July 15, 2025, 5:41 pm | Read time: 7 minutes

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Why We Should Train Our Core

Our “core” is a true powerhouse, essential for posture and resilience. We can train our core not only for muscle growth and endurance but also reactively–to be prepared for unexpected everyday situations. Isometric training turns the torso into the ultimate power transfer zone, preventing energy loss and making every core-involved exercise more effective. In contrast, dynamic training through the full range of motion builds functional muscle mass. It pays off: Movements become more efficient, our risk of discomfort decreases, and performance benefits measurably, as new sports science studies confirm.^1,2

How Much Strength Do We Need in Everyday Life?

While many core exercises look good on training mats, the question arises in everyday life: How much core strength do we actually need? The answer: more than you think. Whether carrying, lifting, walking, or standing up–our core is involved in every daily movement. Studies show that functional core stability correlates with mobility, balance, and performance, especially as we age, partly due to sarcopenia, which causes valuable muscle mass, including in the core, to be lost over time.^3,4

Core Training–Not Just for Abs, but Also for the Back

There are many more reasons to engage in core training than just the desire for abs and a slim waist. A strong core is also essential for a healthy back.

Weak core muscles can be a risk factor for back pain, even if they are rarely the sole cause. Many people train their core muscles extensively, yet the pain doesn’t always disappear. This is because back pain often also involves movement fears, stress, and hypersensitive pain processing.

But core training doesn’t just work through stronger muscles, as many assume; it also works through pain-relieving messengers from the muscles (called myokines). Additionally, it provides the feeling of being able to better control the body. This combination makes adequate core training a sensible entry into greater resilience and less pain.

More on the topic

Tips from Fitness Experts Strengthen Your Core: 6 Professional Exercises for Core Power

FITBOOK Author How I Stayed Fit Despite a 3-Week Ban on Exercise!

Extreme Cold Sports Enthusiast Wim Hof Reveals Trick to Do More Push-Ups

Pro Tip: 6 Core Exercises with Progression Options for Advanced Practitioners

Dead Bug

• Progression: Cable Dead Bug
• Focus: Deep abdominal muscles, core control, sensory integration
• Variation tip: Performed on a cable machine (e.g., against resistance), extends the lever, increases control under tension.

Execution

• Start lying on your back
• Bend your legs and angle your hips at 90 degrees
• Keep your arms straight
• Now, on one side, stretch your arm upward in line with your body, bend the leg on the same side, and move the thigh toward the pelvis
• Bring the other arm toward the thigh on the same side, while simultaneously straightening the leg on that side
• Return to the starting position and switch sides

Bird-Dog

• Progression: Bird-Dog on an unstable surface with a mini band
• Focus: Shoulder and hip coordination, segmental control, balance
• Variation tip: Performing on a balance pad or with a mini band between hand and foot increases neuromuscular activation and adds weight resistance

Execution

• Start in a quadruped position
• Lift your right arm and left leg off the ground
• Bring your elbow and knee together under your belly, arching your back
• Then extend your arm and leg, stretching your upper body
• Bring your elbow and knee together again
• Return to the all-fours position
• Switch arms and legs

Side Plank with Leg Lift

• Progression: Side Plank with Weight
• Focus: Lateral stability, gluteus medius, pelvic stability
• Variation tip: Dumbbell in upper hand, combined with “Reach Through” increases core rotation and additional control ability

Execution

• Lie on your side and support yourself on one forearm (elbow directly under the shoulder), position your legs straight on top of each other or slightly offset.
• Lift your hips off the floor so that your body forms a straight line – from feet to head (Side Plank)
• Lift the top leg straight up, hold briefly in position, and lower it in a controlled manner.
• Hold the side plank while doing the side leg raises on one side.
• Then switch sides for the side plank and repeat the leg lift with the other leg.

Hip Hinge (e.g., Deadlift)

• Progression: Romanian Deadlift with barbell or trap bar or single-leg
• Focus: Erector spinae, gluteus, hamstring chain, multifidus
• Progression tip: Increasing time under tension, longer lever, or using a trap bar increases coordination and core load

Execution

• Start in a straight, tense stance, feet about hip-width apart
• Bend your hips, moving your buttocks back and slightly down, bending your knees slightly but not moving them forward. The movement is purely from the hips!
• Once you have internalized this movement, you can now take a barbell and lift it from the floor with straight arms during the hip hinge movement (deadlift)

Pallof Press

• Progression: Pallof Press + Lunge + Rotation
• Focus: Anti-rotation, diagonal muscle chains, core in rotation
• Variation tip: Combined with controlled lunge & rotation challenges three-dimensional core stability

Execution

• Attach resistance band or cable at chest height.
• Stand sideways to the band or cable
• Position feet about shoulder-width apart, with glutes slightly engaged during the Pallof Press. Slightly bend your knees.
• Grasp the resistance band or cable with both hands to form a closed fist in front of your chest. Keep your arm muscles and shoulders relaxed.
• Push the fist forward until the arms are fully extended. The rest of the body does not move and resists the band.
• Hold this position for one to two seconds and return to the starting position.
• Then switch sides and repeat the Pallof Press with the other side.

Single-Arm Farmer’s Walk

• Progression: Zercher Carry or Bottom-Up Kettlebell Carry
• Focus: Full-body stability, isometric hold, grip strength, lateral tension
• Variation tip: The Zercher Carry (barbell in the crook of the arm) drastically increases core and posture tension. Or: Bottom-Up Kettlebell Carry for neuromuscular fine-tuning

Execution

• Hold a heavy dumbbell in one hand
• Now walk a predetermined distance with short steps
• Switch the dumbbell to the other hand and repeat the exercise
• If you feel you can no longer hold the dumbbell, switch to a lighter one

Crowning Bonus Exercise: Front Squat / Overhead Squat

• Focus: Full-body strength with an emphasis on core stability under axial load
• Why: Squats are more than just a leg workout. Studies show that variations like the front or overhead squat can support the activation of muscles that stabilize the shoulder complex, scapula, and lower back.⁵
• Especially the overhead squat requires extreme core control, as the load and center of gravity are far from the body’s center.
• Variation tip: From the classic front squat to the overhead squat with a barbell–ideal for developing functional stability, mobility, and full-body tension.