Strengthen your core with these top exercises

You can think of your core as the region of your body that links your upper and lower back, pelvic floor, and abdominal muscles. It's an essential component of any exercise program and has been shown to alleviate chronic back pain.

Building core strength doesn't have to be a chore, and the rewards will last a lifetime. Do it for just five or ten minutes a few times a week, and you'll notice a change.

Planks are great for toning and strengthening your core, back, and hamstrings. Also, they aid in keeping a strong and stable posture, which is useful for many daily tasks.

The plank exercise can be modified in a number of ways to make it more difficult or easier to complete. There are beginner-friendly options as well as more advanced moves for those who are more experienced in the gym.

Mini-looped resistance bands can be used to increase the intensity of your shoulder workout. The band should be wrapped around the upper part of the arms, just above the wrists.

Get into a plank position with your arms extended straight out in front of you, shoulders over your wrists, and feet a little further apart than hip-width. Holding your abdominal muscles in, twist your lower body to the left. After pausing, continue doing hip twists followed by diagonal knee pulls. Perform ten reps on each side for 30-60 seconds.

Performing lunges is a fantastic way to build muscle in your lower body without putting undue pressure on your knees or ankles. Additionally, they aid in the development of agility, equilibrium, and coordination.

The abdominal muscles can also be strengthened by lunges, though this depends on the specific variation you choose. Lunges are particularly challenging because they call for so much attention to balance and postural control.

Lunges are useful because they allow you to work on your lower body strength by using only one leg at a time (a form of training known as "unilateral"). Building functional strength (the kind of strength needed to walk, run, and climb stairs) is facilitated more by this method of training than by using both legs simultaneously.

Since resistance can be added with weights or other equipment without loading the working side of the body, this is also a good option for people who have back injuries. Lunges, as a low-impact exercise, can also aid in fat loss.

Kettlebell swings are an excellent choice if you want to strengthen your abs and back. It also puts minimal stress on your joints, making it a good option for people who are injury-prone.

Kettlebell swings are great for improving your posture because they strengthen your upper and lower back, glutes, and hamstrings, in addition to your core muscles. The full-body nature of the exercise improves cardiorespiratory fitness.

The dynamic motions involved in the kettlebell swing help to increase proprioception (coordination; the sense of movement) because they make you aware of every part of your body as you move the weight from above to between your legs, laterally, and behind you. Possessing this kind of self-awareness is crucial to maximizing your potential in sports and in life.

Although the dead bug may not sound particularly exciting, this bodyweight exercise should be incorporated into your core routine. The strengthening of the abdominal muscles and the stabilization of the back through this exercise aids in the avoidance of low back pain.

The dead bug is a simple core-targeting exercise that can be made more or less challenging based on the individual's fitness level, as explained by Sandra Gail Frayna, PT, founder of Hudson Premiere PT.

Using a flat surface as a base, lay on your back and raise one arm and one leg straight up. Williams tells SELF that the key to making the exercise comfortable is keeping your back in a neutral position the whole time. If your lower back arches and comes off the floor, you may experience pain.

The dead bug is an excellent coordination exercise because it requires you to maintain spinal neutrality while simultaneously controlling your arms and legs. When you're trying to advance through the various iterations of this movement, this can be particularly difficult.