Forget crunches — 3 things I've learned from adding compound exercises to my core workouts

Man holding a medicine ball while sitting down during core training workout in a studio gym.

Core workouts don’t have to include isolation exercises to build core muscle. If you’ve so far been relying on exercises like crunches and sit-ups that target one muscle group to strengthen your core, here’s another way to do it.

Over the years, I’ve transitioned from standalone ab workouts to full-body exercises with a strong core focus, picking moves that target multiple muscle groups at once — called compound exercises — while working most core muscles to support, stabilize and strengthen the trunk.