WORKOUT

Hey Team!

Today’s core strength cir­cuit is the per­fect add-on to any active recov­ery day or even as a stand-alone work­out. It tar­gets your entire core, help­ing build sta­bil­i­ty and strength through con­trolled move­ments. The exer­cis­es are built around core resis­tance train­ing, which our body thrives on for main­tain­ing bal­ance and pow­er in oth­er workouts.

Equip­ment needed:

• Dumb­bells (Light)
• Mat (Option­al)

You won’t need much equip­ment for this work­out. The key is not how many reps you can do in each 30-sec­ond round but the con­trol you can exert over your core mus­cles. This work­out is all about you, engag­ing deeply with each move­ment and focus­ing on the strength of your core.

You will work through three cir­cuits, each designed to chal­lenge dif­fer­ent core areas, from rota­tion­al strength with chops and tor­so rota­tions to sta­bi­liza­tion with planks and holds. I also added some of our tra­di­tion­al dynam­ic moves, like toe touch­es and over­head sit-ups, to mix things up. With the var­i­ous move­ments, this cir­cuit will give our core what it loves — some resistance!

Why a strong core mat­ters: Many adults deal with every­day prob­lems like low­er back pain, poor pos­ture, and bal­ance issues. Build­ing a sol­id core is one of the best ways to pre­vent or alle­vi­ate these issues. By strength­en­ing your core, you’re improv­ing your per­for­mance in work­outs and set­ting your body up for bet­ter sup­port in dai­ly activ­i­ties like lift­ing, bend­ing, and standing.

Active­ly brac­ing your core and focus­ing on con­trol is the most impor­tant thing here. Don’t rush to fin­ish fast with exer­cis­es like the Paloff Press and plank drags. Your core ben­e­fits most when you slow down and focus on main­tain­ing good form, which will help pre­vent injury and ensure the effec­tive­ness of each exercise.

For this work­out, I rec­om­mend using lighter dumb­bells to focus on our form and work on con­trol­ling weight. If you want to push hard­er, feel free to increase the weight a lit­tle, but don’t go too heavy. For ref­er­ence, I am using 10 and 20 lbs. On the flip side, if you’re eas­ing into core work, low­er the weight or use any mod­i­fi­ca­tion offered dur­ing the work­out. Some go-to mod­i­fi­ca­tions for any round are planks, crunch­es, or sit-ups.

Remem­ber, Team, it’s not about per­fec­tion. It’s about progress and doing what’s right for your body. Whether adding this to an active recov­ery day or mak­ing it your main work­out, this core strength work­out is the per­fect one to keep in your rota­tion to help build a strong core and improve your over­all strength.

Let’s lock in, focus on that core, and crush it!

-Bri­an

Work­out Structure

Set ¹⁄₃ Rounds 30 sec­onds On 10 sec­onds off

• Paloff Press w par­tial squat
• Kneel­ing Chops L
• Kneel­ing Chops R
• Bent Over Tor­so Rotations

Water Break (20 Seconds)

Set ²⁄₃ Rounds 30 sec­onds On 10 sec­onds Off

• Bird dog holds / 15 sec­onds per side
• Plank Drags
• Bear Plank Knee Tap / Plank High
• Fore­arm Plank

Water Break (20 Seconds)

Set 3 / 3 Rounds 30 sec­onds On 10 sec­onds Off

• Toe Touch­es
• Alt Ver­ti­cal Scissors
• OH Sit Up
• Full Ext Crunch