Although nothing can compare to compound exercises like deadlifts, squats, overhead press and barbell rows when it comes to working the core muscles, sometimes the core also need some specialized work. Here are 5 workouts that work your core directly. You can do them at the end of every workout:
Workout #1
Exercise #1 – Hanging leg raises
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10 on both sides
Hold onto a pull-up bar and let yourself hang while keeping the back rigid. Next, raise the legs as high as you possibly can, while twisting the lower back muscles. If raising them too high is hard for you, raising them to waist level is enough for starters.
Exercise #2 – Bicycle crunch
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10 on both sides
Lie on the back, extend one leg and bring the opposite knee to the chest. Place the hands behind the head and touch the opposite elbow to the close knee. Twist the body and again touch your other elbow to the other knee.
Exercise #3 – Romanian dumbbell deadlift
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 15
Grab a pair of dumbbells holding them by your side at arm’s length. Stand with your torso straight and your legs spaced using a shoulder width or narrower stance. The knees should be slightly bent.
Keeping the knees stationary, lower the dumbbells to over the top of your feet by bending at the waist while keeping your back straight. Keep moving forward as if you were going to pick something from the floor until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. This is the part where you exhale.
Return to the starting position with your back straight. Perform 4 sets of 15 reps.
Workout #2
Exercise #1 – Barbell rollouts
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10
Put some light weight plates on a barbell and put it on the ground. Grab the bar with both hands at shoulder-width and kneel on the ground in a way that the bar would be positioned in front of the chest. Keep the core firm, roll forward as fast as you possibly can until the lower back muscles start to sag. Contract the lats tight and go back to the starting position.
Exercise #2 – Cable wood chop
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10
Connect a rope handle with a low pulley of a cable machine and step backward as far enough from the machine so that there is tension in the cable. Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart and split the legs, in a way that one foot is 3 or 4 feet in front of the other. Rotate the torso diagonally upwards until you reach over your head, much like doing a chopping move. Complete the reps and repeat with the opposite side.
Exercise #3 – Back extensions
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10
Grab a weight plate and hold it onto the chest and lock the legs in a back extension machine. Allow the torso to bend in a forward motion until you feel that you start losing the arch in the lower back. Stop there. Extend the back in a way that the torso is in a straight line. Don’t arch the back too much.
Workout #3
Exercise #1 – Plank Mountain Climber
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 15 on both sides
Get yourself into a push-up position and lower the elbows to the ground in a way that the forearms are placed flat on the ground. Move one knee to the elbow, then move it back rapidly, while pulling the opposite knee to the opposite elbow.
Exercise #2 – Cable wood chop
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10
Connect a rope handle with a low pulley of a cable machine and step backward as far enough from the machine so that there is tension in the cable. Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart and split the legs, in a way that one foot is 3 or 4 feet in front of the other. Rotate the torso diagonally upwards until you reach over your head, much like doing a chopping move. Complete the reps and repeat with the opposite side.
Exercise #3 – Dumbbell Russian twist
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 15 on both sides
Get a medicine ball, weight plate or a dumbbell and sit on the ground and raise the feet slightly above the ground. Hold the load straight in front of you and keep the spine rigid. The torso is supposed to be around 45 degrees from the ground. Twist the torso in an explosive manner as much as you can to the left and then to the right.
Workout #4
Exercise #1 – Renegade rows
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10 on both sides
Grab a dumbbell or a kettlebell with both hands and get yourself into a push-up position. Shift the weight to the right side while keeping the torso and legs rigid. Row the left-hand dumbbell the left side, while keeping the body parallel to the floor. Lower it down to the ground, then do the same thing with the right hand.
Exercise #2 – Decline sit-ups
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 10
Lie on a decline bench and secure the legs in the braces. Contract the abs and raise the torso off the decline bench until you get to a sitting position.
Exercise #3 – Back extensions
Number of sets: 3
Number of reps: 20
Workout #5
Exercise #1 – Bicycle crunch
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 20
Exercise #2 – Hanging leg raise
Number of sets: 4
Number of reps: 20
Exercise #3 – Back extensions
Number of sets: 3
Number of reps: 20