Primal At-Home Workout: Core

Gyms all across the world are closed right now. Many of us are stuck at home, unable or unwilling to even get to parks and hiking trails and beaches. We’re all homebodies now, and yet the need for physical activity hasn’t diminished. If anything, it’s more crucial than ever that we stay active and healthy, fit and strong.

Today, we’re going to start with core workouts.

The core is, well, the core. It’s the foundation of your body. It’s how strength and force is transmitted to the world around you. It keeps you upright. And, although this might seem unimportant (it’s not), it’s a major component of LGN—looking good naked. Form and function depend heavily on the strength of your core.

You can do this entire workout in one block, sprinkle it throughout the day, or do some of it every day in addition to other training.

Primal At-Home Core Workout

Planks

This is the most basic core exercise. It’s simple (but not easy).

1. Get in the pushup position, only put your forearms on the ground instead of your hands. Your elbows should line up directly underneath your shoulders. Toes on the ground.
2. Squeeze your glutes and tighten your abdominals.
3. Keep a neutral (straight, plank-like) neck and spine.
4. Create a straight, strong line from head to toes—a plank, if you will.
5. Hold that position for as long as you comfortably can. Stop short of failure.
6. Rest for a minute and repeat twice more.

Make them easier:

• By doing them on your hands rather than forearms (like at the top of a pushup).
• By doing them on your knees; rest your knees on the floor or an exercise mat.

Make them harder:

• Slide your elbows forward, so they no longer line up underneath your shoulders. This will increase the difficulty.
• Add side planks. Hold a side plank on the left side for 30–60 seconds. Switch to the right side and hold for 30–60 seconds.

Watch the video in this link to give you some visual ideas of what to do.

Toes to Bar

Here’s how to do it:

1. Hang from an overhead horizontal bar, and touch your toes to the bar. Lift and lower in a slow and controlled manner for 3–5 reps.
2. If you can’t do the toes to the bar, try just bringing your knees up to your elbows. Again, slow and controlled for 3–5 reps.
3. If you can’t do the knees to elbows, try bringing your knees up to your chest. Slow and controlled for 5–10 reps.
4. Do 3 sets, resting for 30 seconds between sets.

Check out the video here for an example.

Hollow Body Rocks

Here’s how you do it:

1. Lie down on your back with your arms overhead and your legs straight out.
2. Brace your core and lift your legs and arms slightly off the ground, creating a shallow U with your body.
3. Start rocking back and forth while maintaining that solid shallow U position with your body.
4. Rock for 20 seconds. Rest for one minute. Repeat twice.

Hands and Feet

There’s probably a better/more official name for this one, but it’s what I call it.

1. Sit upright on the ground.
2. Lift your feet off the floor.
3. Touch your right hand to your left foot.
4. Touch your left hand to your right foot.
5. Keep going, never putting your feet on the ground.
6. Do this for 20 seconds at a time. Rest for 40 seconds between sets; repeat four times.

Make it easier: Touch your hands to your knees.

Make it harder: Touch your elbows to your ankles.

There you go, that’s the workout. Once again, you can sprinkle these movements throughout the day or do them all in one fell swoop.

How are you training your core these days?

About the Author

Mark Sisson is the founder of Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. His latest book is Keto for Life, where he discusses how he combines the keto diet with a Primal lifestyle for optimal health and longevity. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.

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