Core Exercises

Core exercises are designed to strengthen the back, abs and hip area, creating a solid foundation for a healthy, balanced body. By contrast, a person who just does endless amounts of bicep curls and bench presses while ignoring the core is asking for back trouble and will probably suffer from a general imbalance that can manifest itself in various minor but noticeable ways. Furthermore, while that person may look good, there's probably a "ceiling" of sorts created by this systemic imbalance that may make it hard to continue making progress after having hit a certain bench pressing threshold for example. In other words, including a couple core exercises into your regular workout routines is a good move for preventing injuries as well as certain continued speedy progress.

Five Core Exercises That Work

Here are five simple exercises that help build core strength in a quick and safe manner.

Abdominal Crunches

The abdominal crunch may look a lot like the classic situp, with one crucial difference; the crunch is a lot shorter, stopping where your shoulders are just a few inches off the floor, while the classic situp goes all the way up. This means that the crunch keeps the focus exclusively on abs, while the situp shifts the focus to the hip flexors. This is not necessarily terrible in itself, but we'll hit them enough as it is in the other exercises below. To perform an abdominal crunch, lie on the ground with hips at a 45-degree angle and knees at 90 degrees, feet firmly on the ground. Hold your hands by your ears or behind the bottom of the neck (not the back of the head) and slowly decrease the distance between your ribcage and your pelvis while pressing your lower back into the floor.

The Quadruped

With hands and knees on the floor, lift your right arm and hold it out straight ahead, parallel to the floor. At the same time, extend your left leg straight out behind you, also parallel to the floor. Hold for as long as you can, then alternate with left arm/right leg. It is important to keep your back straight -- tense up those abs and face the floor, don't tilt your head back to look straight ahead.

Deadlifts

Stand in front of a barbell and grab it with a wide, balanced grip. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, so your forearms will be against the outsides of your knees. Keep your back straight and your head up -- glancing towards the ceiling will help maintain the right angle. Lift straight up to a standing position without overextending backwards, then make a controlled descent to the starting position. This exercise involves legs, hips, back and even arms to some degree, making it one of the most effective core exercises there is.

The Plank

Place yourself facedown on the floor with your entire bodyweight resting on your toes (feet close together) and your elbows/forearms (also close together). Keep your body straight as a fire poker with your eyes on the floor -- no sagging, no looking up. This is a static exercise, meaning you just get into this position and try to hold it for as long as possible.

Plank Sidestands

Similar to the basic plank, you move to your side so you rest on only one elbow/forearm and the side of one foot. The other foot should rest on top of the first, and the "spare" arm should rest against the side of your body. Again, this is a static exercise, and the point is to keep an absolutely straight body for as long as possible. Alternate sides as soon as you're done on the first side.

Variations

There are many variations on the exercises outlined above, and many other, entirely different exercises that also target the core musculature quite efficiently. Experiment a bit. Your body thrives on new challenges, so make it a point to shake things up every couple weeks. Good luck!

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