Looking for a fantastic core challenge to help you sculpt your midsection and improve your performance? Then try my 30 day core challenge.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a recreational runner, seasoned athlete, or someone who spends most of their time sitting in an office chair, a strong core is vital for both health and performance.
Your core muscles are the foundation for almost all athletic and non-athletic movements.
And when the core muscles are in trouble—read: too weak—expect all sorts of troubles, including chronic pain, bad posture, back issues, even spinal injury, God forbid.
Therefore, once you get your core strong and powerful, you’ll be adding more support to your body so you can run and perform every athletic activity (and every other life task) much more efficiently and with more ease.
The Core Challenge – It’s not what you think
I hate to sound like a broken record, but as I have already said in my previous posts, the core is not just the abs—that’s what people typically think of their abs.
The core is more than that.
The fact is, your core muscles involves all of the muscles in your midsection, including the ones on your sides (the obliques), the erector spinae, abdominal muscles, inner abdominal muscles, glutes and lower lats.
The 30-Day Core Challenge
With this 30-day core challenge, you’ll be getting yourself on the path of saying goodbye to your love handles for good, and be able to strengthen and tone your core in under a month, even if you’re on vacation.
Of course, this challenge is not a silver bullet.
It will not lead to an overnight success.
You need time, patience, and healthy eating for that.
So are you excited? Then here we go…
The 30 Day Core Challenge
Each week you’ll be performing four workouts.
Each workout is different and varies in length, intensity, and exercises.
For the most part, you’ll be spending one minute on every exercise—unless otherwise stated.
Take at least 20 to 30 seconds of rest between moves and one to two minutes between rounds.
Of course, as you get stronger and fitter, make sure to up the ante by increasing the length time or number of reps you perform on each move.
Just don’t try to do these workouts every single day.
Your core, just like the rest of other muscle groups, needs a time-off and recovery in order to restore itself.
Doing too much will only backfire on you.
And you don’t want that, do you?
Without further ado, here is the 4-week core challenge:
Note – Into challenges? Give this 30-day running challenge a try.
Week 1 OF The Core Challenge
The first week is all about pacing yourself and finding where you are at when it comes to core strength and endurance.
This is why most of the exercises prescribed below are simple and straightforward.
Most of them are isometric exercises designed to test both your endurance and strength.
Nothing crazy here.
Workout I: The Core Shredder
Do the following;
One minute Plank hold
20 Crunches
15 Russian Twists
10 Leg raises
Repeat three to five times.
Workout II: The Love Handles Eliminator
Do the following:
Side Plank right side for one minute
Side plank left Side for one minute
15 reverse crunches
20 Bicycle crunches
Repeat three to five sprints
Workout III: The Explosive Core
Do the following:
One minute floor sprints
One minute High knees
15 Hanging leg raises
One minute Planks jacks
Repeat three to five times
Workout VI: The Core Blaster
Do the following:
One minute hold planks
15 Spiderman push-ups
One minute of Plank with knee to chest
20 alternating leg raises
15 Plank reaches
Repeat three to five times.
Additional Reading – Does running give you abs?
Week 2 Of The Core Challenge
Workout I: The Core Shredder
Do the following
90 second of plank holds
30 Crunches
25 Russian Twists with a weight plate.
20 leg raises
Repeat three to five times
Workout II: The Love Handles Eliminator
Do the following:
30 seconds of side arm plank crunches (right side)
30 seconds of side arm plank crunches (left side)
30 reverse crunches
40 bicycle crunches
Repeat three to five times
Workout III: The Explosive Core
Do the following:
Two minutes of floor sprints
Two minutes of high knees
30 Hanging leg raises
90 seconds of plank jacks
Repeat three to five times
Workout VI: The Core Blaster
Do the following:
Two minutes hold planks
20 Spiderman push-ups
90 seconds of Plank with knee to chest
30 alternating leg raises
20 Plank reaches
Repeat three to five times.
Week 3
Workout I: The Core Shredder
Do the following
Two minutes of plank holds
50 Crunches
40 Russian Twists with a weight plate.
30 leg raises
Repeat three to five times
Workout II: The Love Handles Eliminator
Do the following:
90 seconds of side arm plank with opposite leg raised (right side)
90 seconds of side arm plank with opposite leg raised (left side)
40 reverse crunches
50 bicycle crunches
Repeat three to five times
Workout III: The Explosive Core
Do the following:
Three minutes of floor sprints
Three minutes of high knees
30 Hanging leg raises
Two minutes of plank jacks
Repeat three to five times
Workout VI: The Core Blaster
Do the following:
Three minutes hold planks
25 Spiderman push-ups
Two minutes seconds of Plank with knee to chest
40 alternating leg raises
25 Plank reaches
Repeat three to five times.
Week 4 OF The Core Chalenge
As you are coming to week 4, you are coming near the end of this 30-day challenge.
So you have to give it your best here.
Go for the extra mile, if you have to.
Some of these workouts are quite challenging.
This is no longer beginner territory, so pace yourself if it feels like too much of a challenge.
You are the boss.
You call the shots.
Workout I: The Core Shredder
Do the following:
Three minutes of plank holds
70 Crunches
50 Russian Twists with a weight plate.
40 leg raises
Repeat three to five times
Workout II: The Love Handles Eliminator
Do the following
90 seconds of side arm plank crunches (right side)
90 seconds of side arm plank crunches (left side)
60 reverse crunches
60 bicycle crunches
Repeat three to five times
Workout III: The Explosive Core
Do the following:
Three minutes of floor sprints
One minute of Jumping Squats
Three minutes of high knees
One minute of Burpees
30 Hanging leg raises
Two minutes of plank jacks
Repeat three to five times
Workout VI: The Core Blaster
Do the following:
5 minutes Plank Hold
30 Spiderman Pushups
Two minutes of Plank knee jumps
50 alternating leg raises
30 Plank reaches
Repeat three to five times.
Core Challenge Exercise Demonstrations and Tutorials
In case you are not familiar with the exercises above, here are the form tips you need:
Plank Holds
Crunches
Russian Twists with a weight plate
Leg Raises
Side arm Plank Crunches
Reverse Crunches
Bicycle Crunches
Floor Sprints
Jumping Squats
High Knees
Burpees
Hanging leg raises
Plank Jacks
Spiderman Pushups
Plank knee jumps
Alternating Leg Raises
Plank Reaches
Featured Image Credit – CCFoodTravel.com Via Flickr
New to Running? Start Here…
If you’re serious about running, getting fit, and staying injury free, then make sure to download my Runners Blueprint Guide!
Inside this guide, you’ll learn how to start running and lose weight weight the easy and painless way. This is, in fact, your ultimate manifesto to becoming a faster and a stronger runner. And you want that, don’t you?
Click HERE to check out my Runners Blueprint System today!
Don’t miss out! My awesome running plan is just one click away.
