Our Trainers Top Core Training Tips for a Toned Tummy

If we asked people to tell us the first image that pops to mind when they think of BodyRock Trainers, they'd probably almost exclusively say ABS. 

Our trainers are popping ab muscles most people don't even know existed, and questions as to how they got them flood their Instagram accounts. In honour of Core Week, we decided to survey our trainers, collect their top core training tips, and then share them all here so you can get an informed head-start on how to start crushing those core goals. 

Read on for the best core training tips from BodyRock's Trainers.

Lisa-Marie's Top Core Training Tips

1. Add resistance & balance!
2. Mind to muscle activation is key. 
3. Plank it out. 
4. Reduce the weight if you can’t engage your abs and feel the muscle your working.
5. Make sure you do not have an arch in your back. 
6. Add back exercises to make your abs stronger.
7. Compound moves like clean and press help strengthen your core stability.

Train with Lisa-Marie in her new BRX series on Sweatflix for an intense ab burn. You can sign up for a FREE one month trial or get a serious jumpstart on your fit goals by using promo code 50OFF for 50% off 3 months of Sweatflix. 

Follow Lisa-Marie on Instagram. 

Sean's Top Core Training Tips

1. Do compound moves (e.g. lunge + press, push-ups, oblique plank twists) to increase overall strength and stability—they'll also help you build lean muscle mass, which will help you burn fat from your midsection. Carrying too much weight on your midsection is not only unhealthy, but it increases your risk of low back injury.  

2. Eat for abs. Clean up your diet, eating predominantly whole foods. Consider intermittent fasting (IF) if you're holding on to particularly stubborn belly fat. Hormone imbalances can cause midsection fat to stick around, and IF has been shown to balance hormones, thereby helping people shed extra fat.

Train with Sean in the Fast & Furiously Fit series on Sweatflix—a series of 23 minute workouts that blast fat, build muscle and help you sculpt a stronger body. These workouts pair perfectly with IF, so if you want to double up your effort for faster results, grab the Fast & Furiously Fit ebook and learn how to IF for lasting results. (Book comes with dozens of recipes!) Use code FASTED30 for 30% off. 

Follow Sean on Instagram. 

Jessica's Top Core Training Tips

Surprisingly you don’t NEED to do only ab workouts for a strong core. By using compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups, you are forced to engage your core to prevent injury and maintain good form. BUT if you are training core specifically, here are some tips on how to build your core circuit;

I always make sure my core circuits hit 3 different areas of the core:

1️⃣ OBLIQUES! Here I’m doing sit ups with a twist. Really focusing on using my obliques to get my elbow meeting my knee, rather than simply bending at the waist.

2️⃣ LOWER ABS to hit that stubborn extra fat. Here I’m doing leg raises with shooting my hips upward for an extra challenge. 

3️⃣BACK! Being the opposing muscle group of your abs, doing exercises that trigger your back is just as important to build an overall strong core. In roll outs, it targets your abs but also challenges the lower back. If someone only works their abs and not their back, they are more prone to back injuries.

Train with Jessica in BR20 — a series of 20 minute classes aimed at beginners (but great for anyone) who wants to increase their lean muscle mass with fundamental strength training. 

Follow Jessica on Instagram. 

Rui's Top Core Training Tips

You have to train both the strength and stability. My favorite exercises for core strength are hanging leg raises, jack knifes, slow bicycle crunches. 

My favorite exercises for core stability are plank builders, 3 points plank stance with resistance band row, different variations of dead bugs, stability ball stir the pot.