The Living Room Core Day
Core and stability work you can do on the floor. Day 4 of The Living Room Program.
Muscle Groups
Equipment
Overview
- 1Dead bug8 each side
Lie on your back, arms pointing up, knees at 90°. Lower the opposite arm and leg together while pressing your lower back flat into the floor. Slow and deliberate. This is the best core exercise most beginners haven't done.
- 2Standing Pallof press10 reps
Hold a dumbbell at your chest with both hands. Stand sideways to a wall, brace your core, and press the dumbbell straight out in front of you. This is anti-rotation work. Your job is to resist the urge to twist.
- 3Russian twist12 each side
Sit on the floor with knees bent and feet slightly raised. Hold a dumbbell at your chest and rotate your torso side to side, touching the dumbbell to the floor beside each hip. Keep your chest tall and don't let your back round.
- 4Bird dog8 each side
On all fours, extend the opposite arm and leg simultaneously. Hold 2 seconds at the top before returning. Keep your hips level and don't let your lower back sag or rotate.
- 5Glute bridge15 reps
Drive through your heels to raise your hips, squeeze your glutes at the top for a full second, then lower under control. For extra load, rest a dumbbell on your hips. Don't rush. The squeeze at the top is the whole point.
Dead bug
8 each side
Lie on your back, arms pointing up, knees at 90°. Lower the opposite arm and leg together while pressing your lower back flat into the floor. Slow and deliberate. This is the best core exercise most beginners haven't done.
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The Living Room Core Day
Day 4 of The Living Room Program. The quietest session of the week: all floor work, no jumping, minimal equipment. This one works well during nap time or whenever the house needs to stay calm.
This isn't a crunches-and-sit-ups core session. These five exercises train the core the way it actually works: bracing against rotation, resisting load asymmetry, and stabilising the spine under movement.
Tips
On the dead bug. This is probably the most underused core exercise in home training. The key is keeping your lower back completely flat on the floor throughout. If it lifts, you've gone too far. Start slow and own the movement before adding speed.
On the Pallof press. Pressing the dumbbell away from your chest is the easy part. The real work is preventing your torso from rotating as you do it. Brace like you're about to take a hit.
On the Russian twist. The rotation should come from your torso, not your arms swinging the weight. Keep your chest up and your back from rounding. Raising your feet makes it harder, so lower them if you need to.
On the bird dog. Two seconds at the top forces you to own the balance rather than just flailing through the movement. If your hips are rotating, slow down further.
On the glute bridge. One full second squeeze at the top on every rep. If you're rushing through 15, you're leaving most of the benefit on the floor.
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