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Exercises

Warm up for core: 7 minutes before ab work or heavy lifts

Published October 24, 2026

Do 2 minutes of high knees, 5 walkouts and 20 seconds of bear crawl forward and back, then 8 dead bugs per side, a 20-second side plank each side and 8 Pallof presses per side. That is about 7 minutes. Before a heavy squat, follow it with 3 to 4 climbing ramp-up sets of the squat.

  1. High Knees Quads
  2. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  3. Bear Crawl Abs, Shoulders
  4. Dead Bug Abs
  5. Side Plank Abs
  6. Pallof Press Abs

Raise: 2 minutes

Cardio that lifts the knees makes the abs and hip flexors work from the start.

Raise: cardio that also lifts the hips

High Knees

Quads

Lifting the knees to hip height makes the lower abs and hip flexors work while your heart rate climbs.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall and start jogging on the spot.
  2. Drive each knee to about hip height while the arms pump.
  3. Land softly under your hips and keep your chest up.

Cues

  • Knees up, chest up
  • Fast, light feet

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to lift the knees: stay tall and lower the height if needed.

Swap for: Jumping Jack, Skipping in Place, Butt Kicks

Build a session with High Knees

Raise: cardio from a plank

Mountain Climber

Abs

Running in a plank raises your heart rate and starts the brace at the same time.

How to do it

  1. Start in a high plank with hands under your shoulders.
  2. Drive one knee toward your chest, then switch legs in a running rhythm.
  3. Keep your hips level with your shoulders.

Cues

  • Hips stay low
  • Quick feet

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing the hips up and down: slow the pace until they stay still.

Swap for: High Knees, Plank Jack, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Mountain Climber

Move the trunk: 2 minutes

Walkouts and crawls take the spine and shoulders through a plank under control.

Mobility: hamstrings, shoulders and trunk in one move

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

Walking out to a plank and back moves the hips and spine from folded to long.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, hinge forward and place your palms on the floor, bending your knees as much as needed.
  2. Walk the hands forward into a push-up position with a straight body.
  3. Hold for a breath, then walk your hands back to your feet and stand up.

Cues

  • Hands walk, feet stay
  • Long body at the far end

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag at the far end: squeeze your glutes and brace.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Plank to Push-Up, Mountain Climber

Build a session with Walkout

Mobility: shoulders and trunk on all fours

Bear Crawl

Abs, Shoulders

Crawling with the knees just off the floor makes the trunk hold still while the limbs move.

How to do it

  1. Get on hands and feet with knees bent and hovering just off the floor.
  2. Crawl forward by moving the opposite hand and foot together a short distance.
  3. Keep your back flat and hips low, then crawl backward.

Cues

  • Knees an inch off the floor
  • Opposite hand, opposite foot

Common mistakes

  • Hips high in the air: keep your back level like a table.

Swap for: Walkout, Mountain Climber, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Bear Crawl

Activate: front, side and rotation

One light set each for the front of the trunk, the sides and resisting rotation. Stop every set well short of shaking.

Activation: deep abs with a still lower back

Dead Bug

Abs

It teaches you to keep the lower back still while arms and legs move, the skill every core exercise uses.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up with arms pointed at the ceiling and knees bent over your hips.
  2. Press your lower back gently into the floor.
  3. Lower the opposite arm and leg toward the floor while you breathe out, then return and switch.

Cues

  • Lower back stays down
  • Breathe out as you reach

Common mistakes

  • The back arching off the floor: shorten the reach until it stays down.

Swap for: Plank, Reverse Crunch, Plate Hollow Hold

Build a session with Dead Bug

Activation: obliques and side hip

Side Plank

Abs

Twenty seconds per side wakes the obliques that keep you from tipping sideways under a bar.

How to do it

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

Cues

  • Hips forward and high
  • Shoulder over elbow

Common mistakes

  • Hips drifting back: push them forward over your knees.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Copenhagen Plank, Plank

Build a session with Side Plank

Activation: resisting rotation

Pallof Press

Abs

It trains the trunk to resist turning, which a single exercise rarely covers.

How to do it

  1. Stand side-on to a cable or band at chest height, holding the handle at your chest.
  2. Press the handle straight out in front and hold for a second.
  3. Bring it back to your chest without letting your trunk turn.

Cues

  • Press straight out
  • Nothing turns

Common mistakes

  • Standing too close to feel it: step out until the pull is real.

Swap for: Plank Shoulder Tap, Cable Woodchop, Side Plank

Build a session with Pallof Press

Activation: anti-rotation in a plank

Plank Shoulder Tap

Abs

A no-equipment version of the same anti-rotation idea.

How to do it

  1. Start in a high plank with your feet a little wider than hip width.
  2. Lift one hand to tap the opposite shoulder without letting your hips rock.
  3. Put it down and tap with the other hand.

Cues

  • Hips still as a table
  • Slow taps

Common mistakes

  • Twisting to reach the shoulder: widen your feet.

Swap for: Plank, Bear Crawl, Pallof Press

Build a session with Plank Shoulder Tap

Activation: controlled rotation

Cable Woodchop

Abs

Light chops move the trunk through rotation before twisting work.

How to do it

  1. Set a cable high and hold the handle in both hands, standing side-on.
  2. Pull it diagonally to the opposite hip, turning through your trunk and back foot.
  3. Return slowly along the same path.

Cues

  • Turn from the trunk
  • Arms stay long

Common mistakes

  • Yanking with the arms: use a lighter weight and move the ribs.

Swap for: Dumbbell Woodchop, Pallof Press, Med Ball Woodchop

Build a session with Cable Woodchop

Then the first lift

Before an ab session, start with your hardest ab exercise. Before squats, the trunk work is done and the squat gets its ramp-up sets.

Main lift: abs and hip flexors

Hanging Knee Raise

Abs

A common first ab exercise in the gym; one light set of slow reps prepares the grip and hips.

How to do it

  1. Hang from a bar with straight arms.
  2. Raise your knees toward your chest while curling your pelvis up.
  3. Lower with control so you don't swing.

Cues

  • Curl the pelvis
  • No swinging

Common mistakes

  • Kicking up with momentum: pause at the bottom.

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

Build a session with Hanging Knee Raise

Main lift: anti-extension

Ab Wheel Rollout

Abs

The hardest exercise here, so only short rolls in the first set.

How to do it

  1. Kneel with the wheel under your shoulders.
  2. Roll forward slowly while keeping your hips and back in a straight line.
  3. Pull back to the start with your abs.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Only as far as you can return

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back sag: shorten the roll.

Swap for: Barbell Rollout, Long Lever Plank, Plank

Build a session with Ab Wheel Rollout

Main lift: back squat with ramp-up sets

Barbell Back Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

Your core is ready to brace, so the squat goes straight to its ramp-up sets.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar on your upper back, grip it firmly, and walk it out.
  2. Brace, then sit down between your hips until your thighs reach at least parallel.
  3. Drive up through your whole foot.

Cues

  • Brace before you descend
  • Knees track over toes

Common mistakes

  • Losing the brace at the bottom: breathe in and tighten before each rep.

Swap for: Front Squat, Goblet Squat, Smith Squat

Build a session with Barbell Back Squat

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. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Before an ab workout

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets26 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentAdjustable Cable, Pull-Up Bar, Ab Wheel

You have a gym ab session with hanging raises and rollouts.

The warm-up covers front, side and rotation lightly, so the first hard ab exercise starts with a trunk that already knows how to brace.

Abs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
High KneesSeconds. 2 minutes straight, no rest. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 0 s
Bear CrawlSeconds. Forward and back. 1 × 20 4 0 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Side PlankSeconds. Each side. 1 × 20 4 0 s
Pallof PressPer side. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Hanging Knee Raise1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–15 2 1 min
Ab Wheel Rollout 3 × 6–12 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the warm-up, then hanging knee raises and rollouts.
How to progress
Add reps to the working sets; the warm-up stays easy.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Before heavy squats

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets14 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentBarbells

Your session opens with a heavy back squat.

A brace that is switched on before the bar is on your back helps the first ramp set feel solid. The trunk drills stay short so your legs don't tire, and the squat gets four ramp-up sets.

Squat day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Mountain ClimberSeconds. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 0 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Side PlankSeconds. Each side. 1 × 20 4 0 s
Barbell Back Squat4 warm-up sets first 3 × 3–6 2 3 min
How to run it
Do the warm-up, then the squat ramp and working sets.
How to progress
Progress the squat by the reps in reserve on your last working set.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

At home, no equipment

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You want a short core warm-up before a home workout.

Shoulder taps replace the cable press and crawls replace the raise, so every block needs only floor space.

Home core warm-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
High KneesSeconds. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Bear CrawlSeconds. Forward and back. 1 × 30 4 0 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8 4 0 s
Side PlankSeconds. Each side. 1 × 20 4 0 s
Plank Shoulder TapPer side. 1 × 10 4 0 s
How to run it
Do the blocks as a circuit, once or twice.
How to progress
Add 5 seconds per hold or 2 taps per side each week until the circuit feels easy.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do I warm up my core?

Two minutes of high knees, walkouts and bear crawls, then one light set each of dead bugs, side planks and Pallof presses.

What are good core warm-up exercises?

Dead bugs, side planks, Pallof presses, bear crawls and walkouts.

Should I warm up my core before lifting?

A short version helps you brace before squats and deadlifts. Keep it light so the abs aren't tired for the lift.

How long should a core warm-up take?

About 7 minutes; 3 if it comes before a lift.

What should I do after a core workout?

Walk for a few minutes and save any long stretching holds for then.