These are the three single-leg exercises I’ve been doing to rebuild core strength after an injury

woman with dumbbell in hand does single-leg exercise at home — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Core strength isn’t just for athletes, it’s the foundation for nearly all movement, from sitting comfortably to carrying groceries up the stairs.

Traditional core exercises such as planks and crunches are important for building core strength, but they shouldn’t be the extent of your core training.

When I started recovering from a disc injury two years ago, my rehab coach emphasized the importance of single-leg exercises, not just for regaining lost strength in the leg that suffered sciatica, but for building deep core strength to support my spine.

Movements such as the single-leg Romanian deadlift and step-up use your abdominal muscles and work on the deeper engagement between your pelvis, lower spine and core—activating all the tiny stabilizing muscles and ligaments that general workouts often miss.

These moves will also challenge your balance and coordination—skills that it pays to maintain as you age—and make a great lower-body routine for runners, because running requires unilateral (single-leg) strength for performance and injury-prevention.

Here are three unilateral moves that will help you build core strength.

1. Single-leg balance with crossover reach and knee lift

Single leg balance with crossover reach to high knee - YouTube

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Sets: 1-2 Reps: 10-12 each side

Stand with your center of gravity over your left leg and bend your left knee slightly.
Hinge forward from your hips to lower your torso and bend your left knee.
Reach your right leg back and behind your left foot.
Press your hips forward to stand up straight and raise your right knee to hip height, bending it to 90°.
Go straight into the next rep.
Complete all the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.

2. Coiling

Coiling - YouTube

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Sets: 1-2 Reps: 10-12 each side

From standing, step your right foot back so you are in a staggered stance, with your left foot flat on the floor, and your right foot resting on your toes.
Hold a light dumbbell in your right hand.
Bend both knees to lower, and crouch down, twisting your torso to the left to touch the weight on the floor outside your left foot.
Push through your front foot to return to standing with control.
Complete all the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.

3. Single-leg step-up

Single leg step up - YouTube

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Sets: 1-2 Reps: 10-12 each side

Stand in front of a step or box with your left foot on it—this is your leading foot and the leg doing all the work.
Push your weight through your leading foot to extend your left leg and rise onto the box, placing your right foot next to your left.
Pause, then move your right foot off the box and bend your left knee to slowly lower your right foot back to the floor.
Complete all the repetitions on one side, then switch sides.

Yanar Alkayat is a health and fitness editor, registered yoga therapist and level 3 personal trainer. She founded Yanar Mind & Movement alongside her journalism to offer specialist yoga therapy for people living with long-term health conditions, movement disorders and marginalised communities. Her chair yoga classes are funded by Parkinson's UK and she regularly runs yoga and fitness for refugee and asylum seeker groups in London. Formerly a content editor and fitness product testing manager at Women’s Health, Men’s Health and Runner's World, she continues to write for national print and digital media.

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