Here at the nugget, we believe that the students at HHS should be healthy, and a part of that is staying in good physical shape. Staying in shape allows us to pursue many activities from football to swimming, from rock climbing to yoga. Although the each of these activities requires strengths in certain muscle groups, they all share a need for a strong core. The core consists of your abdominal muscles, lower back, obliques,and hips. Having a strong core improves balance, posture, and ability in nearly all activities. Here are 10 core exercises to help build and maintain core strength (in no particular order). Notice that his list doesn’t include crunches or curl ups. They may be well known exercises, but they fail to work the entire core and leave one with little will to continue breathing.

1. Planks. This exercise works your abdominal muscles and is a staple of core workout. It should be done for 1-3 minutes, depending on fitness.

2. Side planks. These are the regular planks less popular cousin. They work your obliques and should be done for 30 seconds to 1 minute, and on each side.

3. Leg lifts. This exercise has you lay on your back and lift your legs off the ground, slowly lifting them from a height of 2 inches to 2 feet, never touching the ground for the duration of the exercise. This exercise works your lower abdominal muscles and should be done for 45 seconds to a minute, with each cycle lasting 4 to 6 seconds.

4. V-ups. this exercise combines core strength, balance and flexibility, and works the majority of your abdominal muscles. You should do 10 to 20 depending on fitness

5. Russian twists. This exercise works your obliques and helps with core rotation. It should be done for 45 seconds to one minute, and can be made more difficult by using a weighted ball.

6. Suit cases. This exercise works your abdominal muscles and requires some balance. It is similar to a V-up, but stays low and requires less strength and flexibility. It should be done 15 to 30 times.

6. Super people. Part of working your core requires working your back. This workout works your erector spinae muscles as well as your gluteus muscles, both of which are vital to stability and balance. It is requires that you keep your chest and thighs off the ground. It should be done for one to two minutes and can be made more difficult by extending your arms. Bonus point: finish this exercise and go straight into child’s pose. Your back will thank you.

7. Flutter kicks. This exercise is similar to leg lifts, but is done with small alternating kicks, as if you were swimming. The kicks should be short and quick and should be done for 45 seconds to a minute. They work your lower abs.

8.

Push ups. This exercise may not seem like an important core workout, but adds a dynamic element to planks. You should to 10 to 30, depending on fitness. You should also do multiple sets of these, breaking them up with other exercises.

10. Bridges. This exercise works you lower back as well as your quads. It requires maintaining a perfectly straight body and leg. This exercise should be done for 30 to 45 seconds on each leg.

Core workouts should be short and sweet, lasting 15 to 20 minutes at most. Because of this, they can be done easily every day, and won’t interfere with other workouts or events.