The Surprising Resistance Band Ab Exercises That Strengthen Your Core
If you’ve grown bored of your basic mat routine for core workouts, incorporating resistance band ab exercises can help you switch it up and even intensify your results. The versatile, simple, and affordable exercise accessory is a secret weapon for strength training of all kinds.
Meet the Expert: Alex Germano, P.T., D.P.T., G.C.S., CF-L2, a physical therapist, fitness coach, and clinician with FOX Rehabilitation.
“Resistance bands are good for ab workouts because they are easily accessible and can provide a good deal of tension during the exercise that helps activate the core throughout the entirety of the movement,” explains Alex Germano, P.T., D.P.T., G.C.S., CF-L2, a physical therapist, fitness coach, and clinician with FOX Rehabilitation. “Resistance bands are also great to travel with due to their lightweight and small nature, so they make a great companion for a tough workout on the road.”
Whether or not you’re on the go, you can refer to these moves to punch up your next core activation.
Resistance band ab exercises
Below, Germano explains how to perform some popular resistance band ab exercises.
Pallof press
“This is a great exercise to work on ‘anti-rotation,’” explains Germano, meaning your core’s ability to resist a rotational force. The move “helps to increase core stability and has the added benefit of low back and hip strengthening,” she adds.
How to:
Secure your band to an anchor at around chest height.
Walk away from the anchor of the band and align your body perpendicular to the band's pull.
From there, brace your core and press the band straight away from your body. Try not to allow your body to turn towards the anchor of the band.
Turn around to complete the other side. You should feel this on the sides of your body.
You can perform this exercise standing, kneeling, or in half-kneeling position. Just adjust the band height accordingly.
Side bends
Side bends “target the obliques and lumbar side,” Germano says. “You will get a bonus side-bending stretch which may feel good on your back.”
How to:
With one end of the band anchored under your feet and the other in your hands, allow your body to bend sideways and return back to a neutral position.
Repeat.
Forward raise
“This one seems like just a shoulder exercise, but your core is having to resist movement and you will feel it tighten down,” explains Germano. “Your core has to stabilize against a force trying to pull it down/forward. This is an important movement to build into your exercise routine for a healthy core and spine.”
How to:
With the band anchored under your feet, hold the band with two hands and raise your arms, keeping them straight.
Stop at around shoulder level.
Lower arms slowly and repeat.
Side plank row
“Here, we get the bonus of a side plank to work on the lateral side of the body, and an upper body movement with the row,” Germano says. The rowing really amps up the core engagement and challenge of the side plank, she adds.
How to:
With the band anchored low, get into a side plank position either resting on your stacked outer knee or outer foot, depending on your skill level.
While holding the side plank, perform an upper body row with your top arm using the band: Pull the band out parallel with your shoulder and return it.
Repeat five to 10 times, then switch sides.
Russian twist
This core rotation exercise will target your obliques and help reduce stiffness in the low back, Germano says. Bonus: You also will get a deep dynamic stretch.
How to:
With one end of the band around the feet and the other in your hands, lift the feet off the floor and move your arms side to side so they end near your hips.
Keep the feet on the ground for a more gentle version.
Chops
This complex move will also light up your hips and lumbar spine, Germano says, so it provides a lot of bang for its buck. It’s especially helpful for performance in sports like golf.
How to:
Standing with feet shoulder width apart and the band anchored under one foot, move your hands from one lateral side of the knee to shoulder level or higher on the opposite side.
2. Repeat.
Good morning
Most people forget the back side of their body when they think about the core, Germano says, but it is a vital component of the system. This exercise will subtly target the abdominals, but mainly targets the lumbar spine and glutes.
How to:
With the band under your feet, place the other side of the band on the top of your shoulders/behind the neck.
Do not place the band on the neck itself, but lower, to prevent strain or injury.
From there, bend at the hips and keep the knees slightly bent until you can feel tension in the backside of your body.
Return to standing and repeat.
Plank hold
“The plank is a foundational core exercise to work on maintaining stability and tension, and the band adds a little challenge,” Germano says.
How to:
Hold an end of the band in both hands with the middle along your upper back.
Assume a plank position on knees or toes, depending on your needs.
Hold.
Banded bird dog
Germano says the bird dog works on coordination and stability across the core and spine.
How to:
On your hands and knees in the tabletop position, anchor one side of the band on one foot and one side in the opposite hand.
Stretch each of these limbs out in a straight line, then return and repeat.
Switch sides and repeat.
Banded sit-up
A banded sit-up is a modified sit-up that makes the move more accessible and slightly easier than a regular sit-up, Germano explains. “It also makes a great pregnancy modification if you are looking to keep sit-ups in your routine,” she adds.
How to:
With the band placed low on an anchor, sit down on the floor and pull the band taught with both hands.
Perform sit ups and use the band to pull yourself up.
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