Tip Strengthen Your Deep Core Muscles Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Strengthen Your Deep Core Muscles A weak core makes you weak all over and ab crunches aren' t enough Try this exercise by Kelvin King, Jr December 5, 2017August 18, 2019 Tags Abs, Tips, Training Strong "deep core" muscles support the spine and therefore the entire body during explosive movements. If those muscles are weak, the nervous system serves as a protective mechanism due to inadequate core strength. One exercise prescribed to target these muscles is the "stir the pot." The standard variation is done in the plank position with your elbows resting on a stability ball. You make circles to activate the lats while the core has to stabilize your position. The muscles within your core are essentially firing like crazy. Unfortunately, most people have trouble stabilizing on the ball. Even if they can stabilize, the spine is in somewhat of an awkward position. Here's another way to perform the exercise to keep the spine healthy while challenging your core musculature. Supine Stir the Pot Performing this movement in the supine position promotes spinal integrity and fires up those deep core muscles. Grab a light to medium resistance band. Start by lying down on your back with your shoulders and lats pressed into the floor. You can do this with your legs straight, heels on the ground, or feet up. Grasp the band while keeping your arms in the air. Make sure you have adequate tension to activate your core. Make full circles with your arms while systematically breathing – keep your lats and ribcage down to prevent your body from externally rotating into a side-lying position. Not tough enough? Try these more advanced progressions: Supine Stir the Pot 90 Degree Hip Bend Supine Stir the Pot Double Leg Lowering Supine Stir the Pot Alternating Lower Limbs Deadbug These exercises are harder than they look, but they'll help you learn how to breathe more efficiently, stabilize your spine, and nail those deep core muscles. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip Do Partner Flyes for Bigger Pecs Manual resistance flyes. Yeah, this is gonna hurt. Here's how to do them. Tips, Training John Meadows April 4 Training Kroc Talk Kroc talks about his current hybrid training program, gaining weight, and the absolute best exercises for putting on muscle. Bodybuilding, Training Nate Green June 21 Training Tip Two-Bench Hip Thrust Leg Curl Build your glutes and hamstrings with just your bodyweight. Try this. Exercise Coaching, Glutes, Legs, Tips Nick Tumminello November 30 Training The Best Biceps Exercises You re Not Doing If you only do regular curls for your biceps, you're missing a whole lot of muscle. Do these exercises to finally build some bigger guns. Arms, Bodybuilding, Training Brian McFadden July 22