A frequent conversation I have with my clients is about how often you can train your core. Given the amount of plank challenges on the internet, most people assume it’s okay to to do crunchless core exercises every day.
So let’s discuss. You’ve probably heard to avoid strength training the same muscle group back to back days. This recommendation assumes that you are using a heavy amount of weight. Therefore, you would need to allow time for your muscles to recover. After all, lifting challenging amounts of weight means doing some minor damage to your muscles!
BUT, usually when you exercise your abs, you aren’t using a lot of resistance. Planks, Dead Bugs, and The Bear are all crunchless core bodyweight exercises. Although they’re challenging, they’re low intensity due to holding for a short amount of time and no extra resistance.
If you spend 15+ minutes only doing core exercises, then I suggest you take the next day off of core training. But if you do 3 sets of 30 second planks, then you can do more core the next day.
Core workouts have a tendency to have you lying down. You’ll burn more calories if you’re up and moving. So, here’s a quick Core Circuit to try:
Plank Up and Downs spice up your normal plank.
Side Slams get your heart rate up and work your obliques.
Overhead Farmer Carry challenges your core stability. You should feel your core kicking in at a low intensity.
Twisting Crunches work your obliques as well.
For more crunchless core exercises, check out 5 Core Training Exercises You Need to Do.
And get Crunch Free Core. It’s my 14-day crunchless core training program. You’ll do about 5 minutes of core exercises every day for 14 days. Try this program instead of a plank challenge the next time you need a challenge! Did I mention it’s free?!
