The Most Athletic Core Exercises Variations (plus abs workout)

Whether you are a casual athlete or an Olympic gold medalist, building a strong core is never a bad strategy to use. So let's break down some of the best core and abs exercises for athletes plus a workout you can try today.

5 min read
Sean Klein
Written by
Sean Klein
Published on
04/04/22
Last updated
12/01/23
In This Resource
  • Benefits Of Core Exercises For Athletes
  • 1. Improved Performance
  • 2. Injury Mitigation
  • 3. Improved Performance In The Weight Room
  • The Most Athletic Core Exercise Variations
  • Sample Ab Training For Athletes
  • More Core Exercises

Athleticism can be hard to define, in order to create this list we think it means your body should be able to deal with a variety of different positions. Thats why we have created a diverse list of core exercises that will challenge you in different ways. Have a look at some of these fun and challenging core variations that you can use to increase and improve athleticism.

Benefits Of Core Exercises For Athletes

1. Improved Performance

The benefits of good strength and conditioning protocols within elite sports have been known for decades now. Developing a strong and robust core musculature is a large part of these strength and conditioning protocols as they can be instrumental in improving athletic performance. Different sports require different types of stimulus, but all can benefit from having a well rounded base.

2. Injury Mitigation

When the full core musculature is taken into consideration and trained appropriately, it can have a huge impact on mitigating injury, especially for contact sports athletes. These sports require vast amounts of impact, making joint stability in the hips, having a musculature lower back and a core that can deal with a wide variety of compromised positions very important for an athletes developments.

3. Improved Performance In The Weight Room

A virtuous cycle of improving the core musculature in the weight room can improve all other aspects of weight room performance. Front squatting strength to pressing strength, the core is involved in all aspects of the weight room. This in turn helps increase on field performance even more.

The Most Athletic Core Exercise Variations

Buy Kettlebells
Core
Trunk
Rotation
Buy Kettlebells
Core
Trunk
Resisting Rotation
Buy Landmines
Core
Full Body
Rotation
Core
Trunk
Resisting Rotation
Buy Pull Up Bars
Core
Trunk
Anterior Core
Buy Kettlebells
Core
Trunk
Resisting Rotation
Buy Rings
Core
Trunk
Resisting Rotation
Core
Trunk
Anterior Core

Sample Ab Training For Athletes

Complete 3 rounds

1. Lizard Crawl

Move for 10 meters

2. Landmine Full Contact Twist

Complete 6 repetitions

3. L Hang

Hold for 20 seconds

More Core Exercises

Buy Plates
Core
Trunk
Rotation
Core
Trunk
Shoulder Stability
Buy Kettlebells
Core
Trunk
Resisting Rotation

If you enjoyed this resource you can find more below or try Programme, a fitness app that plans every workout for you – based on your progress, equipment and lifestyle.

This resource was written by Sean Klein. Sean Richard Klein has thousands of hours of coaching experience and a BSc in Sports Science with Management from Loughborough University. He owns a gym in Bayonne France, CrossFit Essor, which runs group classes and a Personal training studio.

Sean Klein

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