sit-up.Exercise Procedure Sit on your tailbone with your knees bent and feetflat on the floor. Hold onto each leg just above theknee.Round your spine, tuck your tailbone, and begin tolower your torso back, as if you were loweringback after a sit-up.About halfway (like in the photo above), stop andhold. Keep your entire core and your quadsengaged.For an extra challenge, let go of your legs and justhold your arms out in front of you.

Wheelbarrow

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This is one of those moves that really helps me mentallyconnect to my core.Exercise Procedure Start on all fours with a glider or towel undereach hand. Squeeze your core and tuck yourtailbone so that your back is flat, like you'redoing a plank from your knees. This is startingposition.Slowly push your hands in front of you, keepingyour arms straight. Glide as far as you can whilestill maintaining your torso in a plank position.Press into the floor and pull your arms back toreturn to starting position

Leg Raise

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This exercise hits the lower abdominal area.Exercise Procedure Lie face up with your legs extended and hands atyour sides or tucked underneath your hips for extrasupport.Slowly raise your legs, keeping them together andas straight as possible, until the soles of yourshoes are facing the ceiling.Then, slowly lower your legs back down. Don’t letyour feet touch the floor; instead, keep themhovering a few inches off. That's 1 rep.As you do this move, make sure to keep your lowerback flat on the floor. If you're having a tough timedoing that, don't lower your legs as far

Tabletop LegPress

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This is a really good exercise if you have backissues.Exercise Procedure Lie face up with your legs raised in a tabletopposition (knees bent 90 degrees and stackedover your hips).Contract your abs to press your low back intoground. Crunch up just a few inches and placeyour hands on the front of your quads.Drive your quads into your hands whilesimultaneously pressing them away. Thereshould be no visible movement in your body,but you should feel the battle and intensetension in your core.

Row YourBoat

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" I can specifically feel my oblique muscles working in thisexercise.Exercise ProcedureSit up straight with your legs bent, feet flat on the floor.Keeping your legs together, slowly lift them off the floor until they forma 45-degree angle to your torso. Engage your entire core, keep yourback flat, and balance on your tailbone.You can keep your knees bent (as pictured) or straighten them out formore of a challenge.Reach your arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the floor. If youfeel that you need some extra support, place your hands on the floor,underneath your hips. This is High Boat.From here, clasp your hands in front of you and twist at the waisttoward one side, swinging your arms to the same side as if you had anoar in your hands and you were rowing.Immediately twist to the opposite side and repeat the same armmovement.Continue alternating sides.

Single-LegJackknife

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

 it is a real ab burner, getting the rectus abdominus.Exercise ProcedureLie face up with your legs extended and arms byyour sides. Contract your abs to press your lowback into ground. This is starting position.Squeeze your thighs together, squeeze your glutes,and simultaneously lift your left leg and upperback off the ground, reaching your right handforward to meet your left foot. Your torso and yourleft leg should form a V.Keep your core engaged as you slowly lower toreturn to starting position.Repeat with the opposite leg and arm. Continuealternating sides

Hip Dip

TrainingInstruction

45sec

Recoveryone min

" This movement helps to tighten and strengthen thetransverse abominis and obliques.Exercise Procedure Start in a forearm plank with your forearms on thefloor, elbows directly underneath your shoulders,hands facing forward so that your arms areparallel, and legs extended behind you. Tuck yourtailbone and engage your core, butt, and quads.Rotate your hips to the left side and tap the floor.Repeat on the right side.Continue alternating sides.

Warm down stretching exercises