Forget planking – tighten your torso with these five resistance band exercises

The plank may be a brilliant core exercise, but for many it can be tricky to master. And, in all honesty, it can get a bit boring just balancing there aimlessly waiting for your timer to hit ‘zero’. This five-move workout, however, promises to build up those deep core muscles, as well as work your abdominals, and there isn't a plank in sight — all you need is a long resistance band.

You may have used resistance bands for your strength training exercises during full-body workouts, but did you know they're excellent for developing core strength too? By incorporating them into your workout you're adding extra resistance, which your core has to work harder to overcome which, in turn, strengthens it. If you find bodyweight exercises too easy, or struggle to engage your deep core muscles in general, then throwing a band into the mix could be hugely beneficial.

This workout is ideal for adding onto the end of a long workout session. There’s five different exercises to complete, all of which require a long pull-up resistance band, which you’ll need to loop around either your stairs’ bannister, a tree or table leg (basically, something sturdy).  Each exercise is floor-based, so it’s best to have an exercise/yoga mat to hand, and  you’ll complete each move for10 reps. If you’re doing this as your main workout, repeat the exercises three times. Here’s what you’ll be doing:

• Pall of press with overhead extension
• Banded V sit ups
• Banded bicycles
• Kneeling split stance woodchoppers
• Kneeling pall of press

Remember, a resistance band is the ultimate piece of home gym equipment that you can work your entire body with. If you're after another ab workout then try this five minute abs workout using resistance bands, or if you're keen to work up a full body sweat then we've got this banded fast five-move workout that'll work your entire body.