Your 5-Minute Core: Building Strength for Health, Athletics, and a Pain-Free Back

Core exercises are foundational for overall health, athletic performance, and even alleviating back pain. The best part? You can build a strong core every day in as little as 5 minutes!

Core exercises don't have to be complicated. Many are as simple as isometric exercises where you hold a position for an extended period, typically 30 to 90 seconds, depending on the difficulty and your starting strength.

My top recommendation for building a strong core focuses on the incredible versatility of planks and their variations.

1. The Elbow Plank (Great Start)

The elbow plank is an excellent starting exercise.

• Sets & Duration: Aim for 3-5 sets, holding for 30-60 seconds each.

• Goal: The ideal target is to accumulate 3 minutes of total time in the plank position.

2. Plank Saw (The First Variation)

Once you've mastered the static elbow plank, introduce movement with the plank saw.

• Execution: From the elbow plank position, sway your body forward and back like a saw, using your core to control the movement.

3. Plank on Hands (Adding Upper Body Strength)

Moving to a high plank position on your hands increases the demand on your core and introduces an upper body element.

• Benefit: This variation is fantastic for developing extra upper body strength and is great for shoulder stability.

4. Plank Build Up (The Advanced Challenge)

This is one of the more advanced, but achievable, plank variations.

• Execution: Start in a high plank (on hands), then drop down to your elbows, and immediately push back up to your hands, alternating which arm you use to lead the movement each time.

• Tracking: I like to count these as 1,1 then 2,2, etc., striving for 20 repetitions on each side.

5. Plank Pull Through (The Game Changer)

The final variation is truly a game changer, working a very large number of muscles.

• Execution: Get into a high plank (on hands). With one hand, reach under your body to pull a kettlebell or dumbbell from one side to the other, while the opposite arm stabilizes you.

• Benefit: This exercise intensely works your inner thighs, glutes, and obliques, dramatically increasing core strength and stability.

Your Path to a Stronger Core

Start with the most basic exercise, the Elbow Plank, for a few sessions. As you progress, begin adding levels of difficulty by incorporating the variations above.

Shoot for everyday! 

You got this!

Dr. Joe Criscuola