5 Core Exercises Every Athlete Needs (Football, Running & Beyond)

Ask most athletes what core training looks like, and you’ll hear the same answers — sit-ups, planks, maybe some leg raises. And look, there’s nothing wrong with those. But if that’s all you’re doing, you’re leaving serious performance on the table.

At CoreMVMT, we treat and train football players, runners, and athletes across all disciplines. The one thing they all have in common? The athletes who move better, stay healthier, and recover faster are the ones who train their core across multiple planes of motion — not just forward and back.

Here are the core exercises we prescribe to build a bulletproof mid-section for sport and life.

Category 1: Anti-Rotation With Movement

Movement: Pallof Press with Rotation

Attach a resistance band to a fixed anchor point at chest height. Step away to create tension in the band and stand side-on to the anchor, feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the band with both hands at your chest. Brace your core and press your arms straight out in front of you — then slowly rotate your torso away from the anchor, pausing at the end range. Control the rotation back, pull the band to your chest, and repeat. This challenges your core to resist and control rotation at the same time, making it one of the most sport-specific core movements you can do.

Coach’s Tip: Keep your hips square and still throughout the movement. The rotation should come purely from your trunk — if your hips are twisting, you’re losing the anti-rotation benefit.

Muscles Worked

• Transverse Abdominis

• Internal & External Obliques

• Rectus Abdominis

• Hip & Glute Stabilisers

Variations

• Pallof Press (standard)

• Tall Kneeling Pallof Press with Rotation

• Cable Rotational Chop

Category 2: Hip Hinge & Single-Leg Stability

Movement: Split Stance Deadlift

Set up in a staggered stance with one foot forward and one foot back — think of a split squat position but with a wider base. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand (or a barbell). Keeping your back flat and core braced, hinge at the hips to lower the weights toward the floor, allowing a slight bend in both knees. Drive through your front heel to return to the starting position. The split stance forces your core and hips to stabilise asymmetrically, which directly transfers to running mechanics and on-field movement patterns.

Coach’s Tip: Don’t let your front knee cave inward or your lower back round. If you can’t maintain a neutral spine, reduce the load. Quality of movement always beats the weight on the bar.

Muscles Worked

• Gluteus Maximus & Medius

• Hamstrings

• Erector Spinae

• Transverse Abdominis & Obliques

• Hip Flexors & Adductors

Variations

• Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

• Barbell Split Stance Deadlift

• Deficit Split Stance Deadlift

Category 3: Posterior Chain & Glute Power

Movement: Hip Thrust

Set up with your upper back resting against a bench, feet flat on the floor hip-width apart, and a barbell (or band) across your hips. Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to push your hips up toward the ceiling until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Pause at the top for a full glute contraction, then lower slowly under control. The hip thrust is one of the most effective exercises for developing explosive glute power — critical for sprinting, jumping, changing direction, and protecting the lower back and knees in contact sport.

Coach’s Tip: Don’t hyperextend your lower back at the top. The power should come from your glutes, not your lumbar spine. Think about tucking your pelvis slightly at peak contraction.

Muscles Worked:

• Glute Max, Min, Med

• Hamstrings

• Erector Spinae

• Hip Flexors (eccentric)

Variations

• Banded Hip Thrust

• Single-Leg Hip Thrust

• Glute Bridge (floor variation)

Category 4: Lateral Flexion & Core ControlHamstrings

Movement: KB Oblique Teapots

Stand tall with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell (or dumbbell) in one hand at your side. Place your free hand beside your head, fingers behind your ear — like a teapot. Keeping your chest up and avoiding any forward lean, slowly bend directly sideways toward the weighted hand, lowering the kettlebell toward the floor. Pause at the bottom, then contract the obliques on the opposite side to pull yourself back upright. This is one of the few exercises that truly targets lateral flexion — a plane of motion that most athletes completely neglect, yet is vital for absorbing side-on contact, changing direction, and maintaining trunk stability during single-leg movements.

Coach’s Tip: Move purely side to side — don’t let your torso rotate forward or backward. Imagine you’re sliding between two panes of glass. If the movement feels easy, increase the weight before you increase the range.

Muscles Worked

• Internal & External Obliques

• Quadratus Lumborum

• Transverse Abdominis

• Gluteus Medius

Variations

• Single-Leg KB Teapot

• Bodyweight Lateral Bend

• Cable Side Bend

Category 5: Bracing & Adductor Stability

Movement: Copenhagen Plank

Training your core the right way means training it the way your sport demands. Rotation, stability, single-leg strength, lateral control, and bracing — all of it matters. If you want to move better, stay injury-free, and perform at your best, start adding these into your weekly program.

If you’re not sure where to start, book in with the CoreMVMT team. We’ll assess how you move and build you a program that actually works for your sport.

Set up in a side plank position with your top foot resting on a bench or box and your bottom leg either hanging or resting on the floor. Your top leg does the work — drive through the inner thigh to lift your hips off the ground and hold a straight line from head to heel. The Copenhagen plank is one of the most demanding adductor and hip stability exercises available. It builds the inner thigh and groin strength that protects against groin strains and knee injuries — one of the most common injuries in football and running athletes. Hold for time or add a slow dip variation for added load.

Coach’s Tip: Start with the easier regression — bottom knee on the floor for support. Build to the full version with both legs extended before adding the dip variation. This exercise is harder than it looks, and rushing progression is how people get hurt.

• Adductor Group (inner thigh)

• Gluteus Medius & Minimus

• Obliques & Lateral Core

• Hip Flexors & Abductors

Variations

• Copenhagen Plank with Hip Dip

• Regression: Bottom Knee Down

• Side Plank with Adductor Squeeze