Core Strength & Stability: 6-Week Program

Overview

Crunches are not core training. Your core exists to resist movement — to keep your spine stable while forces try to bend, twist, or compress it. This program trains your core the way it actually functions: through planks, carries, and anti-rotation work.

Three dedicated core sessions per week, each taking 20-25 minutes. Run these after your regular training or as standalone sessions.

Schedule

Add to any 3 non-consecutive days of your existing program.

Session A: Anti-Extension

• •Plank: 3x45-60s (30s rest)
• •Ab Wheel Rollout (from knees): 3x8-10 (45s rest)
• •Dead Bug: 3x10 per side (30s rest)
• •Body Saw (plank position, rock forward and back): 3x8 (30s rest)

Session B: Anti-Rotation

• •Pallof Press: 3x10 per side (45s rest)
• •Single-Arm Farmer's Walk: 3x30m each side (60s rest)
• •Bird Dog: 3x10 per side (30s rest)
• •Half-Kneeling Cable Chop: 3x10 per side (45s rest)

Session C: Loaded Stability

• •Farmer's Walk: 3x40m (60s rest)
• •Suitcase Deadlift: 3x6 per side (60s rest)
• •Turkish Get-Up: 3x2 per side (take your time)
• •Side Plank: 3x30s per side (30s rest)
• •Hanging Knee Raise: 3x10 (45s rest)

Progression

• •Planks: add 5 seconds per week
• •Ab wheel: increase distance gradually
• •Carries: add weight when you can maintain perfect posture
• •Pallof press: increase cable weight when 10 reps feels easy

Why This Approach Works

Your core is an anti-movement system. Planks train anti-extension, Pallof presses train anti-rotation, and carries train anti-lateral flexion. This is how your core works during squats, deadlifts, and overhead pressing — it resists forces that try to move your spine.