5 Core Strengthening Exercises For Beginners [With PDF]

Your core isn’t just your abs. It includes your lower back, hips, and pelvic floor, all working together to support your spine and movement. When trained properly, your core helps improve posture, reduce back pain, and make everyday tasks easier.

That’s why exercises like planks, dead bugs, bird dogs, plank alternatives, and even this diastasis recti workout are often better choices, they teach your core to stabilize your body, not just move it.

Why These Core Stability Exercises Are Better Than Sit Ups

Through pregnancy, your abs stretch (and sometimes separate). If you’ve had diastasis recti, that needs to be addressed before jumping into traditional ab work (learn how to check for diastasis recti).

Post-pregnancy, sit-ups and crunches often cause the belly to bulge or dome, which can place more strain on the core instead of strengthening it (though there are many reasons for a mom pooch. They also focus mostly on the abs and can add unnecessary pressure to the lower back.

On top of that, we already spend a lot of time in flexion—think feeding, carrying, and chasing kids. What most moms actually need isn’t more crunching… it’s better stability.

Core stability exercises train your body to support and control movement, which leads to less pain, better posture, and real-life strength.

The Best Core Strengthening Exercises

Our core’s main job is to stabilize your body, not create movement.

That’s why the most below core strengthening exercises focus on resisting movement:

• anti-extension
• anti-rotation
• anti-lateral flexion

These build real strength that carries over into daily life—helping reduce back pain, improve posture, and make things like carrying kids feel easier.

Exercise #1 - The Deadbug

I love deadbugs, LOVE. They're a fantastic anti-extension exercise performed on your back and great for healing postpartum (check out how to fix diastasis recti years later). This core strengthening exercise teaches your body to resist the urge to extend the low back against tension.

It requires you to maintain a slight pelvic tilt against movement and thus, trains your all your core muscles.

How to perform it:

1. Lay on your back with your arms straight up from your shoulders, knees bent and legs up as well.
2. Tilt your pelvis so that your low back presses into the floor. You should feel engagement in the low abs.
3. Slowly extend an opposite arm and leg out from the body taking care to keep the low back on the ground. if it rises, you've low engagement.
4. Bring the arm and leg back to the starting position and repeat.

Reps: 8-10 per side of any deadbug variations.

Exercise #2 : Parlof Presses

Parlof presses are an anti-rotation exercise. Your body has to fight to remain neutral as a force, or tension attempts to get it to twist.

Keeping a neutral back and fighting the urge to rotate stimulates your entire side body. This can be done standing, kneeling, in a half lunge position, with a press, as a hold, and more. There are literally tons of variations.

To perform it:

1. Using a resistance band anchored to something and come into a standing position beside the anchor point with the band tight and held with both hands at chest height
2. Keep a neutral body position
3. Press the band away from the body
4. Pause and resist the temptation to rotate toward the tension
5. Return the band to the starting position at chest height and repeat.

Reps: 8-10 repetitions per side.

Exercise #3: Plank Walks

Plank walks are a great core-strengthening exercise, but they can be too intense for brand-new moms.

Since this is an anti-extension movement in a full plank position, it requires strong core engagement to avoid the belly dropping or the low back arching. If your core is still rebuilding, start with quadruped holds or elevate the movement on a bench to make it more manageable.

As you get stronger, focus on keeping your hips stable and resisting rotation as your hands move.

To perform it:

1. Come into a full plank position with a bit of a pelvic tilt to really engage the deeper core muscles.
2. Keep the feet wider than a normal plank to give you some support.
3. Slowly walk your hands out in front of your face. While you do this, try not to let your low back arch or your hips twist.
4. Only go as far as you can without falling on your face. Walk your hands back into a regular plank position and repeat.

Exercises #4 Cable Rotation or Woodchopper

This exercise is a great active rotational exercise and can be done standing or kneeling. It forces the muscles of the trunk to work together and requires a lot of core stability. It's an awesome way to target your midsection and improve strength.

Like any other exercise, the rotation requires you to focus instead of just going through the movements. This trick and this trick alone is what will enable you to become strong and activate your muscles.

Check out how to perform the exercise. If you don't have an anchor point, opt for the woodchopper below.

1. Start with the cable or resistance band at chest height and stand sideways to it.
2. Hold the band at chest height with soft knees roughly hip distance apart.
3. Let your body be pulled in toward the anchor.
4. Use your entire torso, and the glute closest to the anchor point to rotate away from the band.
5. Return to the starting position.

Reps: 8-10 per side

Exercise  #5 Hollow Holds

Hollow holds are an old-school gymnastic exercise that works the front of the abs (anterior core) as well as the hip flexors, quads, and everything. It's a wicked hold, a challenging exercise, but it's a great way to build strength and stability.

Plus, it makes use of the pelvic tilt position, which is crucial to giving your low back some love.

Here's how to perform the hollow hold.

1. Begin by lying on your back. Think of tucking your ribs and hip bones together which rounds the lower back and presses it into the floor.
2. Holding that position raises the upper back off the floor and the arms overhead. Then, keeping the legs squeezed together and the toes pointed, raise the legs off the ground. This creates a boat-like pose.
3. Hold.
4. Work up to 25 seconds.

Form Tips For Core Exercises

To get the most out of these core strengthening exercises (and actually see results), focus on quality over speed:

• Brace your core: think “tighten your midsection,” not suck in.
• Control your breathing: exhale as you engage, don’t hold your breath.
• Keep your hips stable: avoid rocking, twisting, or arching.
• Move slow: control builds strength, rushing doesn’t.
• Modify when needed: regress the movement before losing form.

If you feel your lower back taking over, reset. Your core should be doing the work.

If you’re tired of guessing and want a simple plan that actually works, my 6 Weeks to STRONG program walks you through exactly what to do.

Quick, effective workouts (under 20 minutes), beginner-friendly, and designed for busy moms, so you can build real strength without the overwhelm.

Core Strengthening Exercises FAQs