Focus On Your Core Muscles

These five exercises focus on your core, which is the foundation for a strong and fit body. When you run, your core is the support that holds you up. If you have strong core muscles then you will be able to run for longer without tiring. You will also have good stamina and be able to perform well in endurance runs.
These core body exercises are designed to be performed for 40 seconds with a rest of 20 seconds in between. Once you have finished one round, have a rest for one minute and then repeat three times.

Crunches
These are the most common form of core exercises and the one most people are familiar with.
Lie on your back with your hands placed at your temples and your knees slightly bent and apart. Slowly raise yourself up using your abdominal muscles, not your neck or back and squeeze those abdominal muscles when you meet your knees. Still using your abdominal muscles lower yourself down to the floor again slowly. This exercise is a good one for strengthening the general abdominal area. Make sure you use only your abdominals to get you up and then down again. If your abs aren’t strong you will find yourself wanting to use other more stronger muscles to compensate, such as your back or neck muscles. Try to challenge this and you will slowly build up your core.

Dorsal Raises
Lie on your front with your chin and legs on the floor with your arms placed by each side and inhale. Exhale as you raise your upper body off the floor as high as you can, keeping your arms by your side and make sure that you are targeting your lower back muscles and your abs, not your neck. Once you have reached as high as you can go slowly come back down again to your lying position.

Dumbbell Twist
Lie on your right side propping yourself up using your elbow and get into a side plank position. Your body should be straight from your head to your toes and your back should not sag. Your elbow should be level with your heels. Place one foot on top of the other and hold a dumbbell in your left hand. Raise the dumbbell above your right shoulder as straight as you can then lower it down and go underneath your chest to the other side of your body trying to maintain your plank position as you do this. Come back through again and raise the dumbbell high above your shoulder and repeat. This exercise is great for toning and developing the obliques, which are at the side of your abdominals. Use a light weight at first and then progress 1kg at a time.

Medicine Ball Reach
Lie on your back with your legs slightly parted and out in front of you. Your arms should hold a light small to medium medicine ball behind your head. As you sit up bring your knees up at a 90-degree angle in and place the ball between your feet. Leave the ball here as you lengthen your legs and place your arms over your head. Sit up and reach for the ball taking it back with you over your head with your legs straight out. You will use your upper abs for this exercise and the heavier the ball the more pressure you will put on these muscles. Try not to use your back muscles and focus on the abs. Only increase the weight of the ball slowly as your upper ab muscles get stronger.

Ball Tuck
You will need a large medicine ball for this exercise. Get into a press up position with your hands shoulder width apart but place your ankles and feet onto the ball. Make sure that your back is straight. Your feet can be apart if you want to make it easier, or closer together for a harder challenge. You may want to place the ball by a wall or mirror to make it easy to balance at first. Using your legs bring the ball in towards your hands as your knees bend. Once your feet are touching the ball only with their tips push the ball back out making sure that you don’t lose the ball. You should feel a burn in your abdominals as well as your upper body and lower back being used too.

If you perform these five exercises three times per week you should begin to see a difference in a few weeks. The exercises are very different from each other and target different muscles so you should not get bored. If you do start to get bored after about 6 weeks then it is time to research some new exercises. Ask at your gym to find out how you can change your routine and challenge your core.