The 10 Moves You Need to Get a RockSolid Core

The appearance of abs doesnt reflect the strength of your core. If you want
nothing but a six-pack, do crunches, clean up your diet,
and lose some weight. For serious core strength the kind thats crucial
for every sport, functional fitness, and full-body injury prevention it
requires a more rounded approach.
The secret is in forcing your abdominal muscles to stabilize, and not just
contract. In other words, a thousand crunches a day wont cut it. Instead,
you want compound moves that use a bunch of muscle groups and work
your core in all planes of motion. That means ample trunk twists, planks,
and, yes, sit-ups. Here, 10 movements to develop true core strength.
By Lee Boyce

Exercise 1: Transfer Planks

Hold a good plank, and stack 5 light plates (2.5 or 5lb plates work best) on
one side of your body. With the arm furthest away, reach across and stack
those plates to the opposite side, and then repeat with the other arm.
Perform for sets of 30 seconds.
Exercise 2: Hanging Leg Raises
These beat crunches because they dont promote poor posture. The ribcage
gets to stay facing up, the way it should. Hang off of a pull-up bar, avoid
swinging the body, and in a controlled fashion raise the knees as close to the
shoulders as possible. Control the descent as much as you can, and repeat.
Use sets of 8-12 reps.

Exercise 3: Renegade Rows

Assume a push-up start position with your hands placed on dumbbells
(hexagonal dumbbells work well). Alternating arms, pull one dumbbell right
back to the ribcage, while maintaining a stable, rigid trunk. Repeat on the
opposing side. Perform for sets of 30 seconds.
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Exercise 4: Ab Wheel Rollouts
Start kneeling, with the ab wheel as close to the knees as possible. Keep your
back rounded, not arched, and push the hips towards the ground as you roll
the wheel away from you. Brace the core and reach out as far as possible
before returning to the start position. If you feel plenty of low back pressure
with good form, dont go out as far. Try sets of 6-10 reps.
Exercise 5: 4 Point Touch
Assume a push-up start position, with hands flat on the ground under the
shoulders. Without adjusting the body, touch one hand to the opposite
shoulder. Then touch the opposite hand to the first shoulder. Then touch
one hand to the opposite thigh, then touch the opposite hand to the first
thigh. Thats one rep. Be sure to remain slow and controlled, and work on
sets of 6-8 reps.

Exercise 6: Split Stance Cable Lift

Half-kneeling, use a straight bar attachment and keep the bottom side close
to the body. Pull the bar diagonally upwards and then push straight out with
the bottom hand. Avoid twisting. Youll feel it in your lower abs.
Exercise 7: Dragon Flags
Using any flat bench and lay on your back. Hold the sides of the bench
behind your head for support. Tuck the knees into the body, and then
project the legs, butt, and lower back straight up in the air. The only thing
left on the bench should be your head and shoulders. Staying rigid, resist
gravity and lower your straight body back down to the bench as slowly as
possible. It shouldnt be easy. Try sets of 6 reps.
Exercise 8: Medicine Ball Slams
Its as easy as it sounds. Grab a med ball, and a mat. Stand tall, reach way
overhead with the ball, and using all your force, slam the ball down to the

mat on the floor. Be sure to contract the abs hard. Work quickly, and slam
in sets of 15-20.
Exercise 9: Weighted Back Extensions
Sometimes we forget that the lower back is part of the core. Hold a weight
plate at chest level and set up the back extension machine at hip height, then
go to town. Sets of 10-20 reps is a good fit.

Exercise 10: Side Planking

Be sure the elbow is located directly under the shoulder, and the hips are
square. Squeeze the glutes and hold for no more than 30 seconds. To make
things more challenging, as you get better at the side plank, perform a
dynamic action with the top arm (examples would be a cable row or a lateral
shoulder raise).