With the Kick the Ceiling Exercise
Often movements in day-to-day life require the core to intermittently contract to stabilise the spine or add force to a functional movement. For example, lifting a bag of shopping from one side of the boot to the other to make space for a bigger item requires a quick burst of abdominal contraction.
A good way to mimic theses sudden bursts of core contractions in a safe and effective way while exercising is with the “kick the Ceiling” core exercise.
To perform this exercise; lie on your back with the hip bent to 90 degrees and the knees kept as straight as possible and the palms of your hands pressed against the floor.
Then in a firm abdominal contraction shoot your hip and legs up towards the ceiling while pressing your arms into the ground. You are aiming for a small straight upwards movement of your legs with minimal swinging of the legs in any plane other than the straight up and down movement.
Repeat the above exercise for multiple repetitions, however, stop if you feel any pain or struggle to keep good form.