{"id":586143,"date":"2026-08-07T16:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/586143\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:12:16","slug":"you-dont-need-any-equipment-to-strengthen-your-deep-core-just-these-three-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/586143\/","title":{"rendered":"You don\u2019t need any equipment to strengthen your deep core\u2014just these three exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably heard about the importance of core strength. The muscles in your midsection play a role in nearly every movement you do and support your spine.<\/p>\n

What you might not know is that the core can be divided into superficial muscles near the surface and deep-lying muscles that you can\u2019t see.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

These muscles work together a lot of the time. But while your superficial muscles do the bulk of the work to move your torso, your deep-lying muscles are primarily responsible for things like spinal stability, organ support and breathing.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromFit&Well<\/p>\n

Classic core moves like sit-ups and bicycle crunches will target superficial movers, but you’ll need a different set of exercises to target those all-important deep-core muscles.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Schappert, a member of the ClassPass<\/a> Wellness Council and an ACE-certified personal trainer, recommends these three equipment-free options.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

1. Dead bug<\/p>\n

Deadbug Tutorial – Proper Form and Technique – YouTube
\n\"Deadbug<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8-12 Rest: 30-60sec<\/p>\n

How to do it<\/p>\n

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Lie on your back with your arms and legs extended upward and knees bent at a 90\u00b0 angle.Engage your core<\/a> and press your lower back down.Inhale and slowly lower your right arm and left leg until they are hovering above the floor.Exhale and return to the starting position, then switch sides.Alternate sides, moving slowly and keeping your back flat.<\/p>\n

Targets: Rectus abdominis<\/a>, transverse abdominis<\/a>, obliques<\/a><\/p>\n

Find dead bugs too hard? Try doing these easier dead bug variations<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n

2. Bird dog<\/p>\n

Sets: 2-3 Reps: 8-12 Rest: 30-60sec<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

How to do it<\/p>\n

Come to your hands and knees, with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.Engage your core by drawing your belly button toward your spine. Keep your back flat.Extend your right arm forward and left leg back so both are parallel to the floor.Pause briefly then return to the starting position.Switch sides and repeat.<\/p>\n

Targets: Core muscles<\/a> (transverse abdominis and obliques), lower back muscles, glutes, shoulders and hip stabilizers<\/p>\n

3. Plank up down<\/p>\n

How to Do\uff1aUP AND DOWN PLANK – YouTube
\n\"How<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Sets: 2-4 Hold: 20-60sec Rest: 30-60sec<\/p>\n

How to do it:<\/p>\n

Come to a push-up position, with hands on the floor, legs straight and feet hip-width apart.Engage your core and squeeze your glutes.Lower one forearm to the floor, then the other, so you’re in a forearm plank.Push back up into a high plank position.Repeat for 20-60 seconds, cycling between high plank and forearm plank.<\/p>\n

Targets: Core, shoulders, chest, lower back<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie<\/p>\n

Stephanie Schappert is a member of the ClassPass<\/a> Wellness Council and is an ACE-certified personal trainer. She teaches various formats at BC Block<\/a> in Nashville. She was a professional track runner for Hoka and has competed in the Olympic Trials and on US teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You\u2019ve probably heard about the importance of core strength. The muscles in your midsection play a role in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[499,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-586143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}