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Exercises

Exercises for core strength, from first dead bug to ab wheel

Published October 29, 2026

The best exercises for core strength are the dead bug, plank and side plank to start, the superman and back extension for the back of your trunk, the Pallof press and cable woodchop for rotation, the ab wheel rollout and hanging knee raise once the basics are easy, and the suitcase carry and Turkish get-up to use your core standing under load. Train your core 2 to 3 times a week with 2 to 3 sets per exercise, and move up a level when the top of the rep or time range feels easy.

  1. Dead Bug Abs
  2. Plank Abs
  3. Side Plank Abs
  4. Pallof Press Abs
  5. Ab Wheel Rollout Abs
  6. Dumbbell Suitcase Carry Abs, Quads
  7. Superman Lower Back

Start here

These four teach your trunk to stay still while your arms and legs move, which is what core strength is for. If a plank is hard for 20 seconds, spend your first month here.

Abs, anti-extension

Dead Bug

Abs

Lying on your back with your lower back pressed down, you move opposite arm and leg while your trunk stays still. It is the easiest core exercise to get right on day one and still useful for advanced lifters as a warm-up.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, arms pointing up and knees bent at right angles over your hips.
  2. Press your lower back into the floor.
  3. Reach one arm overhead and the opposite leg out long, both hovering above the floor.
  4. Bring them back and repeat with the other pair.

Cues

  • Back glued down
  • Breathe out as you reach
  • Opposite arm and leg

Common mistakes

  • Letting the back arch when the leg goes long: reach less far.
  • Going fast: each rep should take about three seconds.

Swap for: Plank, Alternating Leg Raise

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Abs, front hold

Plank

Abs

The plank tests whether you can hold your ribs and hips in line under your own weight. Build to three holds of 30 to 45 seconds before you move to rollouts.

How to do it

  1. Set your forearms under your shoulders and your feet behind you, body in a straight line.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and pull your ribs down toward your hips.
  3. Hold, breathing normally, without letting your hips sag or rise.
  4. For the harder version, reach one arm forward and lift the opposite foot, hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Glutes tight
  • Straight line

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging toward the floor: that hangs on your lower back.
  • Holding for minutes at an easy level: make it harder instead.

Swap for: Long Lever Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

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Obliques, side hold

Side Plank

Abs

It trains the sides of your trunk, which keep you upright when you carry a bag on one shoulder or stand on one leg. Start on your knees if the full version ends in a few seconds.

How to do it

  1. Lie on one side with your elbow under your shoulder and your legs stacked.
  2. Lift your hips until your body is straight from head to feet.
  3. Hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Hips high
  • Stacked feet
  • Elbow under shoulder

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop toward the floor as the hold goes on.
  • Rolling the chest forward or back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Copenhagen Plank

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Abs and shoulders, crawl

Bear Crawl

Abs, Shoulders

Crawling with your knees just off the floor makes your core stop your hips from twisting with every step. It doubles as a warm-up for the rest of the session.

How to do it

  1. Start on hands and toes with knees bent and just off the floor.
  2. Move one hand and the opposite foot forward together, then the other pair.
  3. Keep the hips low and your back flat as you crawl forward and backward.

Cues

  • Knees hover low
  • Opposite hand and foot
  • Flat back

Common mistakes

  • Hips riding high: keep them at shoulder height.

Swap for: Gorilla Walk, Walkout, Plank Shoulder Tap

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The back of your core

The muscles along your spine are half of your core, and most ab routines skip them. Both of these need only the floor.

Lower back, extension

Superman

Lower Back

Lifting your arms and legs off the floor together trains the back of your core with no equipment. Hold each rep for a second at the top so the work is in the muscle, not in momentum.

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with your arms stretched overhead and legs straight.
  2. Raise arms, chest and legs a few inches off the floor together.
  3. Hold for a second, then lower everything together.

Cues

  • Long, not high
  • Eyes on the floor

Common mistakes

  • Cranking the head back to lift higher: keep your neck in line with your spine.

Swap for: Back Extension, Exercise Ball Back Extension, Band Good Morning

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Lower back, extension

Back Extension

Lower Back

With your legs down and hands behind your head, the lift comes from your spinal muscles alone. It is a gentle way to strengthen the back of your trunk alongside the front.

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with your hands behind your head and elbows out.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and lift your chest off the floor while your legs stay down.
  3. Lower slowly back to the floor.

Cues

  • Lift the chest, not the chin
  • Legs stay heavy

Common mistakes

  • Jerking up fast: lift and lower at the same steady speed.

Swap for: Superman, 45-Degree Back Extension, Band Good Morning

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Rotation and resisting it

Your core turns your body when you throw or swing, and stops it turning when you push or pull with one arm. The Pallof press trains the stopping, and the woodchop trains the turning.

Obliques, anti-rotation

Pallof Press

Abs

Pressing a cable straight out while it pulls you sideways teaches your trunk to resist turning. That is the job your core does on every one-arm row, press and carry.

How to do it

  1. Set a cable at chest height, stand side-on to it and grip the handle two-handed at your chest.
  2. Step away until the cable pulls, feet hip-width.
  3. Press the handle straight out, hold for two seconds without turning, then bring it back.

Cues

  • Hands on the midline
  • Don't turn
  • Hold it out

Common mistakes

  • Standing too close, so the cable barely pulls.
  • Letting the arms drift toward the stack.

Swap for: Cable Woodchop, Landmine Twist

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Obliques, rotation

Cable Woodchop

Abs

The chop trains your core to turn your trunk with force, driven from your hips. It suits anyone who throws, swings or plays a racket sport.

How to do it

  1. Set a cable high, stand side-on and grip the handle two-handed above the near shoulder.
  2. Chop it on a diagonal to the far hip, turning your chest as your back heel lifts and spins.
  3. Let it return along the same line under control. Finish one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Turn the chest
  • Arms long
  • Pivot the back foot

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms rather than turning the trunk.
  • Going so heavy the stack drags you back on the return.

Swap for: Dumbbell Woodchop, Pallof Press

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Harder front-core work

When a 60-second plank and slow dead bugs feel easy, these give your abs a much heavier job. Both are hard from the first rep, so start with low reps.

Abs, anti-extension

Ab Wheel Rollout

Abs

Rolling out as far as you can control gives your abs a much heavier job than any plank. Start with short rollouts toward a wall and go further each week.

How to do it

  1. Kneel with the wheel under your shoulders and your arms straight.
  2. Brace and roll forward, letting your hips follow, until just before your back starts to sag.
  3. Pull the wheel back to your knees using your abs, not your hips.

Cues

  • Tuck the pelvis
  • Roll only as far as you own
  • Arms straight

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back cave at the far end.
  • Sitting the hips back first on the return instead of pulling with the abs.

Swap for: Stability Ball Body Saw, Plank

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Abs and hip flexors, hanging raise

Hanging Knee Raise

Abs

Curling your pelvis up at the top of each knee raise works your lower abs against your full leg weight, and the hang builds grip too. Straight legs come later.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms and your legs together.
  2. Draw your knees up toward your chest and curl your pelvis up at the top.
  3. Lower your legs slowly until they hang straight and still.

Cues

  • Curl the pelvis
  • Stop the swing
  • Slow down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging into each rep: pause at the bottom until you are still.
  • Lifting the knees only to hip height, which works the hip flexors more than the abs.

Swap for: Captain's Chair Knee Raise, Reverse Crunch

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Standing and loaded

Core strength matters most when you are on your feet holding something. The suitcase carry and get-up train your trunk in that position, with weight you can keep adding.

Obliques, one-sided carry

Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Abs, Quads

Walking with one heavy dumbbell trains the sides of your core the way daily life loads them, and you can add weight for years. Stand tall and do not lean away from it.

How to do it

  1. Pick up one heavy dumbbell and stand tall with it at your side.
  2. Walk with short, steady steps without leaning toward or away from it.
  3. Set it down, switch hands and walk back.

Cues

  • Shoulders level
  • Tall walk
  • Grip hard

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the weight to balance it.
  • Picking a dumbbell so light that nothing has to work.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

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Shoulders and trunk, get-up

Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up

Shoulders, Abs

Getting from the floor to standing with a weight held overhead uses your core in every position along the way. Learn it with no weight or a shoe balanced on your fist before using a kettlebell.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back with a kettlebell pressed up in one hand, the same-side knee bent.
  2. Roll onto the opposite elbow, then the hand, keeping the bell locked out above you.
  3. Lift your hips, sweep the straight leg back to a kneel, and stand up.
  4. Reverse each step back down to the floor.

Cues

  • Eyes on the bell
  • Arm locked
  • One step at a time

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the steps and losing the vertical arm.
  • Using a heavy bell before the sequence is smooth.

Swap for: Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry, Kettlebell Windmill

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Building core strength from scratch at home

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets30 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

Your core feels weak, a plank is hard for 20 seconds, and you want a routine you can do on the floor at home.

Five foundation exercises for 2 sets each give 10 sets in about 15 minutes. Three sessions a week give you enough practice to move up a level within a month or two.

Core foundations
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dead BugPer side. 3 s per reach. 2 × 6–10 2 1 min
PlankSeconds per hold. 2 × 15–45 2 1 min
Side PlankSeconds per side. Knees down to start. 2 × 10–30 2 1 min
Superman1 s hold at the top. 2 × 8–12 2 1 min
Bear CrawlSteps forward, then back. 2 × 10–20 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the routine three times a week on non-consecutive days, on its own or after a walk. Move slowly on the dead bug and superman; slow reps train more than fast ones.
How to progress
Add reps or seconds until you reach the top of every range with 2 reps or a few seconds still in reserve. Then move up: full side plank instead of knees down, longer holds on the plank, and longer bear crawls.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Two harder core sessions in the gym

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentAb Wheel, Adjustable Cable, Hyperextension, Pull-Up Bar +1

You lift regularly, the basics are easy, and you want core strength that holds up under heavy squats, deadlifts and presses.

Each session pairs one hard front-core exercise with one rotation exercise and one loaded or back exercise, 8 sets each, 16 a week. That is enough to keep progressing without tiring your trunk before your main lifts.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Ab Wheel Rollout 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Pallof PressPer side, 2 s hold. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Back Extension 2 × 10–15 2 1 min

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hanging Knee Raise 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Cable WoodchopPer side. 2 × 8–12 2 1 min
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySteps per hand. 3 × 20–40 2 90 s

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Day A after your lower-body lifting and Day B after upper body. Keep 1 to 2 reps in reserve so your trunk is not wrecked for the next session.
How to progress
Add reps to the top of the range, then make it harder: longer rollouts, straight-leg hanging raises, one more plate on the cable, or 5 pounds more on the carry.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Over 60, for standing, carrying and balance

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Adjustable Cable, Kettlebells, Hyperextension

You are over 60, or simply want a core that helps you get up from the floor, carry groceries and stay steady on your feet, and you have a dumbbell and a band or cable.

Most of this plan is done standing or uses movements from daily life, so the strength shows up where you need it. Each session is 10 sets, about 20 minutes, twice a week.

Session 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dead BugPer side. 2 × 6–10 3 1 min
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySteps per hand. 3 × 20–30 3 90 s
Pallof PressPer side, 2 s hold. 3 × 8–12 3 1 min
Superman 2 × 6–10 2 1 min

Open Session 1 in the session builder

Session 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Turkish Get-UpPer side. No weight to start. 3 × 2–3 3 90 s
Side PlankSeconds per side. Knees down is fine. 2 × 10–30 2 1 min
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySteps per hand. 3 × 20–30 2 90 s
Back Extension 2 × 8–12 2 1 min

Open Session 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Put a rest day or more between Session 1 and Session 2. Keep 2 to 3 reps in reserve on every set. On the get-up, practice only the first steps, to your elbow and hand, until they feel steady.
How to progress
Add reps or steps first. When every set reaches the top of the range, add a heavier dumbbell on the carry, step further from the anchor on the Pallof press, or take the get-up one stage further.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are the top 3 core exercises?

The dead bug, the side plank and the Pallof press. Together they train your trunk to resist arching, bending sideways and twisting, which covers most of what core strength means. Add carries once those are easy.

What are the signs of a weak core?

Losing your balance when you stand on one leg, leaning to one side when you carry a heavy bag, your lower back arching when you lift something overhead, and planks that end in under 20 seconds with your hips sagging.

How do seniors strengthen their core?

With slow, controlled exercises done 2 to 3 times a week: dead bugs, side planks on the knees, suitcase carries and band presses. Standing exercises that use the core during daily movements, like carrying and getting up from the floor, give the most useful strength.

How long does it take to build core strength?

Most people notice longer holds and steadier reps within 4 to 6 weeks of training the core 2 to 3 times a week. Moving from a 20-second plank to rollouts usually takes a few months.

Are crunches good for core strength?

Crunches train your abs to bend your spine, which is only one part of core strength. The exercises on this page train your trunk to stay still under load, which carries over more to lifting and daily life.

How often should I train my core?

Two to three times a week. Your core recovers like any other muscle, so hard sessions on back-to-back days add little.