The Crazy Core Lady's Crazy Core Exercises
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Beginner:
Crunch - upper abs
Plank - Can be done either with arms straight or on elbows (sometimes referred to as a hover) - lower back, full abs, glutes, quads, and hamstrings, also some shoulder.
Side plank - full core with focus on obliques
Bicycle crunches - obliques (more of the front inner oblique)
Russian Twists - http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/russian-twist -- obliques front and back.
Frog kicks - Can be done on a bench or on the floor - upper and lower abs, hipflexors, a little bit of the arms
Glute Bridges - glutes, hamstrings, quads, lower abs, hip flexors
Heel Touches - crunch and tap the back of your calves or heels - upper abs
Supermans/Swimmers - back exercise - lower/mid back and some glutes
Back extensions - lower back and glutes/hamstrings
Woodchoppers - can be done with kb, cables, resistance bands (also adds some leg/shoulder/upper back into the mix) - obliques, back, abs, quads, glutes, shoulders, arms
25/75 situps - Start in the up position of a sit up, slowly lower to just above the ground (25% up) and come up to 75%. So never all the way up or all the way down. -- abs (mostly upper), back, and to some extent hip flexors and quads
Intermediate:
Roman/Captains chair Crunches or leg lifts - lower abs and hipflexors
incline situps - difficulty depends on angle of bench - abs, quads, hipflexors, and back to some extent
Leg lifts -- lower legs
Crunch to extension - So crunch in with your upper body and lower body then extend arms over head and legs out. Make sure your lower back stays flat on the floor. If it raises up, keep your legs higher. - all abs, back, hipflexors, and quads
Cable twists - obliques
Spider crunches - obliques full core for plank position
Leg lift to bottoms up/flag pole - basically leg lift to vertical then push hips up with a crunch and end on your traps. - lower abs, upper abs, glutes
Kettlebell Pirate ships - http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/kettlebell-pirate-ships - obliques, back, abs, shoulders.
Advanced:
Stability ball pikes - full core for plank, hipflexors, lower abs, some glute
Toes to bar - vertical leg lift from pull up bar - lower abs, shoulder/arm, hipflexor
Vertical leg raises/ crunches from dip bars - keep straight arms to engage shoulder stability - lower abs, back, shoulders, hipflexors
Barbell roll out - very similar to stability ball pikes
Hanging frog kicks - Frog kicks done from the pull up bar - see frog kicks and add in a butt load of upper body.
As for the GGS website, yes, those are good ones as well. The Pallof Press is a hard one. I like exercises like that because it helps the brain learn how to engage the core.
The list provided is nowhere near a exhaustive list. I learn about new ones all the time and there are some really good compound movements that support core, but are aimed at other primary muscle groups.0 -
Thanks so much! That's hugely helpful.
So when I make a superset of say, 3 exercises per superset - i should choose 3 that use different parts of the abs, but to cover as many parts as possible during one workout - did I get that right?
I've developed an ache in my upper back (between the shoulder blades) after my last core workout (it aches when I take a deep breath or try a rowing motion) - the workout had Farmers' walk, cable flexion, ball crunches (plain and weighted), Russian twist with dumbbells, plus plank on elbows (on a bench) - 2 sets each. Could I have over done some twisting movement perhaps?0 -
BUMP!0
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Thanks so much! That's hugely helpful.
So when I make a superset of say, 3 exercises per superset - i should choose 3 that use different parts of the abs, but to cover as many parts as possible during one workout - did I get that right?
I've developed an ache in my upper back (between the shoulder blades) after my last core workout (it aches when I take a deep breath or try a rowing motion) - the workout had Farmers' walk, cable flexion, ball crunches (plain and weighted), Russian twist with dumbbells, plus plank on elbows (on a bench) - 2 sets each. Could I have over done some twisting movement perhaps?
Yes, for super sets do one center core, one oblique, one back.....that will keep things balanced.
I know it has been a bit, but how is your back feeling? You may have pulled something doing a twisting movement. Make sure you keep your shoulders back and not rounded to the front. It is hard for me to know what caused the strain with those.0 -
Thank you so much for all your tips and for asking about my back - it is much better now. I initially tried working out with it, and it felt worse, so I decided to be smart and take a break of 3-4 days and today it's been fine. I think I over did the twisty moves all on one day, so I should design a more balanced core workout.0
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Hi again, I had a few more doubts.
Crunches : do you recommend doing them on the stability ball? or just on a mat?
Russian twist : I saw quite a few demos on the net and they all have some variation - some of them have the feet up in the air, others have the legs on the ground, some with weights, some without. Some stay up in a V-position right through, others say to come up, twist and lie back. If you could attach a link to which one you recommend - that would be great
Back extensions - would these be like the superman, but on the ground, alternate arm and leg raised?
On another forum i saw a recommendation to using the Ab roller - would you say this is worth adding to the list? If so, do I put it under the full-core options in a superset?
Thanks for all your help!0 -
Tagging reluctantly!0
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Glad you tagged it Lydia…I didn't see this before.
I love planks (well, I love what them when I'm done with them!) and was always trying to figure out how to combine side and regular planks. Now I have a new challenge!0 -
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Bump!! Great info!0
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oh my poor abs! those frog kicks .. wow!0
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Thanks for posting :flowerforyou:0
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Can't wait to try these exercises. Been thinking about putting together a core routine on non SL days. Thanks!0
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Hi again, I had a few more doubts.
Crunches : do you recommend doing them on the stability ball? or just on a mat?
Russian twist : I saw quite a few demos on the net and they all have some variation - some of them have the feet up in the air, others have the legs on the ground, some with weights, some without. Some stay up in a V-position right through, others say to come up, twist and lie back. If you could attach a link to which one you recommend - that would be great
Back extensions - would these be like the superman, but on the ground, alternate arm and leg raised?
On another forum i saw a recommendation to using the Ab roller - would you say this is worth adding to the list? If so, do I put it under the full-core options in a superset?
Thanks for all your help!
Crunches - either method works fine and you should do what you feel gives you the best contraction of the core. I do mine on a mat, but that is mostly due to not having stability balls early on in my learning.
Russian Twists - Yes, the variations on this one are numerous. I don't consider the crunch to twist a "Russian Twist" but they are a good exercise as well. Legs on the floor would be the starting position and legs raised with knees bent is the next level in difficulty. Keeping legs up and straight is taking it up another level. Start with what you can manage and then work towards the higher level in difficulty. It is the same is with the weights. Unweighted can allow for speed, but like with any strength training, some increase in difficulty should be aimed for. I don't have a "favorite" variation. Some times I go for slow controlled movement with a heavier weight, sometimes I go for lighter weight, but a more difficult leg position.
Back extensions - Yes, like the supermans.
The ab roller (or doing an ab rollout) is a good one as well. It can be difficult at first and you need to watch form and keep your back stable.0 -
Thanks, for all the tips and doubt clarifications!0
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oh my poor abs! those frog kicks .. wow!
I second this, along with stability ball pikes - ouch!0 -
Why bother with 7545642 different 'core exercises' when farmer's walk and squats can give you the same results? Not to mention they're easy on the lower back?0
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Why bother with 7545642 different 'core exercises' when farmer's walk and squats can give you the same results? Not to mention they're easy on the lower back?
I am seeing a sports medicine doctor for knee pain, and did quite a bit of physical therapy this year for knees, shoulder and SI joint pain. Both the doctor and pt have repeatedly told me I need to strengthen my core. I also starting doing goblet squats (3x week) last July, but clearly I still need to do more to get to where I need to be to avoid going back to chronic pain. That's my story anyway!0 -
Bump. Great info!0
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Why bother with 7545642 different 'core exercises' when farmer's walk and squats can give you the same results? Not to mention they're easy on the lower back?
The Rectus Abdominis (which is obviously part of the core) not only assists with stabilizing the lower back & hip complex but also is responsible for spinal flexion, lateral flexion, and rotation, none of which occur with the big lifts. This is the reason why, in addition to the big lifts, I do addition ab & core work0 -
Why bother with 7545642 different 'core exercises' when farmer's walk and squats can give you the same results? Not to mention they're easy on the lower back?
The Rectus Abdominis (which is obviously part of the core) not only assists with stabilizing the lower back & hip complex but also is responsible for spinal flexion, lateral flexion, and rotation, none of which occur with the big lifts. This is the reason why, in addition to the big lifts, I do addition ab & core work
QFT0 -
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bump-i need to start doing some of these0
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saving, so I can construct the ultimate core torture routine...0
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Bump and ty :flowerforyou:0
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what a great list of exercises ! I am going to start stonglifts hopefully monday of next week, just reading up about it first before I start. I was wondering about core exercises on the non stronglifts day.
thanks !0 -
Loving the list of exercises. Thank you0
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Yay! Can't wait to try some of these moves!0
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