Ditch the machines for your body weight and these productive moves.<\/p>\n
Your core serves as your body\u2019s foundation and includes your abdominal muscles, hips, pelvis, and lower back. It helps keep you balanced on your feet while protecting your spine. Your core makes doing just about every daily task and movement easier and more efficient, providing the force to run, walk, twist, and bend. This means one thing: Your core requires proper maintenance.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best way to care for your core? With proper exercise, of course. We turned to Luka Hocevar<\/a>, Founder and Co-Owner of the Vigor Ground Gym in Ljubljana, Slovenia and owner of the Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance in Seattle, WA, who has been a coach for 21 years, to learn the five best bodyweight core exercises<\/a> you can do to build strength faster than gym machines after 50.<\/p>\n \tRKC Plank<\/p>\n \u201cMost planks you see are done without intent, sloppy, and with it, don\u2019t engage the core the way that would build real strength. Instead of resting on your joints for minutes, the goal of an RKC plank is to contract your muscles as hard as possible for 10 to 20 seconds,\u201d explains Hocevar.<\/p>\n Start in a forearm plank with your elbows under your shoulders and your legs extended behind you.
\nActivate your core, squeeze your glutes, and squeeze your heels together.
\nAt the same time, drive your elbows down into the ground to activate your lats.
\nKeep your body straight from your head to your heels.
\nHold the position for 10 to 20 seconds. (If you can hold it for 30 seconds, you\u2019re not doing it properly.)<\/p>\n