Basic Exercise at Home: Core

Right now, gyms are closed everywhere in the world. Many of us are cooped up at home, unable or reluctant to get out to parks, beaches, or hiking trails. Even if we’ve all become homebodies, there’s still a necessity for physical activity. If anything, it’s more important than ever that we continue to be robust, fit, and active.

We’re going to start today with core exercises.

The core is what it is, really. It serves as your body’s base. It’s the way power and force are expressed to the environment around you. It maintains your posture. And while it may not seem like much, looking nice in your underwear is a big part of LGN. Your ability to form and function is mostly dependent on your core strength.

This workout can be done in one long block, sporadically throughout the day, or partially each day in addition to other forms of exercise.

Primary Core Exercise at Home Planks

The most fundamental core workout is this one. It’s easy, but not that simple.

1. Put yourself in the pushup posture, but instead of using your hands, place your forearms on the ground. Ideally, your elbows should be just beneath your shoulders. ground with toes.
2. Tighten your abs and squeeze your glutes.
3. Maintain a straight neck and spine, resembling a plank.
4. From head to toe, draw a solid, straight line—a plank, if you will.
5. As long as it is comfortable for you, stay in that posture. Give up before you fail.
6. After a minute of rest, repeat two more times.

Make things simpler:

• By performing the exercises on your hands as opposed to your forearms (as in the top of a pushup).
• You can perform these exercises on your knees by resting them on the floor or an exercise mat.

Harden them up:

• To make your elbows stop lining up beneath your shoulders, slide them forwards. This will make things more challenging.
• Put in side planks. For thirty to sixty seconds, hold a side plank on the left side. For 30 to 60 seconds, switch to the right side and hold.

Bar to Toes

This is how you do it:

1. Reach up and grasp a horizontal bar above you with your toes. For three to five repetitions, raise and lower slowly and deliberately.
2. Try simply bringing your knees up to your elbows if you are unable to perform the toes to the bar. Repeat with three to five calm, controlled reps.
3. Try pulling your knees up to your chest if you are unable to perform the knees to elbows. 5–10 repetitions at a slow, controlled pace.
4. Perform three sets, with a 30-second break in between.

Hollow Body Rocks

Here’s how to go about it:

1. Laying flat on your back, extend your legs straight out and raise your arms overhead.
2. Make a shallow U with your body by bracing your core and raising your arms and legs just a little bit off the ground.
3. As you continue to hold your body in that firm, shallow U shape, begin to rock back and forth.
4. For 20 seconds, rock. Take a one-minute break. Do this twice.

Feet and Hands

I think there’s a more appropriate and formal term for this, but this is what I call it.

1. Take a stance on the ground.
2. Take remove your feet off the ground.
3. Make contact between your right and left feet.
4. Make contact between your left and right feet.
5. Continue forward, never setting foot on earth.
6. Take 20 seconds at a time to do this. In between sets, take a 40-second break and repeat four times.

Put your hands on your knees to make it easier.

Put your elbows in your ankles to increase the difficulty.

That concludes the workout. Once more, you can perform these exercises in spurts throughout the day or all at once.