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“I never do crunches ever and I don’t like planks”—trainers on their favorite core moves
What’s your favorite core move? I bet it’s not a crunch.
I’ve worked in the fitness industry for three and a half years and have interviewed plenty of trainers. No one has ever told me that they like crunches.
“I never do crunches, ever, and I don’t like planks,” trainer and Oner Active athlete Hayley Madigan told me.
Instead, she prefers to do moves like overhead marches and dumbbell pass-arounds. Rather than just targeting the abs on the front of the stomach, these moves recruit all your core muscles and challenge them to resist movement from other areas of your body.
I also asked Krissy Cela, co-founder of Oner Active, for her favorite core moves—she picked the same exercises.
Here is how to do the two moves and another bonus favorite exercise (suitcase carries) from Madigan.
Overhead march
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Sets: 3 Reps: 10-15 each side
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells by your shoulders.
- Engage your core and extend your arms to press the dumbbells overhead, so your arms are straight.
- Moving slowly and with control, raise your left knee to hip height, then return your foot to the floor.
- Raise and lower the right knee.
- Continue, alternating sides with each rep.
Trainer tip: Keep your upper body as still as possible, while moving your legs slowly.
Dumbbell pass around
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Sets: 2-3 each direction Time: 30sec
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a weight just below your chest in your left hand with your right hand behind your back.
- Pass the weight around your waist, into your right hand, then bring both hands to the front.
- Pass the weight into your left hand and continue, moving slowly and with control.
Trainer tip: Keep your torso as still as possible, resisting the pull of the weight.
“People think it’s easy and I’m like, no—you’ve got to stabilize yourself!” explains Madigan.
“If I’m moving a weight around, my core’s got to switch on, because it’s gonna want to be pulled around.”
If you want a harder variation, try lowering the weight to hip height. Or you can do around the worlds with a kettlebell, which create more force for your core to resist.
Suitcase carry
Sets: 1-2 each side Time: 30sec
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and pick up a heavy weight with your right hand.
- Walk for time, keeping your torso upright.
Trainer tip: Make sure you pick a weight that’s heavy enough, so you have to use your core muscles to resist the lopsided pull.
“I try and go as heavy as I possibly can,” says Madigan.
She suggests tucking your rib cage (bringing it down and in) to switch on your core when doing the exercise.
