Fixes 4 You

Do you remember the sit-ups from school? The squeak of sneakers on a varnished gymnasium floor. The singular goal of touching your elbows to your knees, a motion that felt both necessary and somehow wrong, a folding of the body that seemed to miss the point entirely. The strain felt singular, a sharp line just below the ribs, while your hip flexors did most of the real, grumbling work.

For years, this was the accepted measure of a strong middle. A test you might have always felt you were failing. But the body’s story is more complicated than that, and its strength comes from a deeper, more integrated place than a simple forward crunch can ever reach.

There are quieter, more thoughtful ways to build this stability.

Movements that don’t ask you to fold, but to lengthen and hold. Consider the bird-dog, an exercise with a gentle name. On your hands and knees, you extend an opposite arm and leg, your whole focus on keeping your torso as still as a stone in a creek bed. It is an act of profound concentration. Mallory Fox, a NASM master trainer, notes that this movement engages the deep core muscles, the ones that wrap around your spine like a supportive corset.

It asks for coordination, for a conversation between your limbs and your center, all while you maintain a perfectly neutral spine. There is a rightness to it. A feeling of putting things back in their proper place.

Other movements carry a surprising history. The hollow body hold, for instance. A staple in gymnastics, a discipline of almost otherworldly control.

Lying on your back, you lift your legs and shoulders just slightly off the floor, creating a taut, shallow curve with your body, like a boat’s hull. Fox describes it as a challenge for the entire core, from the rectus abdominis to the obliques. The effort is immense, a fine tremor that runs through you. It’s not about grand motion, but about resisting motion, about finding an unshakeable stillness.

Then there is the farmer’s carry, which physical therapist Lauren Geisbert points out is strength in its most practical form. It is the act of carrying a heavy bag of groceries in one hand from the car to the house, and feeling the opposite side of your body—your obliques—fire and tighten to keep you from tipping over.

A lopsided load. The body’s subtle, brilliant correction.

And of course, the plank. A posture of foundational stillness. Trainer Terry Tateossian calls it the cornerstone of core stability, and for good reason. In a plank, time slows down. You notice the dust motes dancing in a sliver of sunlight on the floorboards.

You feel everything engage at once—not just the front of your abdomen, but the sides, the back, even your glutes and shoulders, all working in quiet conspiracy to hold a single, strong line. It is a moment of complete physical integrity. You can complicate it with small disturbances. A tap of a hand to the opposite shoulder.

A slow lift of one leg. Each variation is a small question asked of your core, and the unwavering answer is what builds true, functional strength.

• Beyond the Sit-Up Many functional exercises strengthen the full core more safely and effectively than traditional sit-ups, which primarily target the rectus abdominis and can strain the back.
• The Power of Stillness Exercises like the plank and the hollow body hold build profound core endurance and stability by forcing the muscles to work isometrically to resist movement and maintain a rigid torso.
• Deep Muscle Engagement The bird-dog is exceptionally good for beginners and for rehabilitation because it targets the deep stabilizing muscles, such as the transverse abdominis, improving coordination and spinal control without high impact.
• Real-World Strength The farmer’s carry demonstrates how core strength applies to daily life.

By carrying a weight on one side, you challenge your obliques to work overtime to keep your torso upright and stable, just as you would when carrying a heavy suitcase or a child.