The Best Exercise to Strengthen Your Core

What would I tell my 30-year-old self about exercise?

You need this body to be functional and healthy for decades. Listen to your body!

Before I became a trainer, I was ridiculously skilled at getting injured.

My injuries included:

• Torn calf muscle

• Fractured foot

• IT band strain

• Tendinitis in the left knee

• Tendinitis in both of my Achilles' tendons

• Groin strain

The list represents months of rehab, pain, and frustration — and so many crying sessions! I was exercising a lot, but I had no clue what I was doing.

Until I became a trainer, I didn't know what not to do. I followed my instructors in class and did what they told me to do—much to my detriment.

No workout is worth being injured. Listen to your body and do what feels right.

We want to train correctly, safely, and comfortably.

This Week’s Exercise:

We will build on last week's push-up exercise and add in a core movement.

Your core is made up of layers of muscle that support your spine, hips, stomach, pelvis, back, and butt.

You use your core in almost every activity you do.

Anytime you are bending, lifting, twisting, reaching, standing, or sitting, you are using your core. Your core also helps with posture and balance, and it protects your organs.

We will practice forearm planks this week. Planks are one of the best exercises you can do to strengthen your core, and there are a lot of options for skill levels.

We will keep our push-ups from last week and add planks to our routine.

See below for a video tutorial on how to properly (and safely!) do a forearm plank.

Day 1 – 10 push-ups & 15 - 30 sec. plank

Day 3 – 10 push-ups & 15 – 30 sec. plank

Day 5 – 10 push-ups & 15 - 30 sec. plank

Day 6 – Any activity you want – just get moving for 10-15 minutes.

Your core is getting a double workout between the planks and push-ups, so adjust your reps as needed.

If you can’t do all of the reps or plank for the suggested time, no big deal! Exercise is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. Do what works for you!

Try to follow the training schedule as many days as you can!

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Is it Safe to Exercise if You Are Sore?

We’ve all experienced that next day soreness that makes us groan when we get out of bed in the morning. Soreness can be part of working out, but it’s also a symptom that you want to pay attention to. Most muscle soreness should dissipate within 24-72 hours. If it’s lingering longer than that, you need to evaluate your “sore area” to make sure you aren’t dealing with an injury.

When is it okay to work out if you are experiencing soreness?

Sometimes a light recovery activity can help alleviate soreness. If you are slightly sore, an active recovery workout might be more beneficial than harmful. Some low-impact activities might include walking, swimming laps, yoga, stretching or some light resistance band activities. Additionally, if you only trained one area of your body (such as legs), you could train a different area of your body (upper body).

Why it’s important to take soreness seriously:

When we train muscles, we are creating microscopic tears in our muscles. As these muscles recover, the tears heal up and the muscle eventually becomes stronger. Because of this, it’s imperative you give your muscles at least 48 hours to recover. If you don’t allow for this recovery time, the muscles never heal properly and can result in an injury.

If I’m extremely sore following a workout, I take the next day off. I make sure I walk and move around to keep my body somewhat active, but I skip the intense workout.

If you are looking for some workouts that target only the upper or lower body, check some of these out:

Strong Hips Workout

10-Minute Upper Body Workout

15-Minute Dumbbell Workout for Your Arms

Ultimate Leg Workout

Personal Trainer's Top 3 Tips for Exercising

I’ve been a personal trainer for many years, and there are three tips that I wish the general public knew: 1) don’t let an old injury or sore body part keep you from exercising 2) you know your body best and 3) all exercise is beneficial – even if it’s only for 5-10 minutes!

If you have a sore knee, you don’t need to forgo exercising altogether. There are so many knee-friendly modifications that can be made for your workouts. It would be worth hiring a personal trainer for one or two sessions to share modifications for popular workout moves. 

Sore lower back? Avoid exercises that require you to have both of your feet/legs hovering off the ground (if you are lying on your back); opt for a plank rather than lying double leg lifts. Again, research back-friendly workouts or hire an exercise professional to share some modifications.

I have had dozens of clients come to me with a variety of physical ailments – plantar fasciitis, artificial hips, artificial knees, rheumatoid arthritis, broken arms and legs, etc. We always find a way to keep them active while being conscious of the injured area. (In some instances, we are able to strengthen and improve the functionality of a chronically injured body part!)

You Know Your Body Best

No matter how experienced an exercise professional is, he or she does not know your body as well as you do. If a movement hurts, stop. Tell the individual that you don’t want to do that movement or explain the discomfort you are feeling. There are so many exercise modifications that it’s easy to substitute another movement.

I want clients to tell me when something is painful, uncomfortable or if they don’t feel the movement. On many occasions, I’m able to identify a muscle weakness because of their feedback. We can then focus on strengthening that body part.

Exercise – Even If It’s For 5 Minutes

Moving your body is beneficial. If you only have 10 minutes, work out for 10 minutes!  Being active is the overall goal, so fit exercise in wherever you can. We are working out to improve our overall health, which means any and all activity is welcome.

Many times, a client will tell me she didn’t exercise because she only had 20 minutes. A 20-minute workout is all you need on most days. I have several 5, 7, 10 and 20-minute workouts on my workout page. Check them out if you are needing a fast workout!

You can be active even if you have an injured body part or have limited time. However, remember that you know your body the best! If you need modifications or have questions, please comment below or email me!

If you are interested in doing a low-impact workout or one that is modified for sore knees or wrists, check out some of my favorites:

Wrist-friendly Bodyweight Workout

Best Workout for Bad Knees

Back-friendly Ab Workout

Low-Impact, Full-Body Workout