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and avoiding injury. Plus, workouts are more interesting because you’re varying your movements. Core strength exercises can also be part of a workout that fo- cuses on other parts of the body as well. Someone who is looking to increase overall strength may choose to also include exercises that strengthen arms, neck, and legs as well as the core. Workouts don’t have to be entirely about the core, but they can be if that’s what you want to focus on. SOME CORE CHOICES When it comes to core workouts, there are a lot of choices. You can choose workouts that use special equipment, or workouts that use no equipment at all. You can work out your core in a group with other people or exercise alone. You could go to a gym or stay at home. Before staring out with core workouts, you should practice a tech- nique called “drawing in,” or “bracing.” Start by sitting or standing and tightening the abdominal muscles. Imagine you are drawing your belly button back toward your spine. Tuck your tailbone in slightly to support your lower body. Then hold this position for about ten seconds. Be sure you’re still breathing! Then let go and shake out and practice again. By doing all this, you’re preparing your body for a better core workout. You could even do this exercise while sitting on the bus or in class, and no one will ever know! Once you’re ready for some exercises, you have many choices. Here are just a few individual exercises you can do: • Dead bug. This move imitates a dead bug, but you’ll definitely be moving a lot more than a dead bug would! Lie on your back with your knees bent but with your feet flat on the floor and your arms at your side. Lift your right knee toward your chest and bring your right arm toward the sky at the same time. Then slowly bring both your foot and your arm back down. Repeat a few times, then switch to the left side. You could also try lifting your opposite knee and hand at the same time (right knee and left arm).

What Are Core Workouts?

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