Lie on your back with your hands at your sides and your knees bent (almost like a regular abdominal crunch.) But in this one, bring your knees slightly up and toward your head (so your feet are in the air.)
Use your abs to lift your legs up until your hips come up slightly off the floor. Hold for one second and repeat.
Be sure to remain stable. Don’t use momentum to rock back and forth.
Repeat for 2-3 sets of 10-20 reps.
Stand about 2 feet away from a wall, with your back facing the wall.
Slowly lower yourself into a “seated” position with your back against the wall and your knees bent at about a 90 degree angle. Just hold that position.
You can start doing “reps” where you hold the pose for 30 seconds. Gradually work your way to holding the pose for 5 minutes or more!
Works your quads for running and cycling and especially skiing and sailing.
This is another one of those exercises we did in high school gym class.
It’s great for your legs and puts a hurting on your arms too.
Start out on your hands and knees, then come onto your hands and feet. Put one leg forward underneath your chest and have the other straight back behind you.
To do the exercise, keep alternating legs back and forth. It’s like your legs are running, but since your hands are on the ground, it’s like climbing a flat mountain! 🙂
Time to get out the stability ball!
Lie on the stability ball. Put your hands on the floor and position the ball so it’s under your hips/stomach. Extend your legs so your toes can rest on the floor.
Keeping your back straight and your legs together, lift your legs off the floor. Lift until they are parallel with the floor.
Hold for a couple seconds then lower them back down.
Repeat.
(A great exercise for your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.)
This is a great exercise for your lower back and glutes!
Lie on your back with your knees bent, placing your heels close to your butt. Keep your arms at your sides with palms down.
Squeeze your glutes and raise your hips off the floor to get into the bridge position – you’ll form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
Hold the bridge position for 2 seconds, then lower your hips almost to the floor. Repeat.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your heels pressed into the floor.
Extend your arms out behind your head.
Now start with your arms and “catapult” your upper body into the air so you make it up into a seated position.
Pause briefly, then lower your torso back to the floor (slowly, with control.)
This will work your entire core and get it ready for explosive motions.
This is kind of like a plank, but on your side. (AKA “side plank.”)
Start by lying on your right side, with your elbow under your shoulder and your forearm in front of you. Your left foot should be on top of your right, and your left arm should be at your side.
In one solid motion, lift your hips off the floor and your arm out so your body forms a straight line. Then lower your hips close to the floor and lift them again.
Repeat for about 10 reps. Then switch sides (so your left side and arm are on the floor) and repeat.
This is a great workout for your obliques.
The scissors kick is similar to the common “six inches” but much more dynamic.
Start out lying on your back with your legs out straight. Place your hands under your lower back with palms facing down (to support your back.)
Now you’ll raise your legs and shoulders.
Raise your legs about 3-6 inches off the floor. Then raise your shoulders off the floor and push your elbows into the floor for support. Be sure to keep your abs tight.
The exercise involves taking one leg over the other and “scissoring” your legs. The left leg goes up and to the right while the right leg goes down and to the left. Then the left leg comes back and goes down while the right leg comes back and up. Then scissor your right leg up and to the left, and your left leg down and to the right.
Keep repeating.
This works your transverse abdominals and really works the thighs, even in ways cycling does not (to keep your legs balanced for a better pedal stroke.)
Here’s a good exercise. You just hold this pose for a long time. It works your whole freakin body.
Start out lying on your stomach. Then prop yourself up on your toes and forearms, with your arms facing in front of you, and your hands together. Keep your body in a straight line. If your stomach slips toward the floor, you’re too tired or weak.
Hold this for 30 or 60 seconds, or maybe 5 minutes if you’re good. Then do a couple more reps! 🙂
P.S. That’s my shirt hanging down to the floor, not my gut! 😉
This goes way way back… to the winter. Now don’t get me wrong, I worked out at the gym for a while, but this winter I realized how great it is to just exercise at home. All you need is a yoga mat, an exercise ball, a couple free weights, and maybe a workout plan.
First I found this site called http://www.babsoncycling.com because I was looking for core exercise videos. Well I found this video and boy was it fun! It turned me on to a video called Cyclo-Core which has changed my life! (Ok, not to get all sappy like an infomercial, but this workout is hard as hell!)
I’ve been working on these exercises for a couple months and I think I have a good feel for them, so I hope to tell you guys a bit about them. Maybe you’ll try bodyweight and core exercises, too!
Stay tuned for once I get my digital camera hooked up!
Check the March 2007 issue of Bicycling Magazine. It lists 8 sweet exercises for your core. I’ll show you some pics of me doing these exercises, just don’t laugh at me being out of shape!
There’s also some websites with more info:
http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/l/bl_core.htm really good core exercises
http://coachlevi.com/bodyweight-exercise-collection/ this guy shows some core exercises
stay tuned…
Body Weight Workouts 
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