Who this set is for
- Recurrent low back pain that returns every few months
- You are returning to running or lifting and the middle feels like the weak link
- Postnatal and past the starter stage
- You want one core routine that is actually worth repeating
The set, in order
The sequence matters: it moves from switching on to loading. Each exercise links to its full guide, with the technique, mistakes and progressions.
- 1
Dead Bug
2 sets of 8 each side, slowLying on your back with arms and knees in the air, lowering an opposite arm and leg while the trunk stays quiet. The standard way to load the deep abdominals without straining a back or a healing midline.
The measure of quality is a still, quiet lower back while the limbs move.
- 2
Bird Dog
2 sets of 8 each side, 3 second holdsFrom hands and knees, reaching one arm and the opposite leg out while the trunk stays perfectly still. Builds the back and hip endurance that stops episodes from returning.
- 3
Side Plank
2 holds each side, 15 to 30 secondsHolding the body in one straight line on the forearm, loading the trunk muscles down one side. The standard exercise for side trunk endurance, started from the knees and progressed gradually.
From the knees is the right version until the full one is boringly easy.
- 4
Glute Bridge
2 sets of 12, slowLifting the hips from the floor until shoulders, hips and knees form one line. The foundation exercise for the gluteus maximus, and the starting point of most hip and back programmes.
Finisher. The glutes are half of what people mean when they say core.
Running the set well
- Quality decides everything here. Eight controlled repetitions beat twenty wobbly ones, because the wobble is the old pattern practising itself.
- Progress one exercise at a time, not everything at once.
- Breathe throughout. If you have to hold your breath to manage a repetition, the level is too high for today.
When to get assessed instead
Stop and get assessed if any exercise produces back pain that lingers into the next day, doming along the midline of the abdomen, or pelvic heaviness. Each has an easier version that is the correct place to be for now.