How do I strengthen my core?

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ShandaLeaS
ShandaLeaS Posts: 136 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Sorry if its a 'dumb' question but I'm pretty clueless about exercise. I currently walk 4-5 miles a day and use a stationary bike but both kill my back. Any ideas on things I could do at home to start helping would be greatly appreciated!

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  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    You strengthen your core by using it. Find activities that challenge your core, and get better at them. Can be sports, can be resistance training, can be a lot of things.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    Have a look at nerdfitness.com. It has a good body weight routine that you can build towards completing, and then making more complex. It is a challenge to begin with if you have little strength, but gives you a goal that is achievable. Baby steps.

    Cheers, h.
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
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    I do some compound lifts that include core, but I also perform sit-ups, planks and hanging leg raises.
    It's a simple area to hit.
  • Ironmaiden4life
    Ironmaiden4life Posts: 422 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Not a dumb question at all. Start with exercises that target the transverse abs (inner layer of abdominal muscle) planks, stomach vacuums and glute bridges are all excellent exersises to begin with. Think of it like building a house, you need a strong foundation to build on and essential this is what the transverse abdominals are, your foundation. You also need to add in exercises to stabilize and strengthen your back, supermen and bird dog holds are excellent.

    As you get stronger you can progress the plank to more challenging variations and add other abdominal exercises including ones that target the obliques.
  • ShandaLeaS
    ShandaLeaS Posts: 136 Member
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    Thanks for the replies and names of the exercises so I can look up how to do them! I appreciate the help
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
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    Planks with your feet on a medicine ball - ouch but excellent core strengthening exercise!
  • erimethia_fekre
    erimethia_fekre Posts: 317 Member
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    ShandaLeaS wrote: »
    Sorry if its a 'dumb' question but I'm pretty clueless about exercise. I currently walk 4-5 miles a day and use a stationary bike but both kill my back. Any ideas on things I could do at home to start helping would be greatly appreciated!

    Push up and planks
  • jersey_54
    jersey_54 Posts: 278 Member
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    Basically every ab exersise with weights
  • rosestring
    rosestring Posts: 225 Member
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    I have found that Pilates is a godsend for strengthening the core.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    jersey_54 wrote: »
    Basically every ab exersise with weights

    There is much more to the core than the abs

    From this article by Tony Gentilecore
    http://tonygentilcore.com/2015/08/unconventional-core-training/

    Excerpt:
    The core is so much more than what we can see on a magazine cover. There's the pelvic floor on the bottom, the diaphragm at the top, the rectus abdominis in the front, the obliques (internal & external) on the sides, and the erectors as well as all the "ancillary" support musculature: paraspinals, multifidi, longissimus, iliocostalis (lumborum & thoracis), etc, in the back.

    It's more or less a canister.

    In fact, the "core" consists of everything from the neck line down to the hips: pecs, lats, glutes, the sexy"v-taper" leading down to you know where, everything. Or, to be overly simplistic: everything not including the legs, arms, and head.

    And its main job, contrary to popular belief, is not to crunch or perform countless sit-ups. Rather, the core's main function is to counteract rotary movement so that force can be more easily (and efficiently) transferred from the lower body to the upper body, and vice versa.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    ShandaLeaS wrote: »
    Sorry if its a 'dumb' question but I'm pretty clueless about exercise. I currently walk 4-5 miles a day and use a stationary bike but both kill my back. Any ideas on things I could do at home to start helping would be greatly appreciated!

    A stationary bike shouldn't kill your back. Sounds like you'd benefit from a trip to a physical therapist or a sports doctor. Doing random exercises from the internet may make your situation worse.
  • XavierNusum
    XavierNusum Posts: 720 Member
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    Yoga, Pilates or heavy compound lifts!
  • gdp328
    gdp328 Posts: 1 Member
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    I use kettlebell workouts
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Planks are excellent....as is any strength workout..
    Also I find the core strengthens well if you remember to constantly pull it in - it becomes second nature to hold the abs in after a while, I don't even have to think about it. Even when I was overweight I did this and I feel it was the main reason that I always had a smallish waist even then and no spare tyre...
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    Compound lifts/movements like squats, bench, deadlift, etc. all engage the core and help to strengthen it. Planks, in all sorts of variations, are awesome as well. You might enjoy some yoga and/or Pilates that are core focused to help you learn to engage your core and give it strength, too.

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