Improve your core strength with these effective exercises
What's the story
Twisting strength and stability are important for a range of activities, from sports to day-to-day tasks.
Improving these areas can help you perform better and also lessen the risk of injuries.
Core exercises are instrumental in building twisting strength by focusing on muscles that facilitate rotation.
Here are five effective core exercises that can enhance your twisting strength and stability, giving you a head-start.
Drive 1
Russian twists for rotational power
Russian twists are a great exercise to build rotational power.
Sitting on the floor with knees bent, lean back slightly, keeping your back straight.
Holding a weight or just clasping your hands together, twist your torso to one side, then the other.
This move activates the obliques and helps improve twisting strength by challenging your core to stabilize during rotation.
Drive 2
Bicycle crunches targeting obliques
Bicycle crunches are ideal to target the oblique muscles, which are important for twisting movements.
Lying on your back with hands behind your head, bring one knee towards your chest, while rotating your opposite elbow towards it.
Alternate sides as if pedaling a bicycle.
The exercise strengthens the obliques and improves overall core stability by engaging multiple muscle groups.
Drive 3
Standing woodchoppers with resistance bands
Standing woodchoppers with resistance bands mimic the motions of chopping to improve twisting power and stability.
Anchor a resistance band at shoulder height, face sideways to it, and pull diagonally across your body like you're chopping wood.
This explosive movement works both upper and lower body muscles responsible for rotation, helping you build strength in a coordinated manner.
Drive 4
Plank rotations for core stability
Plank rotations bring an element of instability to classic planks, improving core stability during twists.
Start in a plank position on forearms or hands.
Rotate one arm upwards towards ceiling while maintaining balance through hips and legs before returning it down again slowly.
Don't lose form throughout repetitions on each side alternately.
Drive 5
Seated medicine ball throws
Seated medicine ball throws emphasize explosive rotational power from seated positions akin to sports movements like throwing or swinging motions commonly seen across numerous disciplines, such as tennis or golf swings, etc.
where rapid direction changes are frequent.
These demand powerful cores that can manage sudden shifts efficiently without losing balance/control over time under pressure situations faced regularly within competitive settings globally today.