The Right Exercises for the Core Workouts

Your goal of a flat stomach and a strong back is best achieved by making core workouts a part of your strength training regime. Exercising the core muscles should not be overlooked even though these are mainly comprised of muscles that you cannot even see.

So why are they important? Also known as the stabilizer muscles, the core group runs the length of the torso keeping your body balanced while supporting the spine. Not only does a strong core help in sports performance and for doing daily tasks, maintaining these muscles will give you better posture and will help control and even eliminate chronic lower back pain.

If you believe that abdominal and back exercises are serving the purpose for core workouts, think again. Core training exercises are more specific than just trying to do ab isolating exercises. There are hundreds of core exercises that will effectively train the stabilizers from all directions, and as a direct result, they will tighten up the abs and love handles as well.

What are the Core Muscles?

Generally the core muscles are those that are located in the mid torso the front belly and the mid and lower back.

The 29 major muscles that make up the core group include: the rectus abdominis (a.k.a. the six-pack), the internal and external obliques on the sides of the waist, and the deep transverse abdominis (TVA) which is located under the obliques. Next are those in the back: the erector spinae and multifidus running along the spine. Minor core muscles (but still important) include the pelvic floor made up of the glutes and hip flexors.

Stabilize your Core with Abdominal Bracing

During core workouts, you want to tense your stomach muscles as if you are about to be punched there, and hold that during the duration of each exercise. You should not do what is called the abdominal hollowing technique; that is, sucking in your belly button towards your spine which will result in you being off balance during the reps.
Studies show that bracing is more effective for stabilizing the lumbar spine than the hollowing technique.

Bracing causes the contraction of the abdominal group, but especially the TVA which is the primary core muscle. The idea is not to hold your breath during the exercise but simply breathe out and in while bracing as you would for any lift. This technique is important to core workouts since it will effectively allow the primary and secondary muscle groups to do their jobs. By tensing the ab muscles, the obliques and the TVA get the optimum workout. Hollowing, or sucking in your belly, calls for less
engagement of the obliques and the transverses in the exercise.

Try These Core Strength Exercises

To do the best core workouts all you need is just yourself and a mat. (You can use equipment such as a fitness ball to perform variations.) Bodyweight exercises are ideal for the core as long as you do them effectively using the abdominal bracing technique described above. The basic exercises for the core include:

Plank – the fundamental isolation exercise for the core
Side Plank
Supine Bridge
Bicycle exercise
Hanging Leg Raises
Hip Twists
Captain’s Chair
Ab crunch
Superman
Toe Touches
V-sits

The plank is more often seen in Yoga and Pilates but it should be done by anyone pursuing core workouts as well as bodyweight training techniques. It is the mack daddy of all exercises for your internal core ab group.

How to do the plank: lie face down with your elbows on floor next to your chest. Keeping your body and legs in a straight line, brace your abs and push up off the floor using your elbows as support. Only your elbow, forearms, and toes, will be in contact with the mat. Hold the pose for 30 seconds and do as many reps as you can.

Work the Core to Hit the Back and Abs

If you’ve even suffered back pain you are probably already looking for exercises to strengthen your back muscles and avoid future strains. Although brief, the list above is just a sample of the easy exercises that require no equipment and are recommended by trainers everywhere for effectively targeting the vital stabilizer muscles. By
taking some time to incorporate core workouts into your weekly training regime, you will be targeting the muscles that will help to protect the back and flatten the stomach, as well as improve your balance and coordination during other weight bearing workouts and daily activity.