Inside: Best Exercises for Women to Strengthen Your Core. Collaborative post.
Having a strong core isn’t simply about having abs to show off. In fact, you will probably be surprised to learn that your core muscles are essential for everything you do – from your hard-hitting CrossFit workouts to something as simple as getting up from your bed in the morning.
Putting in the necessary work to strengthen your core will give you numerous athletic benefits. You will get better balance and a more straight-up posture, and it can protect you from different kinds of lower back injuries associated with weak core muscles and overcompensation.
Along with that, regardless of what sport you do – whether that’s running, CrossFit, or powerlifting, a strong core will help you improve your athletic results as it will give your body more stability and help you generate more power through the legs and the upper body.
Now that you know why working on your core is important, let’s keep our focus on how you can do that. In this article, we will be exploring the best core exercise for women and how you can incorporate them into your workouts to get the desired results.
4 Best Exercises for Strengthening Your Core
One of the best things about training your abdominals is that you can do most of the exercises at home without any additional equipment. Of course, having things such as an ab wheel or a bosu ball will help make your workouts more exciting and challenging, but even without them, you can still train your core and get results.
Below, we’re going to talk about four different core exercises that you can do either on their own or during a separate ab workout. Additionally, you can also incorporate one or two into your upper body days in the gym or during your cool down from running or CrossFit.
To get more from these core sessions especially if you’re training for fat loss consider a clean, women-focused pre-workout. This expert guide to the best women’s pre workout for weight loss covers safe dosages, science-backed ingredients (like beta-alanine, L-citrulline, and electrolytes), and timing strategies so you can push harder without energy crashes.
Take it 20–30 minutes before your Russian twists, planks, and V-ups to boost focus, endurance, and muscle-preserving performance.
- Russian Twist
The Russian twist is a great exercise for working on your balance, and it also tones your waistline by working your obliques. To perform it, you need to:
- Hold a dumbbell or a medicine ball in both hands in front of your chest.
- Then you need to sit back into a V position on the floor with your core engaged and knees bent.
- From there, twist your chest to one side (while holding the dumbbell) and then twist to the other.
Repeat for 20-30 reps.
- Deadbug
The dead bug is a core exercise that every athlete should know and do. It not only works your entire core but also challenges your coordination. To do it, you have to:
- Lay back on the floor with arms extended towards the ceiling and legs bent at 90 degrees.
- Then while keeping your lower back pressed to the floor, you have to extend your left arm and your right left until they touch the floor at the same time.
- Pause for a second, then return to starting position and repeat on the opposite side. That’s one rep.
Continue alternating for 20-30 reps.
- Plank
Everyone hates the plank, and that’s precisely how you can measure that it’s extremely effective. Even though it’s a difficult exercise, the plank engages your entire core and helps you build strength, endurance, and stability. Doing it is relatively simple; you just have to:
- Get on a press-up position on the floor.
- Bend your elbows until your forearms touch the floor. Keep them aligned beneath your shoulders, and make sure your body is in a straight line from feet to head.
- Tighten your abs and look at the space between your hands. (that will help you maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement).
- Do the plank for 1 minute and repeat 4 times.
- V-Up
The V-up is an advanced core exercise that really challenges the ab muscles and requires quite a bit of strength to be done correctly. To do it, you need to:
- Lay down on the floor with arms and legs extended.
- In one quick movement, lift both your upper and lower body off the floor until you come to balance on your tailbone. Your body should be forming a “V” shape.
- Then lower back down.
- That’s one rep. Repeat for 10-15.
As you can see, all of these exercises are challenging on their own. And if you combine them in a 10-15 minute session, your core will certainly get fired up.
One Last Thing …
Core training is something you do every day, in almost every session, regardless of whether you’re in powerlifting, Olympic lifting, or CrossFit. Your core muscles are engaged during almost all weightlifting exercises, and that’s why it should be a priority for you to train them if you want to perform better.
Hopefully, our article gave you ideas as to what the best exercises are and inspired you to give that 10-15 minute core session a try. Let us know if you enjoyed it in the comments.