For Julianne Hough, having a strong core and lower body is key. The actor, singer, and Dancing With the Stars alum loves exercises that target these muscle groups, so she makes sure to incorporate them regularly into her workouts.
“I’m a big believer that everything stems from your core,” Hough tells SELF.
A strong lower body (including leg muscles like your hamstrings and quads, and your glute muscles) is also important, since those muscles are the foundation for so many movements in everyday life—and in dance. Strong legs, Hough says, allow her to dance with speed and power.
When it comes to building this strength, Hough relies on a lot of bodyweight exercises. She recently shared three of her favorites with SELF: plank to downward dog toe tap, kneeling obliques crunch, and fire hydrant.
The first exercise is a variation on the plank—one of the most classic, effective core moves—that combines core strengthening, mobility, and a little bit of cardio, too, thanks to its dynamic movement. As with any plank variation, you’ll also be working on your shoulder stability, which is something many people tend to neglect in their workouts but is important for injury prevention and safer lifting, as SELF reported previously.
The second exercise, which involves hip external rotation, engages your glutes and core. Thanks to this movement pattern—different from how you move in more traditional butt exercises like the squat or glute bridge—you’ll be working your smaller glute muscles, too, as SELF reported previously.
The third especially targets your obliques (the muscles on the sides of your abdomen), as well as your glutes, in a crunch-style move. Because it’s a single-leg move, you’ll also be working on building more balanced strength.
The best part, though? You can do all of these moves with just your bodyweight.
Hough typically does these exercises within a KINRGY Carve workout, a specific form of KINRGY (Hough’s dance-inspired fitness method) that focuses on strengthening through bodyweight yoga and Pilates moves, and also incorporates doses of cardio too. She recently partnered with FitOn, the free fitness app, to release workout videos that you can do at home.
Want to try these three exercises for yourself? We’ll tell you how in just a sec. First though, a reminder that form—not intensity—is what’s important. “It’s not about how hard it is,” says Hough, “it’s about how well you’re doing the move.”
Incorporate these moves into your strength and cardio routine like Hough, or try them out on their own for some targeted lower-body and core work. (Want some workout inspiration? Underneath each move, you’ll also find a full routine that incorporates that exercise.)
Plank to Downward Dog Toe Tap
- Start in a high plank with your wrists under your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart.
- Push your hips up and back to move into a downward dog with your heels reaching toward the floor. At the same time, lift your right hand off the floor and gently tap your left ankle (if possible).
- Return your right hand to the floor and shift your weight forward to come back into high plank.
- Now shift back into downward dog, but this time tap your left hand to your right ankle. Return to high plank. This is one rep.
- Continue, alternating sides, for the set amount of reps.
Fire Hydrant
- Start in an all-fours position, with your wrists under your shoulders, knees under your hips, and core engaged.
- Keeping your leg bent, lift your right knee up to your side, toward the ceiling as if it were being pulled by a string.
- Keep your core engaged, and be mindful to not allow your body to tip to the left as you lift.
- Lower your knee to the starting position and repeat. Do all the reps on one side, then repeat on the other.
Kneeling Obliques Crunch
- Start in an all-fours position, with your wrists under your shoulders, knees under your hips, and core engaged.
- Similar to the fire hydrant move, keep your right knee bent and lift your right knee toward the ceiling, as if it were being pulled by a string.
- When your hip reaches a 90-degree angle, push your right foot back, straightening your leg but keeping your hip open.
- Bring your foot back, and pull your knee forward aiming to tap your right upper arm. Depending on your flexibility, you may not be able to bring it all the way in, and that’s okay.
- Do all the reps on one side, then repeat on the other side.
