fitness tips
A 10-Minute Core Workout You Can Do Right Now
If you want to build balanced strength, working your core is key—but it doesn't have to take forever. In fact, a 10-minute core workout can be a great way to challenge those muscles and reap the strength-building benefits.
Remember, your core consists of more muscles than just your “abs,” (your rectus abdominis, or the muscles which run vertically along the front of your abdomen) and your external obliques, which run along the sides of your abdominal wall. Your core also includes deeper muscles that you can't see, such as your transverse abdominis, your erector spinae in your lower back, and your pelvic floor muscles.
“Most people think about those external muscles when they think about a core workout, but working your internal core muscles is very important, too,” ACE-certified personal trainer Sivan Fagan, owner of Strong with Sivan, tells SELF. “They help you stabilize your spine and transfer energy throughout your body.”
If those deeper core muscles are weak, you can have what's called an “energy leak” when you're strength training, says Fagan. Think about what happens when you're squatting: You need all your core muscles to fire to help you push back up. If your deep core muscles are weak, your lower back will end up taking on too much of the work, which can lead to strain or injury.
The best way to train your core is to take it through both of its functions: creating movement and resisting movement, says Fagan. Many people focus more on creating movement—say, with moves like crunches—but forget about resisting movement (like with planks), which is necessary for building stability.
That's why this 10-minute core workout, created by Fagan, incorporates abs moves that both resist movement and create movement so you can build efficient, practical core strength that transfers to your other workouts and in everyday life.
Ready to get started? Here's what you need for a quick core workout you can do at home.
The WorkoutWhat you need: Just your bodyweight and an exercise mat for cushioning.
The ExercisesDeadbugPlank shoulder tapSide kick-throughBicycle crunchDemoing the moves below are Rachel Denis (GIF 1), a powerlifter who competes with USA Powerlifting and holds multiple New York State powerlifting records, Nathalie Huerta (GIF 2), a coach at The Queer Gym in Oakland, California; Tiana Jones (GIF 3), a dance and fitness instructor based in New York City; and Cookie Janee (GIF 4), a background investigator and security forces specialist in the Air Force Reserve.
Fitness / Workouts
Now here's the thing about progressive overload: You can't advance an exercise if you don't stick with it for weeks or months at a time. In fact, to make significant improvements, people often need to consistently perform—and progress—the same base exercises (think: deadlift, squat, push-up, pull-up) for years, Perkins says. For example, if you're alternating every few weeks without a gameplan between kettlebell deadlifts, single-leg deadlifts, and sumo deadlifts, you won't be able most effectively add progressive overload. (While the moves target much of the same muscles, they're performed differently and with different loads. This challenges muscles differently and can hinder the process of progressive overload.)
There's a pretty neat physiological reason for this too, and it all comes down to what's happening in your brain and body when you're first starting a new exercise. No matter how fit you are, when you perform a new exercise, workout, or routine, your initial strength gains—lasting for the first few weeks—have a primarily neurological foundation, Dr. Behm explains. The motor neurons that tell your muscles to contract and lengthen “learn” how to fire most efficiently and with the best coordination possible. As a result, your neurological system gets more skilled at a given exercise. These are the “newbie gains” you might hear about.
During these initial weeks, your muscles are definitely working, but they're also letting the neurological system do the bulk of the adapting. After all, your body doesn't necessarily know how long you plan to stick with a given exercise. And if an exercise is just a fleeting thing, why spend the energy building muscle? It's easier to just let the neurological system handle things.
It's not really until after that point that the majority of your fitness gains will actually take place in your musculoskeletal system, Perkins says. This is when your muscle cells grow, become stronger, and your body composition shifts. The amount of time it takes for this to happen depends on your current fitness level, exercise history, workout frequency, and more. Expect to spend at least six to eight weeks, if not more, with your base workouts before switching up your exercises, Perkins recommends.
Reinvent the wheel before your muscles have really even adapted, and you're not really spurring your muscles to grow. Ditto with your connective tissues, bones, heart, and lungs.
But what if you like to switch up your workouts?“Oftentimes, people think they're training for muscle confusion because it's what's going to help them—but in actuality, they're just the personality type that gets bored easily and doesn't like to do one thing for very long,” Perkins says.
If that's you, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. And if your goal for your exercise routine is to maintain the fitness you already have, or just move more, let off steam, or manage stress, switch it up all you want. It's your workout, so you want to make sure you're doing something you enjoy. (Just make sure that you've built a strong foundation before dabbling in advanced exercises or variations to reduce your risk of injury.)
But if you get bored easily and have fitness goals like building strength, endurance, or muscle? You still don't have to sacrifice workout enjoyment for progress. And how you structure or plan your workouts can make a difference.
Perkins recommends setting a weekly plan for yourself. Maybe one day you'll work upper body, lower body, or full-body strength. Another day, maybe you'll do cardio or yoga.
Week over week, you'll repeat those same workouts with the same exercises, but you'll still have plenty of variation within the week to keep things novel. Plus, every week, even though you'll be cranking out the same base workouts, you'll perform them with slightly new stimuli. You'll lift slightly more weight, do your exercises with slightly better form, or run a bit faster—however you want to employ progressive overload.
It's that slightly increased challenge that equals progress and, over the long term, will allow you to progress exercise variations, Perkins explains. Depending on your current fitness level, exercise schedule and the progress you see, every few weeks or months, you can add new challenges by altering your exercise choices. For instance, maybe you progress from a goblet to barbell squat.
Of course, none of this progression works if you don't stay consistent with your plan, which is why it's important to craft it around exercises you actually enjoy. Focus your workouts on exercise you're fired up to master and progress, and you'll get the perfect combination of consistency and novelty, Perkins says.
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Overall fitness isn't just about cardio. Although cardio is a major component of weight loss and heart health, it is important to incorporate strength training into your fitness regimen. Strength training builds muscle mass and helps you burn more calories post-workout. Follow these strength-training tips to amp up your workout and get a complete workout.
Alternative sports can offer people good fitness options for people, alongside the more regular forms of exercise. Free-running is a sport that emphasizes full body fitness. Climbing, running, and general agility are main requirements to free-run as you run, climb, and jump across many obstacles. Not only are they fun, but they unleash your inner child's desire to run and jump over railings, off the beaten path of adulthood.
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If you want to reach your goals in terms of fitness, then you need to work backwards. You should pick a date of completion for your fitness goals and work backwards, listing off all the short-term goals in between. This way you look at your fitness goals as deadlines.
The best way to get children interested in fitness is to be a good example and by being involved with them as much as possible. Try taking an exercise class, playing tennis or hitting a baseball together. Not only will you both benefit from the increased activity, but it's a great way to maintain a close relationship.
To help you include exercise into a tight schedule, you should walk whenever possible. That could mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator at the office or parking at the back of a large lot to give you a brisk brief walk to the store. When it comes to working out, every little bit counts.
Add resistance training to your exercise plan. Resistance training helps build muscle. The more muscle you have in your body, the more quickly and efficiently you can burn calories. Resistance bands or light weights are good options for working out at home. You can also use your own body weight to provide resistance. Exercises, such as push-ups and squats, make your muscles bear the weight of your body and that builds strength.
After every workout, one thing you may want to do is take protein. This can be either in the form of a protein shake, a protein bar, or basically any meat product. This allows for your muscles to recover faster from your workout and overall make your muscles grow larger.
Decide to walk for 45 minutes a day instead of 30. Walking for 45 minutes has been scientifically proven by Duke University to result in fat and weight loss. This can equal up to 30 pounds of weight loss per year for just an added 15 minutes a day. For maximum weight loss, try walking up a hill instead of down.
Obviously, there are many options when it comes to working strength moves into your fitness routine. Keep doing your cardio, but additionally, choose any number of the tips mentioned to keep your muscles strong and prevent injury. Not only will you increase your calorie burn, but you'll have awesome muscle definition to boot.
Overall fitness isn't just about cardio. Although cardio is a major component of weight loss and heart health, it is important to incorporate strength training into your fitness regimen. Strength training builds muscle mass and helps you burn more calories post-workout. Follow these strength-training tips to amp up your workout and get a complete workout.
If you're just starting out with exercise, start out slow. Don't jump in head first and try to run five miles without having exercised before. You can wind up injuring yourself and doing more harm than good. Instead start with a short walk and slowly increase the length and the speed. Before you know it you'll be running five miles without any problems.
When rock or wall climbing, a great tip is to purchase shoes that fit your feet so tight that you can stand, however, you can not walk comfortably. Wearing shoes this tight will: give you the best control; and will help you use your legs in the most efficient way. Using your legs is crucial when climbing.
A great tip for optimizing your fitness is to wear a heart rate monitor when you work. With a quality heart rate monitor you can track your heart beat to see if you are getting the best workout for your goals. Many can be worn as watches so they are not a bother to workout in.
Work your stabilizers out first! Generally weights like dumbbells can tire your muscle stabilizers out first. A good work out plan uses dumbbells, then barbells, and then machines, simply based on how much the mechanism requires you to stabilize. Good balance and form are necessary for proper work out results and muscle development.
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There are three aspects to fitness that need to work in tandem in order to provide you with a healthy lifestyle. Each of these should be worked on and they are mental health, diet and exercise regimen. If you only work on one or two of these you will never reach your goals.
Obviously, there are many options when it comes to working strength moves into your fitness routine. Keep doing your cardio, but additionally, choose any number of the tips mentioned to keep your muscles strong and prevent injury. Not only will you increase your calorie burn, but you'll have awesome muscle definition to boot.
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