7 Best Free Weight Exercises for a Stronger Core for Women

A stronger core enables you to do many activities, such as standing straight, getting a glass from the top shelf and bending down to tie your shoes.

Athletes, such as runners, require strong core muscles, as weak core muscles can contribute to increased fatigue, decreased endurance and injuries. You may not be an athlete, but a stronger core can help you avoid injuries and pains in your lower back, fatigue and lower stamina.

Free Weight Exercises for Stronger Core for Women

Include these seven free weight exercises in your routine to get a stronger core:

1) Wall Ball Sit-up

Challenge your core with this variation of a sit-up that makes the abdominal exercise even more difficult than it already is. Make sure to maintain the correct form so that you don’t strain your neck. You can start with an eight-pound soft medicine ball, and progress as your strength increases.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Place the soles of your feet together and your knees out wide in front of a wall. Experiment with the distance between your feet and the wall; you may like to be closer than depicted above.
Lean back, and lie on the floor while bringing your arms aloft and tapping the medicine ball on the floor while holding the ball at your chest.
Bring the ball in front of your face, and hurl it at the wall as you complete a sit-up. Catch the ball at your chest as it rebounds.

2) Plank and Rotate

The plank is undoubtedly one of the best exercises you can do to increase your overall strength. Variations of the plank help challenge your core better to give your abdominals a real workout.

Here's how you can do this exercise for a stronger core:

Holding a five-pound dumbbell in each hand, assume the plank posture with your abs drawn in toward your spine and your glutes tight. Maintain rigid wrists to safeguard the joints. Open your feet wider than the distance between your hips.
Raise your left hand to the ceiling while twisting your entire torso; maintain a smooth, controlled action. Your pelvis will rotate, but do not allow it to rise or fall.
Return your left hand to the floor, and repeat on the opposite side to complete one repetition.

3) Low to High Woodchop

You can perform this exercise either with a dumbbell, kettlebell or medicine ball. This dynamic exercise targets the obliques and upper abdominals while simultaneously elevating the heart rate.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Squat, and twist left to hold the dumbbell on the outside of your left leg. This is your starting position.
Exhale, and lift the weight diagonally across your torso, rotating to the right till the dumbbell is above your head. Pivot on your left foot as needed.
Control the weight back to the starting position to complete one rep.
You have to move with force but also control. Don't give in to the momentum of swinging the weight around.

4) Plank with Dumbbell Pull-Through

This exercise challenges your stability, as you must balance your body weight on one arm while simultaneously pulling a dumbbell from one side of your body to the other.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Begin by resting on all fours with a ten-pound medium-weight dumbbell on the left side of your body.
Flatten your palms, and raise up onto your toes while maintaining straight legs. Be sure to clench your glutes softly to activate them and to keep your hands exactly beneath your shoulders.
Engage your abdominal muscles to maintain your posture, and prevent your derriere from protruding. Remember to bring your belly button in toward your spine.
With your head and spine aligned, maintain a flat back; do not allow it to curve. Avoid tucking your chin, and maintain a one-inch field of vision. Imagine your body to be a long, straight plank.
Maintaining this position, grip the dumbbell with your right hand, and bring it beneath your body till it reaches your right side. Ensure that you do not rotate your hips.
Grab the dumbbell with your left hand, and bring it back to the left side of your body by pulling it underneath your body.
That'll complete one rep.

5) Russian Twist

This traditional exercise targets the obliques, with the addition of a dumbbell or medicine ball increasing the difficulty.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Holding a dumbbell in both hands, sit on the ground with your knees bent and heels approximately one foot from your buttocks. As depicted, you may also make the manoeuvre more advanced by elevating your feet three to four inches off the ground.
Lean back gently without rounding your back. It's extremely crucial and challenging to maintain a straight back.
Pull your abdomen to your spine, and slowly twist to the left to transfer your weight to your left side. The movement is little and originates from the rotation of the ribcage, not the swinging of the arms.
Inhale through the middle, and turn to the right to complete one repetition.

6) Dumbbell Crossover Punch

Yet another variation of the conventional sit-up, this variation brings a whole new challenge for your core.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Start by lying on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the ground approximately two feet from your butt.
Hold dumbbells weighing five to eight pounds in both hands at your chest with your elbows resting on the floor.
Roll to a sitting position while keeping your hands at your chest. Twist your ribcage to the left as you 'punch' the outside of your left knee with your right hand.
Bring the right hand back to the chest as you untwist, bringing your torso back to its original position, and roll to the ground.
To complete one repetition, repeat the sit-up while rotating to the right and 'punching' with your left hand.

7) Overhead Circle

End your freeweight core session with this seemingly simple exercise that'll activate your core as well as your arms.

Here's how you do this exercise for a stronger core:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Maintaining a neutral spine, raise a five- to eight-pound medicine ball overhead.
Begin to circle the ball to the left in the greatest possible circles while keeping your torso still and stable.
Reverse directions, and perform the same number of repetitions on each side.

Takeaway

The aforementioned seven free weight exercises should strengthen your core and make you more confident.

Edited by Bhargav