Coregasm is the buzzword in the fitness circles. Here are few simple steps for a core workout that also target your core, abs and back.
Sedentary lives can cause our core muscles to weaken and prone to strain or injury. The core is all of the muscles that are deep within the abs and back, attaching to the spine or pelvis. These core muscles offer stability, balance, flexibility and good posture. And if your core is weak, nothing else can be strong. As the core muscles act like a bowl around your spine, working these core muscles makes the bowl stronger and stable.
Imagine your core as a muscular corset that stabilises your entire body giving you a centre of gravity whether you are resting or moving your arms or legs, allowing you to keep your balance. We draw upon the core strength when we walk, sit, exercise or any activity. Many of the body’s movements originate from the core. Therefore, it’s important to work towards improving its strength to enhance spinal alignment, stability and posture.
Core work and strength-training workouts are two different programmes. Core workouts engage the entire body, from head to toe; whereas strength training exercises usually isolate a single muscle group. Yoga and pilates is good for the core because the postures target these muscle groups. Other exercises that strengthen the core are swimming, cycling and kick boxing.
Here is a core workout to target your core, abs and back. These exercises can be done every day unlike other exercises. The following exercises target all the muscles at the core and many other secondary muscles giving you huge gains. Do each of the following exercises for a minute.
— The writer is a body transformation expert.
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Swiss ball back extension: The instability of the Swiss ball forces the body to engage both large and the small muscles. The ball brings out the fun element to the workout. Just sitting on the Swiss ball and bouncing itself works the core. But let’s try something better.
- Lie face down on the Swiss ball
- Walk your feet outward until your knees are straight.
- Place your hands behind your head and lift your chest off the ball until your body makes a straight line.
- Hold the contraction for one second and release down to start position
- Repeat for 20 repetitions.
Standing leg lift: Poor balance is a complicated condition and can lead to falls and injuries, core strength exercises improve balance. This standing core exercise works the core and as well as outer thighs and shoulders. This is a compound exercise and suits people on the go.
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hold a dumbbell in front of your chest with elbows bent.
- Shift weight to right leg and extend left leg sideways towards the hip and extend your arms upwards at the same time
- Hold for two counts and take three counts to return to the starting position and then switch legs.
- Continue for a minute switching legs. Isometric core exercises like plank and bridge are the most popular core exercises; here you hold a position for a period of time and not contracting your muscles through a range of motion. Plank is an effective exercise and can be done in a variety of ways and modified to any fitness level.
Plank
- Lie down on the mat face down
- Hold your body at the top of a push-up position for up to 60 seconds.
- Further challenge yourself by popping your right feet over the left and hold for 60 seconds. Then switch sides.
- Add a cardio element by performing jack in the same push-up position
Bicycle crunch: This is a seated core exercise, based on V sit-up series. This challenging exercise works the core, abs and lower body.
- Sit on a mat with knees bent 90 degrees.
- Hold a dumbbell at the chest level.
- Engage the abs by leaning the upper body slightly back.
- Bring your right knee toward left elbow as you extend the left leg and switch sides.
- Continue to do this bicycle move for a minute.
