Shaivy Choubey

Hello Ziddis! Haven’t we heard loads about core workouts and seen people do all sorts of exercises calling them core workouts? It is important to understand what is core before diving head straight into a menu of exercises. Your core is the powerhouse of your body. It helps you build strength, stability and better functioning. So it is natural that just donning 6 pack abs won’t be doing that for you. In this blog, we will try to make the most of the core by understanding it and making it a relevant part of our workouts.

Why Should You Do Core Exercises?

Core exercises have tons of benefits to add to your fitness goals. They are not just to look good but also to feel good. Here’s how:

• Improve your body’s stability and balance: Since the core is connected to the upper and lower body and is in charge of maintaining balance and coordination in daily activities, building a stronger core leads to better stability and balance.
• Improve your posture: A strong core supports your spine by reducing the risk of having a bad posture leading to slouching and back pain.
• Reducing the risk of injury: Whether you are lifting weights or picking up groceries, a strong core helps you get stronger by supporting your body’s functional movements and minimizing the risk of injury.
• Better athletic performance: A strong core is an athlete’s best asset. A strong core is essential in almost every sport be it cricket or swimming.
• Functional fitness: Everyday movement like bending, lifting even standing can be made more efficient if you strengthen your core.

Some of the Best Core Exercises

If you are thinking about how to strengthen your core the right way, worry not. Check out the list of exercises and perform them to strengthen your core. These are the best core exercises:

1. Plank:

• Get into a pushup position and hold your body straight.
• Keep your core tight and hold for ideally 30-60 seconds in the same position
• You can try variations like side planks, elevated planks or forearm planks.

2. Crunches:

• Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the ground
• Lift your upper body towards your knees and feel your core getting engaged
• Try not to strain your neck
• Use upper body strength and not neck strength Repeat 10-20 times for starters.
• You can try the variations through half crunches and bicycle crunches

3. Russian Twists:

• Sit on the floor with knees bent and feet slightly hovered above the ground
• Twist your torso from side to side You can add resistance to this by holding a weight

4. Leg Raises:

• Lie flat on your back with your hands under your hips.
• Lift both legs straight up and then lower them only without touching the floor.

5. Dead Bug:

• Lie on your back with your arms extended toward the ceiling.
• Slowly lower your opposite arm and leg while keeping your core engaged.

6. Flutter Kicks:

• Lie on your back with your legs extended.
• Lift both legs slightly off the ground and alternate small, quick kicks.

You may have observed how most of these require you to either lie flat on the ground or parallel to it. This makes the exercise more effective at the target muscles which are your abdomen muscles.

Core Workouts at the Gym

When you are at the gym you have access to various equipment and weights that can help in strengthening your core. By using these facilities you can do a variety of core workouts at the gym such as:

• Cable woodchoppers: Use the cable machine to perform Russian twists and target your obliques.
• Ab Rows: Use the barbell to roll forward and back while engaging your core.
• Hanging leg raises: Hang from a pull-up bar and lift your legs straight out or curl them towards your chest.

Core Workouts at Home

If you do not have access to the gym, no need to worry. Core workouts at home are just as effective. Here are a few you can try for a quick core workout at home session:

• Plank series: Holding a plank for 30 seconds then resting for 10 seconds and transitioning into side planks with 10 seconds on each side.
• Crunch circuit: You can practice 15 reps each of half crunches, full crunches bicycle crunches and reverse crunches to give your core the workout it needs.
• Dynamic moves: You can have a circuit of movements like leg raises followed by flutter kicks and ending with the mountain climbers each in a set of 20 or 30 seconds

Always remember to warm up with stretches and cool down with yoga poses like cat and cow and child’s pose. For abdominal wellness, you could also try the happy baby pose.

Read Also: Engaging Your Core: Simple but Powerful Exercises to Build a Strong Core

How to Work Out Your Core During a Rest Day

Ideally, you should be resting on your rest day but if you want to stay active or do some slow and low-intensity activities you can engage in yoga or stretching for your core strength. If you have access to a swimming pool go for a swim since it is one of the best core exercises.

To supercharge your recovery and optimize muscle repair, consider adding creatine to your routine for better strength gains and Essential Amino Acids (EAA) to support muscle recovery.

Takeaway

Training your core may seem irrelevant but your body will thank you for what you put it through to make it fitter and more toned. Core workouts unlike other workouts do not get special mentions but they bring in some special features to your workouts and help you maximize their benefits like improving your strength for long-term body building or improving your endurance to help you with your HIIT workouts. Make sure to stick to the core and let your fitness talk for itself.

SOURCES:

https://www.healthline.com/health/best-core-exercises

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-best-core-exercises-for-older-adults

https://www.menshealth.com/uk/fitness/a34037742/best-core-exercises

You are constantly trying to better yourself and note that it is showing! Today to up your fitness game more, we will understand how weight training and pilates could help us.

Weight Training

Weight training is a type of workout that helps you build strength and muscles by using resistance like weights or machines against your body to improve your endurance. It is a versatile form of exercise that targets specific muscle groups and improves bone density. Some of the benefits of weight training are:

• Increase muscle mass
• Improve metabolism
• Increase strength
• Improve endurance
• Help lose weight by building muscles
• Improve joint and bone health.

Doing Weight Training The Right Way

Here are a few exercises you can include in your weight training:

• Upper Body: Biceps curls, bench press
• Lower body: Goblet squats, lunges with ankle weights, leg raise
• Full body: Deadlifts, kettlebell swings

Read Also: Women and Weight Training: Going Beyond Just Looking Toned

Pilates

Pilates are a form of workout that focuses on core strength, flexibility and posture. This is via controlled movements. it seems like a low-impact exercise but it isn’t. While it can be learnt and adapted by beginners very easily, the results it yields are miraculous especially if yu are trying to lose weight.

Here is why you must include pilates workouts:

• It helps strengthen the core
• Improves your posture
• Reduces stress
• It helps you stay mindful
• Provides relief from joint ailments
• Helps lose weight
• Tones your body

Pilates Workouts at Home

• Warm-up: Cat and cow stretch, Pelvic curls, Leg raise circles
• Core: The hundred, roll-ups
• Lower body: Water hydrant, donkey kicks, Side legs lifts, bridge poses
• Flexibility: Spine stretch, seated twists
• Cool-down: Child’s pose, hamstring stretch

Can We Do Pilates at Home?

Absolutely! Pilates more often than not do not require machines. You could increase the difficulty level by adding resistances like a resistance band, weights or a sliding carriage but that is not always the compulsion.

Pilates vs Weight Training

Both pilates and weight training are important to build lean body with healthy muscles. Here is how they are different:

Pilates	Weight Training
Helps get toned and lean body	Helps build muscles faster
Improves flexibility	Improves physical strength for functional benefits
Increase core strength	Increase endurance

Here is how you could combine the two to make a fuller workout plan.

• Monday: Weight training (upper body).
• Tuesday: Pilates (core focus).
• Wednesday: Rest or light cardio.
• Thursday: Weight training (lower body).
• Friday: Pilates (flexibility and balance).
• Saturday: Full-body strength session.
• Sunday: Rest or active recovery.

Takeaway

Whichever you choose, make sure you understand its strengths. To help you get better, stay hydrated by carrying around your sipper or have some pre-workout supplements in your shaker bottle when you hit the gym. Wear comfy workout wears like joggers to make sure you do not feel restricted.

While Pilates help you get leaner, weight lifting helps you get buffed. You could want both together or simultaneously but making sure they both have a place in your workout routine could give you results quicker.

Sources:

https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/wellness/story/pilates-vs-weight-training-which-one-helps-you-lose-weight-faster-2646112-2024-12-07

Hello Ziddis! When it comes to physical performance and fitness, flexibility and mobility make a world of a difference in upgrading your fitness. These are often used interchangeably but they are both of their own type and benefit you in different ways.

How to Boost Flexibility

Flexibility is the metric to measure the ability of your muscle to stretch and lengthen which allows a wider range of motion to your joints. By improving flexibility, you can prevent injuries, reduce muscle tightness and improve your rate of recovery. Some ways to boost your flexibility are:

• Stretches as a part of a warm-up and cool down before and after working out
• Hip flexors and lunging as well as inch worms.
• Stretching your spine through a variety of exercises to relieve tension in back muscles.

By consistently practising flexibility exercises, you tend to improve your posture and reduce the risk of straining your muscles.

Difference Between Mobility and Flexibility Workouts

While flexibility is about your muscles’ ability to stretch, mobility is your joints’ ability to move in their full range of motion. Mobility depends on flexibility and not the other way around.

Here are a few key differences between mobility and flexibility workouts:

• Flexibility workouts focus on passive stretching like touching your toes
• Mobility workouts involve active movements like squats, burpees or yoga which require a proper form.

Neither can be ignored and both are supposed to be involved in your workouts to reduce the risk of injuring yourself.

Read Also: Flexibility and mobility: The Often Overlooked Components of Fitness

Mobility Exercises

Mobility exercises help in improving the range of motion of your joints. Not only that, mobility exercises also combine strength with movement to help you get fitter in a more sustainable manner.

Some of the mobility exercises are:

• World’s greatest stretch: this stretch targets multiple muscle groups and improves the movement of your hips, spine and shoulder.
• Hip circles: These help release the tensions in your hip joints and improve the range of motion while freeing you from any hip joint pain.
• Shoulder pass-through: By using a resistance band, you can help improve your shoulder’s range of motion and mobility while also strengthening your arm muscles by adding resistance to this movement.

Flexibility Exercises

If you are looking for ways you can improve your flexibility, you should start adding flexibility exercises to your workout routine. Such as:

• Forward fold
• Upside down dog
• Side stretch
• Reaching for your hamstrings
• Spinal twists
• Suryanamaskar

Activities like yoga and pilates are excellent ways to improve your muscle flexibility.

Takeaway

Both flexibility and mobility exercises are a crucial part of your workout training. While flexibility is the core, mobility is the range. A balanced routine could help you get the most out of these two. You can add some BCAA or other pre workout supplements to support your muscle recovery to make sure that you are equipping your workouts well.

Remember to invest and lay a rock-solid foundation for your workout by improving your flexibility and mobility to make your body stronger and more resilient.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/joint-mobility-exercises

https://www.self.com/gallery/essential-stretches-slideshow

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a40059106/mobility-exercises