A certified trainer with 20 years of experience says these are her two favorite standing core moves for building stability and balance

Strengthening your core muscles can improve everything from your posture to your running speed and your ability to lift heavy things.

There are plenty of floor-based moves that you can do to target your mid-body muscles, from classics like sit-ups to beginner-friendly moves like the bird dog.

However, experimenting with standing core exercises can introduce new elements to your training and provide fresh challenges.

I asked Samantha Cubbins—manager at Gymshark’s UK Lifting Club and a certified trainer with 20 years of experience—for her favorite standing core moves.

She picked two exercises that not only strengthen these all-important muscles, but also challenge your balance and stability. Here’s how to do them.

1. Single-leg Romanian deadlift

Sets: 1-3 Reps: 6-10 each side

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift - Modern Woman's Guide to Strength Training - YouTube

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• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a slight bend in your knees and arms by your sides.
• Transfer your bodyweight onto your left foot, and lift your right foot behind you.
• Keeping a flat back throughout, hinge forward from your hips to slowly lower your torso forward and lift your right leg behind you, until your torsi and right leg are parallel to the floor—or as close as your mobility allows.
• Hold for up to 10 seconds.
• Push your hips forward to return to standing upright, still balancing on one leg.
• Perform all the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.

Cubbins recommends starting without weights—it will still challenge your core muscles and improve your balance.

“You have to use your core to make sure your torso isn't rotating to one side,” says Cubbins.

2. Pallof press

Sets: 2-4 Reps: 10-12 each side

How To Do A Pallof Press - YouTube

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• Loop a resistance band around an anchor point at chest height.
• Stand side-on to the anchor point and step away until there’s tension in the band.
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees, holding the resistance band in both hands at your chest.
• Press the resistance band straight out in front of you, resisting the pull towards the anchor point.
• Bring the resistance back to your chest.
• Complete the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.

This move forces your muscles to resist the pull of the band, training your core to brace against rotational forces and improving mid-body stability.

Cubbins says that many core moves work in the sagittal plane, moving your body forward and backward, like a sit-up.

In real life, however, our bodies need to move and resist forces from all directions, which is why it’s useful to practice anti-rotational moves like this one.

“This one’s great because it hits all down the side [of your body] and your obliques,” says Cubbins, “you’ll also feel it down to your glutes.”