Tier I: core

You’ve learned the why and the how (and how not) of exercising. Hopefully, you’ve started using your abs for everything. Noticing when you’re maintaining a bad posture while exercising. Controlling your breath. Changing your lifestyle more than your fitness routine.

From now on, I will merely give concrete, specific exercises that I recommend. These are exercises that either …

• Helped me the most
• Were recommended by (almost) all the specialists I visited
• Make the most sense and should work, knowing what you know now.

The most important ones are for your core. This means the exercises target your whole body and posture, but mostly your abs, hips and lower back.

In general, exercises where you have to use your legs and bend your knees are good. They train everything at the same time. You will notice that even a few repetitions of those exercises raises your heart rate. You will see that these exercises often train your legs at the same time.

It also means I recommend starting your activities with core and balance exercises. First make sure these parts of your body are trained, engaged, activated. Then profit from this good start throughout all the other exercises.

Squat

I recommend starting with the squat. Two feet firmly on the ground, bend your knees to drop your butt to the ground, and get back up again.

Two key tips:

• Keep your upper body upright. Don’t lean forward or backward
• Don’t go further than halfway, like your butt is about to sit on a chair. If you go further, you actually make it easier, as you will just “hang” into your legs.

Can do the squat? Do weighted squats. Simply hold a weight or resistance band while doing them.

After that, you can advance to Bulgarian squats. This trains one leg at a time and is considerably more difficult. Stand in front of some heightened surface, like a low bench, a low wall, whatever. Place the toes of one log on the surface behind you. Now simply do squats using your other leg. (And when done, obviously, switch legs.)

This isolates both legs. Which means you cannot compensate, you must train them both equally. It’s also harder for balance. Really engage your core, your abs, and move your arms to the sides to not fall over.

You can do that? Try your hand at pistol squats. These, again, are squats with only one leg. But this time, stretch the leg you don’t use forward. (Your legs form a “pistol shape”.) Put all weight on the other leg and don’t allow the stretched leg to touch the ground.

Honestly, if you can do several pistol squats, your core is plenty strong.

Lunge

A lunge is basically a squat. But instead of both feet next to each other, you step forward, placing your feet far apart (in front of one another).

Some key tips:

• Keep your weight evenly distributed across both feet. This means your upper body sinks straight down, instead of leaning forward or backward.
• Don’t allow your knee to touch the ground. It should barely stay above the ground.
• If too hard, take smaller steps. If too easy, take bigger steps.

Can do this? Switch to a lunge into a knee raise. When you get back up, immediately raise the knee of your behind leg, as if you are going to walk the stairs. Again, don’t overdo this: simply raise your knee until it’s parallel with the ground.

Can do that? It’s time to add something unstable, like that water bag. This will constantly throw you around, so you need to really engage your abs and find your balance each time. An alternative is to use weights in both hands. It’s not necessarily unstable, but it does make it harder.

Plank

Planks are easy to explain, but tough to execute well. All you do is make your body a straight plank, in some way, and stay in that exact position for a longer time.

You can do side planks and front planks. Many people only know about the regular, front plank. But side planks are toughter and perhaps more impotant.

Some key points:

• Really compress your abs when doing the front plank. Your body should be completely straight, not a banana.
• If possible, get yourself a mirror, to ensure you don’t subconsciously “sag” while holding the plank.
• Try to extend your shoulders. In other words, with the front plank, push your upper back further upward. I say try, because this is really tough on your shoulder muscles and you can easily overdo this and get injured.
• In side planks, raise your non-used arm into the air for extra balance. Also trust your ankle to hold the weight, don’t try to stay on the side of your foot.

Can do this? Add the knee raise again. While holding the plank, keep your weight one one leg, and raise the knee of the other.

Can do that? Don’t plank against the solid ground. Instead, get an unstable surface. Perhaps a slanted floor, a yoga ball, a different ball, anything. Place your feet or your hands on that unstable surface. (Placing both feet and hands on unstable surfaces is quite impossible.)

Alternating leg lift

This is my main exercise for your abs. Many exercises for abs run the risk of back injury, or you’re not sure if you are doing them right. (And often, you are not. Our posture in our lower back is one of the most common bad habits which is also, unfortunately, hard to let go.)

The well-know crunches, for example, are easy to do wrong.

I can’t find the exact exercise on the internet, so I’ll explain. (Update! I’ve found it called the dead bug.)

• Lay down on your back. Raise your knees, so your upper legs are perfectly vertical, pointing at the ceiling.
• Now straighten one of your legs. Until it’s parallel with the ground, but barely above it. Don’t let your ankle touch the ground!
• And raise the leg back up.
• Alternate with the other leg and repeat.

Why is this my recommendation? First of all, it’s just a great exercise that really targets your abs.

Secondly, you can check if you’re doing it right. While doing this exercise, push your lower back into the floor. Just push it, as hard as you can. Your lower back should never lift from the floor. (You should never be able to put a hand or a book or something between your lower back and the floor.)

This will be hard, at first. But keep trying it. Focus on correct technique, not how many repetitions you can get.

After a while, you’ll notice you’re able to keep your abs engaged and your back straight. This will transfer to all other exercises and your general posture.

Can do this? Add a resistance band. Put it behind your head, so you can pull it towards your knees with your hands. Keep tension on the band throughout the whole exercise. (This forces your upper abs to contract more.)

Can do this? Try raising and lowering both legs at the same time. (Really keep them together and controlled.)

Can do that? Also raise your head and upper body from the floor. Now you get close to crunches, “bicycle crunches”, and other well-known abs exercises.

But notice how we build up to that point! Start with my exercise, which allows you to know if you’re doing it right, and get the correct form first. Only once your abs are already really strong, can you do more insane stuff.

Crawling & Dog Movement

These are fun exercises that also work well for you abs and core. It’s simple: crawl or move around like a dog, through whatever space you want. (Away from other people’s eyes, if you think this is shameful.)

The important thing it to keep your weight on your toes and fingertips. To make this movement fluid and keep your abs engaged. This is much harder than it sounds.

Once you can do this, add other types of movement. Small jumps. Knee raises. Hip dips (rotating one hip towards the floor).

If you are bored by repetetive exercises, these things easy to vary and keep fun. They are more playful, while using basic movements any human knows and can do, to train your core.

Yoga ball

In general, unstable surfaces are great for your core. I’d recommend getting a few yoga balls, or balance boards, or anything in that direction.

Simply use them in your daily routine. Stand or sit on them while working. Use them when relaxing or watching television.

Or directly add them to your exercises. Any exercise that can be done with no or little equipment, can be done on an unstable surface. And it will breathe new life into the exercise by asking new questions of your core muscles.

The first time you add an unstable surface, it will feel like you’re incompetent. You can’t deal with it and fall over. But try it a few more times, and within a few days you will be strong enough to counteract it. Which means your core has become stronger and more controlled, which is great.