Strange, by the way, that no one in our team has been able to film a demonstration of the standing roll-out. Strange indeed. This ab exercise may be simple but is still an excellent exercise for targeting the front of your abdominal muscles. If this exercise is too easy for you, you can increase the resistance by holding a small weight against your chest, perform crunches on a ball or declined bench, or try cable crunches.

Or maybe even hanging sit-ups? The final exercise for the front of your core in this list is the hanging leg raise. This exercise will work your hip flexors dynamically while your abs have to work hard, mostly isometrically, to stabilize your torso. To make this exercise easier, bend your knees and perform hanging knee raises instead.

To make it harder, pause with your legs in the L-position or keep moving them all the way up until they touch the bar also known as the toes-to-bar exercise.

The wood chop exercise targets your obliques, the ab muscles that rotate your torso and flex it to the sides. To make this exercise harder, you can increase the speed of the movement without slamming your feet into the floor so that you need to break harder in the eccentric phase.

Another alternative is to use ankle weights. The oblique sit-up is a variation of the standard sit-up that emphasizes your obliques. I recommend you alternate between your left and right sides in every rep of this exercise. To make the exercise harder, try holding a weight against your chest or perform the oblique sit-ups on a ball or declined bench.

When you can hold this plank position for a minute easily, you can increase the challenge on your obliques by either holding a weight on top of your hips, or place your feet on something unstable, like in a couple of gymnastic rings or some other kind of suspension trainer.

This classic back exercise is excellent for isolating your rear core muscles, namely your spinal erectors. Make sure to begin light in this exercise as you get accustomed to it, and then gradually make it harder by holding a weight against your chest, or by extending your arms over your head, away from your hips.

You can make the exercise easier by keeping your hands along your body, for example, placing your hands on your hips. The Jefferson curl is more of a mobility exercise than a strength training exercise, although it will strengthen your spinal erectors.

Finally, the classic deadlift. This exercise activates hundreds of muscles in your body, but it especially works your back muscles. Which, of course, makes up your posterior core muscles. In addition to strengthening your back, this exercise will also teach you to brace and create a stiff core.

That core stability is useful for transferring force between your upper and lower body. How many core exercises you should do depends on your goals and how much time you are prepared to invest in your core training.

A minimalist core training approach could be to simply pick one exercise for your frontal core muscles your abs and one for your posterior core muscles your lower back. Some common exercises for your lower back are, for example, deadlifts , squats , and back extensions.

For your front core muscles, examples are crunches , ab wheel roll-outs , and hanging leg raises. Training the front and back core muscles would give you decent development of your core, but you would not get optimal development of your side core muscles. In order to work all of your major core muscles comprehensively, you should pick an exercise each for the front and back of your core, as outlined in the previous section.

In addition, you should add an exercise for your side core muscles. Some examples are wood chops , lying windshield wipers , and oblique sit-ups. Most of these core exercises lend themselves well to a medium-to-high rep range of about 6—15 reps per set.

Heavier back exercises like the deadlift is better suited to the low end of this interval, while bodyweight exercises often lend themselves well to a little higher rep numbers.

This rep range is highly effective for muscle growth, and the medium-to-light reps that you will be using are easy on your elbow joints. Regarding the number of sets, research has found that more sets lead to greater muscle growth up to a point of about ten sets per muscle per week.

Up to 15 to 20 sets per muscle group and week is not uncommon for trained individuals to do, but you should be careful not to do too much too soon, as that increases your risk of injury. You should also consider wether your core is worked in more exercises than just these dedicated core exercises.

Your core muscles are involved in most exercises done when standing on your feet, and it is important to consider how much they are worked in total in your entire training program. Then follow our core workout to develop your core strength and musculature.

It uses a variety of exercises to develop all of your major core muscles. I hope you learned something from this list of the best core exercises, and wish you good luck with your core training! Click here to return to our full list of strength training exercises.

Daniel Richter. Maximize your gains and build the body you want with our guide on the best exercises for every muscle group. Workout Log Articles Exercises Squat Squat Programs Squat Strength Standards Squat Depth Smith Machine vs.

Free Barbell? Squat Variations Bench Press Bench Press Programs Bench Press Strength Standards How to Bench lb Close-Grip vs Wide Grip Bench Press Incline vs Flat Bench Press Bench Press Variations Bench Press Accessory Exercises Deadlift Deadlift Programs Deadlift Strength Standards How to Grip the Bar Trap Bar vs.

Core Muscle Anatomy Your core muscles are all the muscles surrounding your spine and abdomen, stabilizing your pelvis and trunk. Some of your largest core muscles are: Rectus abdominis Internal and external obliques Transversus abdominis Erector spinae Multifidus Quadratus lumborum Diaphragm Pelvic floor Your rectus abdominis and external obliques are the outermost muscles on the front and sides of your core.

Under your external obliques lies your internal obliques, which muscle fibers run perpendicular to the external obliques. Beneath your internal obliques lies your transversus abdominis, which muscle fibers run horizontally across the sides of your abdomen, like a belt.

Your deep posterior back core muscles: erector spinae, multifidus, and quadratus lumborum. They run between your pelvis, vertebraes, and ribs. Ab Wheel Roll-Out. Muscles Worked in Ab Wheel Roll-Outs. How to Do Ab Wheel Roll-Outs Sit with your knees on a soft pad, and place the ab wheel on the floor in front of you.

Roll out as far as you can, and maintain a straight back throughout the movement. Reverse the movement with control, and return to the starting position.

Muscles Worked in Crunches. How to Do Crunches Lie on your back with your hands in front of your chest and your knees bent to about 90 degrees. Lift your upper body by contracting your abs and bending forward.

Bend as far forward as possible while still keeping your low back in contact with the floor, and then return to the starting position.

Hanging Leg Raise. Muscles Worked in Hanging Leg Raise. Once stabilized, you can place your feet together. Do not allow your hips to sag. If feeling confident, you can extend your free arm toward the ceiling. Hold the position for 15 to 60 seconds while maintaining complete control of your core.

Repeat on the other side. Lift the upper leg a few inches and hold it for 10 seconds to increase the intensity. The V-sit is an effective abdominal exercise that works the rectus abdominis, external obliques, and internal obliques.

It also engages the hip flexors. To do the V-sit , take a seated position on the floor. As you inhale slowly, contract your abdominal muscles while lifting your legs to a degree angle. Reach forward to stabilize yourself or place your hands by your sides if you feel less stable.

Hold the pose for 15 to 60 seconds. Relax for 15 to 20 seconds and repeat two more times. As you get stronger, increase the duration of the pose.

The bicycle crunch is a classic that works nearly all of your core muscles simultaneously, especially the rectus abdominus and obliques.

To do the exercise, lay flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Rest your hands behind your head without yanking your neck. Bring one knee up to a degree angle and keep the other straight. You will then shift your legs back and forth as if peddling a bike, alternately extending one knee while lifting the other.

As you do, touch your left elbow to your right knee and your right elbow to your left knee—complete 10 to 25 reps on each side, keeping your movements deliberate and steady. Relax and complete two more sets. As you get stronger, increase the number of reps per set. The bridge exercise isolates the hamstrings, lower back, and gluteus muscles buttocks.

It is also an essential rehab exercise to improve core strength and spine stability. Start flat on your back with your knees bent, feet flat, and arms positioned by your sides to enter the pose.

As you inhale slowly, tighten your ab and gluteus muscles while lifting your hips to create a straight line between the knees and shoulders. Hold the pose for 15 to 60 seconds without dropping the lower back or buttocks. To increase the intensity, lift one leg as high as possible and hold it for 10 seconds.

As you get stronger, you can increase the duration of the pose. The push-up lat row is an advanced exercise that combines a push-up with a dumbbell row.

Not only does the added weight increase the intensity of the upper body workout, but it also activates both the core stabilizers and latissimus dorsi muscles of the middle back. Start in a push-up position with each hand on a dumbbell.

Alternately from one hand to the next, lift the weight as you inhale and lower it as you exhale. If you are dropping the weight, change to a lighter weight that you can control from the first rep to the last. During the movement, keep your abdominals taut and your lower back straight.

Do not let your hips drop or sway—complete 10 reps on each side. Rest and complete two more sets. As you get stronger, you can increase the weight of the dumbbells. If using this core routine before a sporting event, you may want to add this final exercise. The skip with a twist aims to engage the muscles that rotate the hips, torso, and spine.

Find a level area with enough room to take 10 full leaping strides to do the exercise. Start by skipping forward 10 paces five per side , swinging your arms freely from side to side. As you move, you would twist right as your right knee goes up and twist left as your left knee goes up.

Focus on keeping your core muscles taut but not rigid. Continue until your body is fully warmed up and your joints feel loose and relaxed. A strong core will protect your spine, increase your performance with other lifts and movements, and create a sturdy, stable base for all other activities.

An effective core workout does not need to be complicated or long. With the proper programming and movements, you can see results with a 20 minute focus on your core.

Consistency is key, so add this routine to your current schedule twice a week for best results. Core workouts do not directly burn belly fat. If your core workout, or any other physical activity, helps you create a calorie deficit needed to lose weight, you will lose abdominal fat along with fat and other tissue on the rest of your body.

Every day you perform compound weight lifting exercises, you will work out your core. You can also perform specific exercises for your core, but it's best to space these 24 to 48 hours apart to allow the muscles to heal.

Signs of a weak core include back pain, instability, poor posture, injuries, and falls. Your core includes your abdominals, back muscles, and glutes and supports your spine and pelvis.

A weak core can cause pain or issues with these areas of your body. The most effective core workout is performing compound lifts such as barbell squats and deadlifts.

These exercises work to strengthen and stabilize your entire core, including back, abdominals, and glutes, in a natural, functional way.

You can perform isolated core exercises for additional work such as a plank or bridge. Hsu SL, Oda H, Shirahata S, Watanabe M, Sasaki M.

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Surface electromyographic analysis of core trunk and hip muscles during selected rehabilitation exercises in the side-bridge to neutral spine position.

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