Body Core Exercises For Losing Weight

A variety of lifestyle factors — including aerobic exercise, strength training and healthy eating choices — influence weight loss and help you meet your goals. Core training helps convert fat in your midsection to muscle while improving your posture and, therefore, physical appearance. The core serves as the liaison between the muscles in your upper and lower body: Strengthen it and you will improve your endurance and overall strength, which may lead to greater calorie expenditure and weight loss.

Push-Ups With Rotation

Compound exercises utilize more than one group of muscles at a time, and burn more calories than exercises that focus on individual muscles. Push-ups with rotation challenge your core and arm muscles.

Kneel on your hands and knees, positioning your hands an inch wider than shoulder-width, fingers facing away from your body. Extend your legs behind you, and lift onto your toes. Tighten your abdominal muscles, and slowly lower your chest toward the ground, maintaining a straight back as you descend. Stop two inches before your chest touches the ground, push up through your hands, and lift your upper body while straightening your arms. Immediately, lift your left hand off of the ground and extend it toward the ceiling, rotating your upper body to accommodate the movement. In the correct position, your chest opens to your left, and your left arm, shoulders and right arm form a straight line with one another. Hold for five seconds, lower your arm to the ground and do another push-up. Lift your right arm, rotate toward your right and hold for five seconds. Continue alternating until you complete your desired amount of repetitions.

Plank Variation

Body-weight exercises, or calisthenics, require no external equipment, and build muscle. Muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat, so replacing fat with muscle may hasten your weight loss and help you achieve and maintain a healthy body composition. This plank variation challenges your midsection, lower body, and arms.

Kneel on your hands and knees, positioning your hands directly under your shoulders and pointing your fingers away from your body. Extend your legs behind you, and lift onto your toes. Lift your right foot off of the ground, and draw your knee in toward your left elbow. Tightening your abdominal muscles and maintaining a straight line between your shoulders, hips and lower back helps you focus on your core muscles while doing this movement. Extend your right leg behind you, without touching the ground, and repeat this movement four more times. Lower your foot to the ground, and repeat the exercise with your left knee and right elbow.

Bridge

While core exercises help you lose weight, they may also reduce lower-back pain, and help prevent injury during exercise. The bridge builds strength in your core and hips.

Lie supine on a mat, bending your knees, and positioning your feet on the mat, six inches in front of your glutes. Tighten your abdominal muscles, and rest your arms on the mat, next to your hips. Pushing up through your heels, lift your hips and lower back off the ground, stopping when they form a straight line with your knees and shoulders. Immediately lower your hips and back toward the ground, and initiate another repetition before your hips touch the floor.