Your core muscles are needed for everything you do. They help with balance, and improve your ability to do many other exercises. It makes sense to work on them daily, but many people forget all about them. It doesn’t need to take hours out of your day. Here are six simple exercises that will help you get a stronger core.
Do the Plank
Planking is not just about taking photos while you lie across something. It’s an actual exercise, and one of the best for your core muscles. Start off lying on the floor on your stomach. Push yourself up so you’re resting on your elbows and toes.
Your whole body needs to remain flat. You should feel all your core muscles working to keep yourself up off the floor.
Be Superman
No, you don’t need to go save the world. Superman is another name for a core exercise, and gets its name from the way you look. Lay on the floor as if you’re doing a plank, but place your arms all the way out in front of you.
Lift your right arm and left leg off the floor and hold. Then repeat with the other side. It takes a little longer, but you will feel your body muscles working.
Dorsal Raises for the Back
The lower back is often one area missed out, but an important part of your core.
This supports your whole upper body, but causes a lot of pain. Dorsal raises are perfect for this. Again, lay on your stomach and place your hands behind your ears. Now you need to lift your chest off the floor, while not moving your legs where possible. There’s no need to hold the upwards position, but this is a way to improve the strength once you get used to it.
Get Swimming
It’s not just indoor floor exercises that will strengthen your core. Swimming is an excellent option, especially if you opt for front or back crawl. This exercise forces you to keep your whole body straight so you streamline in the water.
The aim is to develop the strength to do the butterfly eventually. You need the core strength to get the flipping just right.
Think About Pelvic Floor Muscles
Pelvic floor muscles are among the most useful for strengthening the core muscles.
Lay flat on your bed, and draw your core muscles in as if you’re stopping yourself from peeing mid-flow. Hold this position for a few counts and then release. The aim is to feel like your whole stomach area is being pulled up. Not only does it strengthen your core, but it will help battle against incontinence and is safe for pregnant women to do.
Do Your Leg Raises
Another one to do while on your back is leg raises. You can start off by just raising one leg at a time, but you want to get to the point where you’re raising both.
Don’t put your heels back on the floor between raises to make it that much harder for you.