10 Best Core Exercises For Beginner to Advanced: For general fitness and functional movement, you need a strong core. Whether you’re new to fitness or an experienced pro, you need to include core exercises in your practice.
10 Best Core Exercises For Beginner to Advanced
1. Plank
For beginners: Do a push-up with your elbows on the ground and your body in a straight line from your head to your feet to start a standard plank. Stay in this spot for 20 to 30 seconds.
Advanced: Lift one leg off the ground while staying in a stable plank pose to move on to a plank with leg lifts. Switch legs and do 10 to 15 reps on each side.
2. Russian Twists
For beginners: put your feet flat on the floor and bend your knees. Hold your hands together, lean back a little, and engage your core. Keep your core tight as you turn your body to the right and then to the left. Try to do 10 to 12 turns on each side.
Advanced: For a more difficult workout, hold a dumbbell or medicine ball in your hands and twist from side to side. This will make the exercise harder for your core muscles.
3. Bicycle Crunches
For beginners:Lay on your back with your hands behind your head and your legs straight out in front of you. Bend your knees so they are 90 degrees. While your right leg is straight, bring your right arm to your left knee. Do it again on the other side. Do 10 to 12 reps on each side.
Advanced: Do more bicycle crunches, but make sure to keep good form and control throughout the movement as you speed up and extend the range of motion.
4. Dead Bug
For beginners: lie on your back with your legs straight out in front of you and your knees bent 90 degrees. Keep your lower back pressed into the ground as you drop your right arm and left leg to the floor. Go back to where you started and do it again on the other side. Do 10 to 12 reps on each side.
Advanced: Straighten your legs and bring them closer to the floor while keeping your core muscles tight and stable.
5. Mountain Climbers
For beginners: Start by doing a high plank with your arms straight under your shoulders. Slowly bring each knee to your chest, moving from one leg to the other like you’re running. Strive for 20 to 30 seconds.
Advanced: Speed up and intensify the mountain climbers. Aim for a faster pace while still keeping your form and posture correct.
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6. Bird Dog
For beginners: Start by getting down on your hands and knees. Make sure your knees are under your hips and your arms are under your shoulders. Keep your hips straight and reach your right arm forward and your left leg back. Hold for a few seconds, then go back to the beginning and switch sides. Do 8 to 10 reps on each side.
Advanced: To make it harder and work your core muscles even more, wrap a resistance band around your feet or legs.
7. Leg Raises
For beginners: Lay on your back and hold yourself with your hands under your glutes. Keep your legs straight or slightly bent at the knees as you lift them up towards the ceiling. Bring them back down to the floor without touching, and do it again. Try to do 10 to 12 reps.
Advanced: Heavy ankle weights or a medicine ball between your feet can be added to make the workout harder and more resistant.
8. Side Plank
For beginners: Lay on your side with your legs stacked on top of each other and your arm right under your shoulder. Making a straight line from your head to your feet, lift your hips off the ground. Each side should be held for 20 to 30 seconds.
For an advanced workout, lift your top arm up to the sky or do a hip dip by lowering your hips to the floor and then lifting them back up.
9. V-Ups
For beginners: lie on your back with your legs straight and your arms stretched out over your head. As you lift your legs and upper body at the same time and reach for your toes, engage your core. Slowly lower your back down, and do this eight to ten times.
Advanced: Hold a light bar or medicine ball in your hands while you do v-ups to make the exercise harder on your core muscles.
10. Stability Ball Rollouts
For beginners: Kneel on the ground and put a stability ball in front of you. Slowly roll the ball away from you while putting your arms out in front of you. Do not bend over, and keep your back straight. To get back to where you started, roll the ball back towards you. Try to do 8–10 reps.
Advanced: Do the stability ball rollouts while standing up, which will make your core stability and balance even more difficult.
Conclusion
Adding these 10 core exercises to your workout routine will help you build a strong and stable core. You can start with easier versions and work your way up to more difficult ones. Pay attention to your form, use your core muscles during every exercise, and slowly raise the pressure as you get stronger. Not only will strengthening your core help you do better in sports, it will also help you stand up straighter and lower your risk of injury in everyday life.
