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Coaching your core isn’t nearly isolating your midsection with body weight planks, crunches and different stomach strikes. That’s all nice, however bringing in some additional resistance helps step up the depth a notch — and “mini” resistance bands particularly are one of the efficient instruments for coaching the core.
That’s the idea of the next exercise, designed by ISSA-certified coach Aneshea Shali, proprietor of Core Camp Problem, to focus on the core by bringing in foundational lower-body actions like squats and lunges. All 4 of the workouts on this routine use a mini band and are what you would possibly name “combo” strikes as a result of they mix a number of actions into one. One of many workouts additionally incorporates a lightweight dumbbell.
“You possibly can completely prepare the core successfully with body weight solely,” Aneshea says, “however typically it’s good to problem these muscle mass with resistance, particularly after we’re speaking about full-body strikes. Plus, mini bands are straightforward to make use of and cheap.”
By the point you end your third spherical of the circuit, you’ll have basically completed eight completely different workouts in lower than half-hour — and focused the core in each one in every of them, albeit in several methods. As a bonus, you’ll get a pleasant exercise for the glutes, quads and hamstrings by the lateral squats and reverse lunges. Legs and core make for an important summer season combo!
Get extra Six-Pack Boot Camp Exercises right here!
Mini-Band Full Core Exercise
Do every of the next workouts one after one other as a circuit, 10 to 12 reps per transfer. After you’ve accomplished one spherical of the circuit, relaxation one to 2 minutes and repeat the circuit for 2 extra rounds.
This routine requires a mini band and a lightweight dumbbell. Should you don’t have a dumbbell, any mild, weighted object you possibly can simply maintain in each palms will work (weight plate, kettlebell, water jug, and so on.)
Train | Reps |
Mini-Band Hip Thrust With Clam | 10-12 |
Mini-Band Lateral Squat Into Elbow to Cross Knee | 10-12 (per facet) |
Mini-Band Plank Jacks With Kick-By way of | 10-12 (per facet) |
Mini-Band Reverse Lunge With Dumbbell Landmine | 10-12 (per facet) |
Relaxation one to 2 minutes after every spherical. Full three rounds whole. |
Train Descriptions and Ideas
Mini-Band Hip Thrust With Clam

Execution: Lie faceup on the ground along with your legs bent, ft flat on the ground and a mini band round your legs simply above your knees. Contract your glutes to thrust your hips upward in order that your thighs and torso kind a straight line (aka glute bridge). Within the high place, unfold your knees aside to drag the mini band tight (clam). Maintain the legs-spread place for one or two seconds, then convey your knees again collectively and repeat, sustaining the bridge place all through the set.
Shali’s Teaching Cue: “This can be a potent glute train, attributable to each the hip thrust and the clam motion with resistance coming from the band. To take this train to the subsequent degree, return your hips to the ground after each rep and do a single-leg hip thrust on either side. With this superior model, each rep will embrace a hip thrust, a clam and a single-leg thrust on either side, in that order.”
Mini-Band Lateral Squat Into Elbow to Cross Knee

Execution: Stand with a mini band round your legs simply above your knees. Bend your knees right into a half to full squat along with your palms behind your head, and maintain this place. Take two lateral steps to the correct facet, stepping far sufficient on every rep that your ft are outdoors shoulder width. After the second lateral step, convey your proper elbow all the way down to your left knee. Return to the up place and repeat to the opposite facet, taking two lateral steps to the left and bringing your left elbow to your proper knee. That’s one rep.
Shali’s Teaching Cue: “Maintain the lateral steps gradual and beneath management, preserving your thighs as near parallel with the ground as attainable all through. Tighten your core muscle mass to maintain your torso upright. With the elbow to cross knee, make {that a} extra highly effective transfer, specializing in the abs and indirect muscle mass.”
Mini-Band Plank Jacks With Kick-By way of

Execution: Start in a high-plank place (aka push-up place) — palms on the ground under your shoulders, arms prolonged, ft collectively and physique in a straight line — with a mini band round your legs simply above your knees. Kick your ft out to the perimeters for a plank jack, then convey them again collectively. Do two reps of those plank jacks. From there, do a plank kick-through to every facet, as follows: From the high-plank place, carry your proper hand and left foot off the ground and rotate your hips to kick your left foot beneath and throughout your physique to the correct. Repeat on the other sides (left hand up, proper foot kicks throughout to the left). Two plank jacks and one kick-through to every facet is one rep.
Shali’s Teaching Cue: “This can be a nice combo transfer for the deep core muscle mass (whereas holding the excessive plank), glutes (kicking the legs out to the perimeters on the jacks) and rotational core strikes (kick-throughs). This may even do a quantity in your shoulders since you’re holding the plank the whole time. In case your shoulders get drained through the set, be happy to take a brief relaxation earlier than ending your reps.”
Mini-Band Reverse Lunge With Dumbbell Landmine

Execution: Stand along with your ft hip- to shoulder-width aside with a mini band round your legs simply above your knees and holding a moderate-weight dumbbell. Start holding the dumbbell in each palms in your proper facet (arms hanging down), and step your proper foot again right into a reverse lunge with out letting your knee contact the ground.
Within the down place, carry the dumbbell straight up over your proper shoulder, shift it over to above your left shoulder, decrease it all the way down to outdoors your left thigh after which reverse the movement (over your left shoulder, shift to over your proper shoulder, again down along with your arms towards ground). Step your proper foot ahead to face again as much as the unique begin place. That’s one rep on that facet. Repeat on the opposite facet, going backwards and forwards till all reps are full for either side.
Shali’s Teaching Cue: “Maintain your hips dealing with ahead when doing the landmine. It will work core stability massive time. This can be a fairly intense combo train, hitting the legs in addition to the core and even the shoulders, so go together with a really mild dumbbell if it’s good to.”