Strength · Core and trunk

Strength work for the trunk

Most of what the abdominal wall does all day is stop things happening. Train it that way and the sit-up starts to look like a strange choice.

What this trains

This page is about the abdominal wall, the obliques and the deep trunk.

The lifts

  1. 01Ab wheel rollout (from knees)3 × 6–10

    Go only as far as you can go without the lower back arching, then add range over weeks.

  2. 02Pallof press3 × 10 each side

    Anti-rotation. Stand further from the anchor for more load, not heavier weight.

  3. 03Side plank3 × 20–40 s each side

    Stack the shoulder over the elbow and lift the bottom hip until the body is a straight line.

  4. 04Hollow hold3 × 20–30 s

    Lower back pressed flat. If it lifts, bring the arms and legs closer in.

What this page can't tell you: Trunk strength does not reduce fat over the abdomen. Nothing trains fat off one area, and any page saying otherwise is selling something.

Other regions

Posturethe upper back, the spinal erectors and the deep abdominal wallDesk workthe hip flexors, the glutes, the upper back and the neck extensorsHipsthe glutes, the abductors, the adductors and the deep external rotatorsHamstringsthe back of the thigh — biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosusBack and spinethe spinal erectors, the lats, the deep trunk and the muscles that resist rotationNeck and shouldersthe rotator cuff, the scapular stabilisers and the neck
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