The Best Core Workout for Men Isn't What You Think It Is
Not long ago, you could walk into any gym and be met with a personal trainer who would swear a series of crunches and situps could get you a six-pack in no time. Don't get us wrong, dedicated abs exercises shouldn't be ruled out altogether, but strengthening your core isn't as simple as burning out your midsection once a week.
While our obsession with abs saturates fitness culture, from CrossFit to Pilates, do you really know what core training is? The chain of core muscles may be complex, but strengthening them doesn't have to be.
We asked Michael Ryan, MS, CSCS, to put together the best core workout for men. It's not what you think. This is a trunk-focused routine that covers the essential movement patterns—push, pull, hinge, squat, and lunge—in just six exercises that keep your entire torso engaged. The beauty? Do it right and you'll build every muscle in your body. The bonus: You'll need only one kettlebell.
Directions
First, take two minutes to foam roll your legs, glutes, and back. Then do this dynamic warmup twice: 30 seconds each of air squats, walking lunges, pushups, and bear crawls. Finally, perform the 6 moves below in any order, no rests. It'll take about 30 minutes total. Do the workout 3 times a week as a stand-alone routine, or twice a week if tacking onto the end of another strength training workout.
Karan Kapoor
How to Do It- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, a kettlebell racked at your right shoulder, and your left arm extended at your side, to start.
- Your shoulders should be down and back, abs and glutes tight.
- Press the kettlebell straight overhead, elbow to ear.
- As you press, push feet into the floor, squeeze your glutes, and engage your abs as though defending a punch
- Your torso should be rigid, with no swaying to one side or the other.
- Hold for a beat and return to start.
- That's 1 rep. Repeat for 12 reps, then switch sides.
- Do 3 sets.
Core Focus: Spinal erectors, rectus abdominis, obliques, and transversus abdominis
Karan Kapoor
How to Do It- Lie faceup with knees bent, feet planted on the floor near your butt, arms out to sides on the floor with palms up, to start.
- Press through your heels to lift your hips up as high as possible, then extend your left leg.
- Drive hips up, and squeeze inner thighs together.
- Hold this position for 3 beats, then lower back down to start.
- That's 1 rep.
- Repeat on the opposite side.
- Do 3 sets of 15 reps.
Core Focus: Glutes, adductors
Karan Kapoor
How to Do It- Hold a kettlebell by the horns at your chest, to start.
- Keep your elbows tight to your body, shoulders pulled down and back, and feet hip-width apart with toes slightly turned out.
- Squat, pushing hips back to sit deep while maintaining a long spine and lifted chest.
- Lower as far down as possible while keeping good form.
- Push through the middle of your foot to rise up to start and repeat.
- Do 3 sets of 12 reps.
Core Focus: Glutes, quadratus lumborum (deep muscle in the lower back), traps
Karan Kapoor
How to Do It- To start, hold a heavy kettlebell by the horns at your chest.
- Keep your elbows tight to your body (picture holding a towel in place between your ribs and arms), shoulders pulled down, and back.
- Keep this exact form and walk forward for 30 seconds.
- Put the kettlebell down for 30 seconds.
- Repeat 6 times in total.
- Your goal should be to work up to carrying the bell for 90 seconds.
Core Focus: Every core muscle
Karan Kapoor
How to Do It- Start with feet staggered, right foot in front of left, with a kettlebell on the floor on your left side.
- Hinge forward from the waist, push your hips back, and pick up the kettlebell with your left hand.
- Raise it to your rib cage on your left side and drive your elbow up toward the ceiling while simultaneously extending your right arm at your side.
- As you lower the weight back to the floor, drive your right elbow toward the sky.
- Repeat (hinging and reaching down to grab weight) for 12 reps, then switch sides.
- Do 3 sets.
Core Focus: Lats, traps, quadratus lumborum
Karan Kapoor
How to Do It- Get into a side plank position with your forearms down and your hands in a fist, to start.
- Turn to one side, placing your elbow directly under your shoulder, feet stacked, and hips lifted to create a straight line from your head to ankles.
- With control, lift your top leg as high as you can.
- Hold for a beat, then lower leg back to start.
- That's 1 rep.
- Repeat for 12 reps, then switch sides.
- Do 3 sets.
Core Focus: Obliques, transverse abdominis
Benefits of Core Workouts
The benefits of strengthening your core go far beyond the aesthetics that come with six-pack abs. "The core has been misinterpreted for 30 years as being all about aesthetics," says Ryan. "Now we're learning that you really can't achieve serious functional fitness if you don't train the core properly."
Instant Workout Gains
"Every bit of force you generate—I don't care if that's pushing off the floor to jump for a basketball or lifting a barbell overhead—has to get transferred through the core," explains Ryan. "Think of the core as a transductor of force, a conduit."
So each time you plant a foot during a jog, muscles in your foot and leg push at the ground to create a force that travels up your leg and through your hip joint into your pelvis and spine. If that force encounters a pelvis and spine held tight in good alignment by strong core muscles, the energy does what it's supposed to: propel you forward. But if that force encounters bones left wobbly by weak, soft, core muscles, much of that energy dissipates. And the result? You're slower. This same concept applies to strength training, too. Build a stronger, more stable core and you'll squat, push, pull, and row more weight, more efficiently.
Related: 10 Exercises to Make the Best Upper-Body Workout of All Time
Fewer Injuries
If you've ever had to pause your squats for weeks or months at a time due to low back pain or shoulders sagging while doing upper body exercises, there's a good chance you've already experienced the side effects of a weak core. For active people especially, a strong core can be the key to staving off injuries. For example, there seems to be a link between core stability and injuries to the lower extremities 2018 research claims. Based on the findings, there is evidence to suggest that healthy and active individuals with a history of leg, hip, or foot injuries could benefit from core strengthening exercises in their training programs.
Related: 25 Lower Ab Workouts to Strengthen Your Core
You’ll Feel Better in Everyday Life
Upper-back tension from staring too long at a computer or knee pain from squatting to play with a kid oftentimes stems from bad everyday posture and not knowing how to fire the core muscles that support the right positions.
"The positions you put yourself in dictate your core function, and that dictates the way you feel in your body," says Ryan, who recommends learning what he calls core awareness: the conscious ability to maintain good, healthy posture by firing the right core muscles. For example, when sitting at your computer, consciously remind yourself to pull your chin back so your head is stacked directly above your spine (which might eliminate any headaches you've been having) and to pull your shoulder blades down and squeeze them together to eliminate a slouch. Or when you're standing in line or walking up stairs, concentrate on contracting your glutes and tightening your abs to put your pelvis in a neutral alignment; this takes the pressure off your lower back and keeps your glutes firing properly. All these simple adjustments make it clear why, when Reavy has a client ask what he can do to keep his body healthy, his reply is always, "Start by focusing on your core."
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