Workout Wednesday 4/22 : Core Exercises

 By Maxwell Semegran
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     Welcome to the first Workout Wednesday! This is a great column for anyone looking to increase his or her strength, whether you are an athlete missing your spring season or someone looking to get in shape during quarantine. Each week we will go over a workout routine and a series of exercises that are quick and easy to do when stuck at home with limited equipment.
     In this column we will explore a variety of workout routines. Some will target specific parts of the body, such as this week’s core routine, and others will be a whole body workout, such as a high intensity workout. Thank you for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this week’s core exercises!
     If you have any concerns about an injury or medical condition affecting your ability to do an exercise please check with your medical doctor prior to starting.
PictureCredits to www.nichecrossfit.com.au/
Background Information

    The core is a very general term referring to the lower abdominals, upper abdominals, obliques, and lower back. Each exercise targets one or some combination of these muscles. 

The Exercises

1. Leg Lifts: 

Instructions: 
  1. Lie on your back with your legs together.
  2. Place both hands under your lower back. This will support your back during the movement.
  3. Lift both legs simultaneously until they are at approximately a 90 degree angle with the ground. 
  4. Lower both legs slowly until they hover just above the ground. You have completed your first repetition.
  5. Repeat until repetitions are complete

Common Mistake:
Overarching the lower back. This strains the back and makes the move much less effective. To fix this, make sure to support your lower back with your hands and keep your back muscles and abs contracted.
How to increase difficulty:
  1. Slow down the movement. The slower the movement, the harder the exercise will become.
  2.  Allow your legs to hover above the ground for a few seconds before lifting them again.​
2. Back Bow Cross:
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Instructions: 
  1. Lie on your stomach with your arms bent and your hands near your head. 
  2. ​Place your legs on the ground behind you with your toes facing outwards. 
  3. In a single motion, lift your chest off the ground and arch your upper body up and to the left. Return to the starting position. 
  4. ​Repeat step 3 on the right side. You have completed your first repetition.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until repetitions are complete
3.  Double Side Leg Raise:
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Instructions:
  1. ​Lie on your left side with your legs straight and stacked on top of each other perpendicular to the floor.
  2. Extend your left arm and place your left arm on your side. 
  3. Pull your legs and shoulder up. Simultaneously, try to reach for the toes with your right hand. 
  4. Come back down and hover your legs right before they touch the floor. You have completed your first repetition.
  5. After finishing your repetitions on your left side, repeat the previous steps on your right side.

Common Mistake:
Leaning too far forward or backward. This mistake makes the exercise slightly easier and reduces the effectiveness. To fix this mistake, ask someone to watch you while you complete the exercise.
4. Bicycle Crunch 

Instructions:

  1. Lie on your back with your hands next to your ears.
  2. Raise your legs and bend them at 90 degrees to your pelvis.
  3. Pull your body up and twist your shoulders to the right. Your left elbow should touch or almost touch your right knee. Simultaneously, kick your left leg straight out. If this movement is too complicated at first, you can temporarily remove the kicking motion. 
  4. Repeat step 3 on the left side.​
How to increase difficulty:
  1.  Move your left hand to the side of your hand.
  2. To increase the difficulty further, extend your left hand completely above your body.
Common Mistake:
Twisting from your neck. If you excessively twist your neck, as opposed to your shoulders, you don’t target the core the way you want to, and you put unwanted pressure on the neck which can cause pain and tightness. To counter this, think about lifting all the way up off of the floor via your shoulders.
5. Swimmers

Instructions: 
  1. Lie on your stomach, with your arms stretched forwards and legs stretched backwards.
  2. Lift your left arm and right leg. 
  3. Lower your left arm and right leg to the ground. 
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the opposite leg and arm. 
  5. Continue switching sides until time is up.

Common Mistake:
Crooked body position. Make sure that your body is equally balanced and is not off-center. This will cause one side of your body to do more work than the other.
6. Toe-Touch Crunches

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Instructions:
  1. Lie on your back with your hands next to your ears. 
  2. Raise your legs so they are at approximately 90 degrees with the ground. 
  3. Use your upper abdominal to pull your upper back and shoulders off the ground. Simultaneously, reach for your toes with your hands.
  4. Lower your body while actively engaging your core, return your hands to your ears, and repeat until repetitions are complete.

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How to increase difficulty:
  1. Rather than keeping your legs at 90 degrees, keep them extended and on the ground. As you pull your upper back and shoulders off the ground, raise your legs to 90 degrees, similar to a leg lift.​
7. Superman 

Instructions:
  1. Lie on your stomach with your arms extended in front of you and your legs extended behind you, both about shoulder width apart.
  2. Lift both arms, both legs, head, and chest from the mat as high is comfortable
  3. Hold until time is up

Common Mistake:
Crooked body position. Make sure that your body is equally balanced and is not off-center. This will cause one side of your body to do more work than the other.
8. Russian Twists

Instructions:
  1. Sit on the floor. Cross your ankles directly in front of you and lift your legs off the floor, balancing on your glutes. Your body should form a V-shape
  2. Twist your body from side to side without moving your legs.
  3. Continue twisting until time is up

Duration/Repetitions:
To start, try to twist for 30 seconds.

Common Mistake:
Bending the back. This can be damaging to your back and reduces the effectiveness of the workout. To fix this, do the exercise in front of a mirror and try to keep your body in a straight line from your head to your glutes. 
9. Plank

Instructions:
  1. Create a fist with both hands. 
  2. Place your arms shoulder width apart on the ground with your thumbs facing the ceiling.
  3. Extend both legs shoulder width apart, balancing on your toes. Once in this position, make sure to keep your body straight from your shoulders to your toes.
  4. Keep your body tense, fully engaging your core, thighs, and glutes.
  5. Hold the plank until time is up.
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Common Mistake: 
A common mistake is to have your hips too high, where your body is arched, or too low, where your body is sagging. To fix this, make sure to fully engage your core, thighs, and glutes throughout the exercise.
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How to increase difficulty:
  1. Hover your arms and legs
  2. Increase the speed of the exercise
Common Mistake:
Do not swing your arms to gain momentum. Simply reach for your toes. All of the effort for this exercise should be focused in your upper abdominals. For those of you who have done crunches, your abdominal movement is essentially the same, but it is more effective at engaging the core. If you still find yourself using the momentum of your arms to pull you up, it may be helpful to do a few repetitions without moving your arms at all.
How to increase difficulty:
  1. Increase duration
  2. Hold a weighted object in your hands as you twist. This can be anything from a backpack to a textbook. Get creative!
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Correct position
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While planking, don’t arch your back like Thomas!
How to increase difficulty:
  1. Incorporate a “walking plank.” Start in the same position as a normal plank. Throughout the exercise, push your right arm then your left hand up from the ground from your forearms to an open hand. Then return to the starting position. Repeat starting with the left hand. This should only be done once you are experienced with the plank as you need to keep your tense plank form throughout the exercise.

The Workout

1. Leg lifts 
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest

2. Back bow cross
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest 
Experienced: 50 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest

3. Double side leg raise:
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds left double side leg raise then 10-20 second rest

4. Right double side leg raise:
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest

 5. Bicycle crunches:
 Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest

6. 1 minute rest
7. Swimmers:
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds swimmers followed by a 10-20 second rest

8. Toe-touch crunches
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest

9. Superman
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest

10. Russian twists
Beginners: 30 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest
Experienced: 50 seconds followed by a 10-20 second rest

11. Plank
Beginners: 30 seconds
Experienced: 50 seconds

12. Great job! 
You’re done!
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Last updated: 5:35 pm, 4/22/2020