Core exercises aren’t just about getting a shredded six-pack—they’re the key to unlocking full-body strength, stability, and performance. If you’re pushing a weight plate or working with light dumbbells, activating your serratus will help you keep your shoulder blades tight, boosting performance in every training session. This muscle keeps your shoulder blades locked onto your rib cage, maintaining a strong core, and improving the entire movement during exercises like Planks, Pushups, and Rotations.

The plates are coated with a durable black baked enamel finish, and are designed to take a beating, whether you’re deadlifting in the garage or doing Olympic lifts on a platform. REP Fitness’ rubber bumper plates strike the right balance between affordability and durability. Most reviewers report that it feels great in the hands (even without the knurled grip), although some reviewers complain of more bending than expected when lifting 350 pounds or more. Foldable squat racks are a game-changer for home gyms, and Titan’s T-3 Series rack is one of the best values out there.

Building a routine

A strong core can help improve your posture, balance, and stability. Here are some of the best bodyweight exercises you can do to strengthen your core. The core muscles in your body are the foundation of your strength and stability.

Here are 3 options on how to continue with Nerd Fitness:

Strengthening the obliques is essential for a strong and balanced core, which helps support posture and everyday movements. If you have difficulty lying on your back, sit on a chair with your back supported. Keep your knees bent at a 90° angle, your feet on the floor, and your arms down at your sides. Then tighten your abdomen, raise one foot off the floor, and extend the leg while you raise the opposite arm so it points to the ceiling. Repeat the movement with the opposite leg and arm to complete one rep. A strong core is the foundation for an active and safe life.

Side-lying hip abduction

That makes it a beneficial add, as many other exercises flip that intensity (heavy abs, light obliques). Planks target your upper and lower abdominals most intensely, but you’ll feel them in numerous other muscle groups (glutes, quads, and delts). You can do planks in short reps or as an endurance exercise. For grown males, back pain can be a consistent and debilitating problem that keeps you from performing a slew of basic functions. By implementing a core-focussed fitness regimen, you’ll be actually solving the problem, as opposed to just medicating it. Of course, that’s presuming you perform the right back and ab exercises, whereas the wrong ones can only make your back pain worse.

• If you’re hitting it hard with intense core workouts every day, you’re not giving your muscles the chance to rebuild and get stronger.
• Core stability is required for adequate weight distribution across the spine, pelvis, and lower extremities, especially during explosive movements and lifting heavy weights.
• Exercises like dead bugs require you to brace your abdominals and keep your ribs down.
• These exercises target different areas of your core for complete development.
• With legs extended, lower yourself back to 45 degrees and then pull your right elbow to left knee, then switch to left elbow to the right knee.
• You don’t need fancy equipment to build a rock-solid core—you can crush it right at home.

Here are the 10 best core exercises to get you started on your washboard journey. More interested in building big pecs than developing a strong core? Well, you’re unlikely to be able to do one without the other. ‘If you’re a guy who wants a bigger chest but you’ve got a weak core, that’s going to contribute to a forward pulling and a rounding of the shoulders,’ says Burton. Core exercises will fix that rounding and give you the chest you’ve always dreamed of. Shift your weight into your left foot and bring your right knee toward your chest.

Keep your body straight from head to heels, engage or tuck your midsection, and hold the position. Beginners have the plank position for at least 30 sec; more advanced individuals hold it for at least a minute. Lie on your back with your knees bent at around 45 degrees and your hands behind your head or across your chest.

The 5 Best Core Exercises

Last but not least, I recommend you include this power exercise in your routine. This will provide both cardiovascular exercise and a core strengthening stimulus all in one, neat movement. Core exercises will build strength and define your abs, but burning fat? Finally, when it’s time for rotational power, your abs and obliques are your go-to muscles for generating explosive twists. The best ab workouts hit every region of your abs—all the abdominal muscles—and do it in the right order.

Best Ab Exercises for Men: Complete Core Workout Guide 2025

Skip the six-pack abs and chase something more useful, like proper thigh-to-back core strength. You may have noticed that we haven’t covered sit-ups in our guide on the best core exercises. These 5 exercises will go a long way towards developing serious core strength. Try to perform each exercise for 60 seconds with no rest if you can. If you’re abs are really burning, then give yourself a quick 10 sec rest and carry on from where you stopped. Your core musculature supports you from sunrise to sunset from the moment you get up out of bed.

Next, rise onto the balls of your feet, employing your core muscles as you slam the ball toward the ground, bending forward at the waist. Catch the ball as it bounces back up and repeat the motion. Your working not just the abs, but your shoulders as well. If you only do core workouts, that leads to asymmetric muscle development.

Core Workouts for Men: Full Guide

Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men’s Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He’s logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men’s Health, he is mad muscle worth it served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News. “It’s an industry standard used by CrossFit and in many high-profile competitions for a reason,” according to Samuel.

Athlete Workout Program (Athlete

Now you know the moves, it’s about time you added them into your workouts. Don’t sweat, we’ve got you covered with our collection that target all goals and every body part. I recommend repeating the program x2-3 times (making it a 4-week to 6-week program) for best results. This adjustable weighted jump rope is made of thick silicone that is soft, sweat-resistant and comfortable to use even during long workouts. We can confirm through our own testing that this jump rope is built to last. Out of the box, it’s nearly 10 feet long, but is designed to be cut to find the perfect fit based on user height.

Forearm plank

If a multi-layering band is going to break, it starts with a small tear. So, be sure to keep an eye on your bands before using them if they are old. We’ve done an in-depth post on resistance bands vs free weights, but to give you a quick run-through, here are some benefits of using resistance bands over free weights.

Side Plank Hold

Dr Mendez is passionate about Olympic weightlifting and fitness. Ernesto Mendez is responsible for designing multiple training programs, writing blog articles, posting daily weightlifting content, doing live weightlifting and mobility seminars. While keeping your left knee bent, slowly extend your right leg, holding it parallel to the floor and a few inches above it. At the same time, lower your left arm backward, extending it past your head, without allowing your back to arch or losing the tension in your lower abdomen. Something we can’t guarantee about the weight bench – especially if it’s chest day.