The Best Core Exercises, Ranked
Eight core exercises that cover bending, bracing and rotation, in the order worth trying them, plus every other core exercise in the library.
By Jobri Fitness
The short answer
Train your core in three ways: bend the spine (crunches, leg raises), resist movement (planks, rollouts, Pallof presses), and work the obliques (side planks, twists). Two or three exercises a week cover it for most people.
The 8 best core exercises
Hanging Leg Raise
BodyweightLifting your legs while hanging trains your abs hard, and bending your knees makes it easier.
How to do it: Hanging Leg RaiseBodyweight only
Crunches
CableThe kneeling cable crunch lets you add weight in small steps, which floor crunches can't.
How to do it: CrunchesAlso with: Machine, Bodyweight
Ab Rollout
BodyweightRolling out and back with an ab wheel trains your abs to stop your lower back from arching.
How to do it: Ab RolloutBodyweight only
Plank
BodyweightA static hold that teaches you to brace your trunk; add a plate once it gets easy.
How to do it: PlankAlso with: Other weights
Pallof Press
CablePressing a cable handle out in front of you while resisting its pull trains your core to resist rotation.
How to do it: Pallof PressCable only
Side Plank
BodyweightWorks your obliques and the side of your trunk from a static hold, with no equipment.
How to do it: Side PlankBodyweight only
Russian Twist
DumbbellA seated twist for the obliques; hold a dumbbell to make it harder.
How to do it: Russian TwistAlso with: Bodyweight
Dead Bug
BodyweightOn your back, you lower the opposite arm and leg while keeping your lower back flat. A good way to learn core control.
How to do it: Dead BugBodyweight only
How these are ranked
The order favors exercises you can make harder in clear steps, by adding weight, range or leverage, so leg raises and cable crunches lead. After that, each pick adds a different job: resisting an arch, resisting rotation, or working the obliques. If a lower pick suits your back or your gym better, use it.
How much core work you need
The number of hard sets you do each week matters more than which exercise you pick. How many sets per week to build muscle covers the numbers, and how to build core strength puts them into a plan. The training volume calculator counts your weekly sets per muscle, and the workout plan generator builds a week around them.
All 37 core exercises
- Ab Rollout
- Alternating Heel Touches
- Ball Slams
- Band Pallof Press
- Battle Ropes
- Bicycle Crunch
- Burpee
- Cable Woodchop
- Captain's Chair Knee Raise
- Crunches
- Dead Bug
- Decline Sit Up
- Dragon Flag
- Flutter Kicks
- Hanging Knee Raise
- Hanging Leg Raise
- Hollow Body Hold
- Jackknife Sit Up
- L-Sit
- Leg Raise
- Mountain Climbers
- Oblique Crunch
- Pallof Press
- Plank
- Reverse Crunch
- Russian Twist
- Seated Ab Crunch
- Serratus Punch
- Side Bend
- Side Plank
- Sit Up
- Suitcase Carry
- Toes to Bar
- Torso Rotation
- Turkish Get-Up
- V-Up
- Windmill
Log your sets in GymEvo
Log every set, see what you lifted last time, and follow your estimated one-rep max on the free progress chart.