When it comes to fitness, doing a core workout daily barely get an attention. Many people’s core exercises are also quite often limited to sit-ups and crunches. Core exercises, on the other hand, should be an important part of your fitness regimen and should be included in your daily routine. Here’s a simple but highly effective 7-minute daily core workout routine to get you started.
1st Exercise – Lying Leg Raises
Leg raises, also known as leg lifts, lying leg raises, or straight leg raises, are a simple but effective core exercise for challenging and strengthening your abdominal muscles, particularly your lower abs. Leg raises also isolate your rectus abdominis, making this one of the best abdominal exercises. That’s why you should add this core exercise for your daily 7-minute core workout routine.
How To:
- Lie on your back comfortably keeping your legs straight.
- Your arms should be by your sides. Keep your palms facing down.
- Engage your core and lift your legs a few inches off the ground. Remember to keep your legs straight.
- Keep your chin tucked inwards throughout the exercise.
- Raise your legs until your knees are directly over your hips and make a 90-degree angle with your torso.
- Hold this position for 2-3 seconds.
- Keep your core engaged and bring your legs down slowly.
Do this for 10-15 reps and then rest for 10 seconds.
2nd Exercise – Russian Twist
Russian twists are a core exercise that target your hips, core, and shoulders. This exercise is performed in a twisting motion and has several challenging variations. This was a very easy exercise so you should definitely add this to your daily 7-minute core workout routine.
How To:
- Sit on the floor in a comfortable position with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Lean back gently to make an angle of 45 degrees to the floor.
- Remember to keep your back straight during this and all other movements during the Russian twist exercise.
- Interlace your fingers in front of your chest and raise your legs off the floor. Do this while engaging your core.
- Rotate your arms to one side.
- Repeat on the other side.
Do this for 15-20 reps and then rest for 10 seconds.
See Also: Core Destroyer: 8 Week At Home Ab Workout
3rd Exercise – Crunches
Abdominal crunches are designed to tone the core muscles of the body. The core workout aids in strengthening the core muscles, improving posture, and increasing the mobility and flexibility of the muscles.
How To:
- Brace your core.
- Crunch your ribs toward your pelvis using your abdominal muscles to initiate and complete the movement.
- Exhale as you come up and keep your neck straight, chin up.
- Hold at the top of the movement for a few seconds, breathing continuously.
- Lower slowly back down, but don’t relax all the way.
Do this for 15-20 reps then rest for 10 seconds.
4th Exercise – Rowboats
One of the most underrated core workouts is rowboats. Rowboats can highly help in strengthening and toning your core and improving your overall balance. Rowboats are also a really easy core workout to do so you can also add them to your daily 7-minute core workout routine.
How To:
- Sit down on your bum.
- Bend your knees towards you but ensure that your feet are touching together whilst being about 6 inches off the ground.
- Align your feet so they’re side by side but ensure you’ve got a comfortable balance.
- Extend your arms out in front of you so that they’re directly in line with your shoulders.
- Maintain a straight back and keep your neck up.
- With your feet off the ground, start pumping your legs out in front of you whilst retracting your arms in a rowing boat motion.
Do this for 10-15 reps then rest for 10 seconds.
See Also: 7 Best Plank Variations To Achieve A Shredded Core
5th Exercise – Scissors
Scissor kicks are a very effective core workout that you can also do at home. Core exercises like scissors can also help improve your squats, deadlifts, push-ups, and other core-intensive strength training exercises. When executed with proper form, scissor exercises are an effective addition to your daily 7-minute ab workout routine.
How To:
- Lie on your back on the mat with your legs extended out in front of you. Place your arms by your sides, palms down. You can also place your hands under your glutes below the small of your back, palms pressing into the floor.
- Engage your core by pressing your lower back into the mat and tucking your pelvis. Maintain this position during the entire movement.
- Lift both legs off the ground about 6 to 12 inches from the starting position (in this case, the floor) or about a 45-degree angle.
- With your core tight and neck relaxed, lower one leg toward the floor as you lift the other leg. This is the start of the “scissoring” motion.
- Continue the scissoring motion by slowly switching your legs up and down for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Do this for 10-15 reps then rest for 10 seconds.
6th Exercise – Star Crunch
Compared to regular crunches, starfish crunches work your obliques and lower abs more. Starfish crunches is a core workout that is typically done to grow and strengthen core muscles like your obliques and abs.
How To:
- Lie down on your back with your stretched arms and legs spread out so that your body makes a starfish (an X) shape.
- Slowly move up one leg and the arm of the opposite side until they reach the middle while keeping these body parts stretched. These movements should come as much from your core muscles as possible. Especially for the arm movement you want the movement to come from your upper body coming off the ground.
- Lower your arm and leg to the position in step 1 in a controlled motion
- Repeat the same movement with the opposite arm and leg.
Do this for 10-15 reps then rest for 10 seconds.
See Also: A one-month workout routine to strengthen your core and relieve back pain
7th Exercise – Bicycle Crunches
Adding bicycle crunches to your daily 7-minute core workout routine helps to increase core strength, slims down your waist, and improves your stability and flexibility. This exercise works your abs and obliques because it keeps your body moving constantly, boosts your heart rate, and burns even more calories.
How To:
- Lie on your back, lift your shoulders off the mat, and raise both legs.
- Bring one knee and the opposing elbow close to each other by crunching to one side, and fully extending the other leg.
- Return to the starting position and then crunch to the opposite side.
Do this for 15-20 reps then rest for 10 seconds.
