“Transform Your Core Strength with These Top 5 Balance Workouts”

If you aim to develop a strong and sculpted core, incorporating balance workouts into your routine is crucial for achieving success. These workouts not only activate your abdominal muscles but also engage the stabilizing muscles throughout your body, leading to a firmer midsection. To assist you in kickstarting this journey, we sought advice from a fitness expert who highlights five effective balance workouts that can help strengthen your abs. By challenging your balance, these exercises demand more effort from your core and can yield significant results.

Unlike traditional ab exercises that are performed in a static manner, balance-focused workouts and activities activate your core in a more dynamic fashion. Mallory Hertz, PT, DPT, the clinical director at FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Dakota Dunes, elaborates on this point, stating, “These exercises integrate the core muscles into the overall system to enhance stability and improve mobility in a controlled and secure manner.” Balance activities engage various muscles simultaneously, with many exercises being performed in an upright position, making them practical and relevant for daily functions.

When considering different balance exercises, the options are vast and varied. According to Hertz, “Irrespective of the exercise you opt for, core stability is a fundamental aspect in enhancing strength.” Nevertheless, some exercises place more emphasis on core engagement, offering an additional challenge to your core muscles during your workout routine.

Below are a few of Hertz’s favorite balance workouts to build stronger abs.

Rebounder Tosses

“A rebounder is a small trampoline that can be easily transported,” Hertz tells us.

How To Do It:

1. Stand before a rebounder holding a medicine ball.
2. Maintain a strong core as you toss the ball onto the rebounder and catch it on the return.
3. Complete 20 reps per side.

“Performing a diagonal throw (such as crossing from up/right to down/left) is a great way to activate the deeper core muscles,” Hertz points out. “You can progress this activity by increasing the ball’s weight, stance position, and standing on a flat surface.”

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Diagonal Ball Movements with Walking

How To Do It:

1. Hold a weighted ball or set of dumbbells.
2. Move the weights in a diagonal pattern (up to the right, then down to the left, and then the opposite) while walking.
3. Complete 20 reps for each pattern.

“You can progress this by increasing weight, changing walking patterns, closing your eyes, or walking on different elevations,” says Hertz.

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Standing Band Rotations

How To Do It:

1. Stand tall on a foam pad.
2. Hold a resistance band that’s secured in a closed door just below shoulder height with your arms extended.
3. Step away far enough so there’s tension on the band.
4. Keep a tight core as you rotate away from the door, all while maintaining control.
5. Repeat 20 times per side.

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Resisted Walking

How To Do It:

1. Hold a resistance band in each hand while a partner or trainer holds the other end of the band so it’s stretched out behind you.
2. Keep your arms stiff at your sides while walking.
3. Switch things up and perform the motion with backward walking.
4. Do this for 2 to 5 minutes.

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Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises

“These are not traditional balance exercises, but they are a great way to activate the pelvic floor, which is the floor of the core. It creates a great foundational stability for balance activities,” says Hertz. “Of course, Kegels are great, but I love to incorporate activities such as glute bridges, sit-to-stands, and squats to activate the pelvic floor within the system (so functional!).”6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Hertz recommends performing pelvic floor exercises for 2 sets of 10, one to two times per day.