What are the best core exercises?
Start with a plank, a side plank and a bird dog. They train your core. On their own, they may not flatten your stomach. In a 6-week trial, waists didn’t shrink. One thing did change.
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What are the best core strength exercises?
A plank, a side plank and a bird dog. Add a dead bug and you have a full workout on the floor, with no kit.
Your core is the muscle around your middle: front, sides and back. The NHS says adults should work every major muscle, including the abdomen, on at least 2 days a week.
| Move | How | Make it easier |
|---|---|---|
| Plank | On your elbows and toes. Don’t let your hips sag or stick up. | Rest on your knees instead of your toes. |
| Side plank | On one elbow, feet stacked. Lift your hips so your body is straight. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. | Do it up against a wall to keep your body in line. |
| Bird dog | On hands and knees. Reach one leg back and the opposite arm forward, back straight. | Reach just an arm, or just a leg, at first. |
| Dead bug | On your back, knees over hips, arms up. Lower one leg and the opposite arm toward the floor. | Don’t lower as far. Nearer the floor is harder. |
Sources: Worcestershire Acute NHS; The Prehab Guys: plank; side plank; dead bug
After a birth, the NHS says try to avoid sit-ups, planks and high-impact exercise to start with. In later pregnancy, try to avoid lying flat on your back for more than a few minutes, as it can make you feel dizzy.
On the dead bug, keep the small of your back pressed into the floor, as The Prehab Guys, physio educators, teach it. Don’t let it arch.
Breathe out on the hardest part of each move. NHS physios in Worcestershire give that tip, because some muscles work better on the out-breath.
Try all four today. Note how long you can hold each plank.
What is a good abs workout at home?
Those four moves, back to back. Go round 2 or 3 times and it takes about 10 minutes. A mat or a rug is all you need.
A 10-minute ab workout at home: go round 2 or 3 times
- 1
Plank
Hold until your back or stomach starts to wobble. Then drop to your knees.
- 2
Side plank
10 to 30 seconds on each side.
- 3
Bird dog
5 slow reaches each side, back straight.
- 4
Dead bug
5 slow lowers each side, low back on the floor.
Sources: Worcestershire Acute NHS; The Prehab Guys
The wobble rule comes from the NHS physio leaflet. The reps and rounds are a simple start, not a study finding.
How hard? The NHS says strength work should go on until you need a short rest before the next go.
New to this? Plank on your knees and do the bird dog one arm or one leg at a time. Move on when it feels steady.
Put it in your diary for 2 days this week.
Which gym exercises work your abs hardest?
An ab wheel, a hanging knee-up and a reverse crunch on a sloped bench. In one study, those three made the stomach muscles work the hardest.
| Move | How | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Ab wheel roll-out (the study used a similar wheel, the Power Wheel) | Kneel, hands on the wheel. Roll forward as far as you can control, then back. | Also among the hardest work for the sides of your waist. |
| Hanging knee-up | Hang from a bar or arm straps. Bring your knees up toward your chest. | Among the hardest work for the sides of your waist. |
| Reverse crunch, bench at 30 degrees | Lie head-up on the sloped bench. Curl your knees toward your chest. | Works a hip muscle hard too. |
| Pallof press | Stand side-on to a cable or band. Press the handle straight out without letting it turn you. | Not in the study. Used to resist twisting. |
Sources: Escamilla 2006; The Prehab Guys: Pallof press
That study measured muscle activity in 21 healthy adults in one session. It didn’t test which move builds the most muscle over weeks.
The sloped reverse crunch and the bent-knee sit-up also worked a hip muscle hard. The authors said that may be a problem for some people with low back problems.
Back sore? Skip the reverse crunch and stick with the floor moves. If not, add one gym move to the end of a session.
What are the best dumbbell core exercises?
Carry it. A suitcase carry is one dumbbell held at your side while you walk. Two dumbbells, one in each hand, is a farmer’s walk.
The job is to walk tall, shoulders level, without leaning toward the weight. Swap hands each time.
Back researcher Stuart McGill’s lab measured strongman events, including both carries, with muscle sensors and a computer model of the spine. It found carrying challenged different abilities than lifting. It suggested carries could add to a plan built on lifts.
No dumbbells? The NHS counts carrying heavy shopping bags as strength work.
Try 4 short walks, about 20 metres each, after your floor moves. To fit it into a week, see the two-day strength routine or the beginner gym plan.
Will ab exercises flatten my stomach?
Not on their own. In one trial, 24 inactive adults aged 18 to 40 kept their diet the same. One group did 7 ab exercises, 2 sets of 10, 5 days a week for 6 weeks.
| What was measured | Ab group compared with no exercise |
|---|---|
| Waist size | No clear difference |
| Body fat percentage | No clear difference |
| Fat around the middle | No clear difference |
| Curl-ups in a test at the end | 47 against 32 |
Source: Vispute 2011
That one change was endurance: how long the muscles could keep going. The ab group averaged 47 curl-ups (a small sit-up) in the final test. The group who didn’t train averaged 32.
So a 30 day ab challenge is unlikely to shrink your waist by itself. To lose fat, see the best exercise for weight loss.
Doing core work for a bad back? NHS physios at Addenbrooke’s say core exercises are no better for back pain than any other exercise. See back strengthening exercises.
Your core week
- Work your core on at least 2 days a week.
- Do the plank, side plank, bird dog and dead bug, 2 or 3 rounds.
- Breathe out on the hardest part of each move.
- Had a baby? The NHS says try to avoid sit-ups and planks to start with.
- Add a suitcase carry or one gym move once the floor moves feel steady.
- If an exercise makes your back pain worse, stop and see a GP for advice.
Sources: NHS: physical activity guidelines; Worcestershire Acute NHS; CUH
Ready to add more? See progressive overload for beginners.
When to speak to a GP
If an exercise makes back pain worse, the NHS says stop and see a GP for advice.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have back pain and feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell. The same goes if the pain is severe and starts suddenly or gets worse quickly.
Also get help if:
- You haven’t exercised for some time, or you have medical conditions or concerns. The NHS says speak to your GP first.
- You find a bulge or lump in your tummy, groin or upper thigh. It may get bigger when you cough, sneeze or cry, and smaller when you lie down. If you think it’s a hernia, see a GP.
- You have a hernia and pain in or around it, or a bloated tummy. Get help from NHS 111. The same goes for feeling or being sick, vomiting blood or vomit like coffee grounds, or constipation. Also a high temperature, feeling hot, cold or shivery, or sudden confusion.
- You’ve had a baby and the gap between your stomach muscles is still obvious 8 weeks after the birth. Contact your GP, who can refer you to a physiotherapist.
- Call 999 or go to A&E if you have back pain with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. The same goes for loss of feeling around your genitals or anus, or changes in your bladder or bowels, such as difficulty peeing, or peeing or pooing yourself. Also changes in how your penis or vagina feels during sex, not being able to get or keep an erection or orgasm, chest pain, or pain after a serious accident.