3 Slider Workouts for Beginners That Majorly Fire Up Your Core

I have a short attention span, the budget of a freelance writer, and a tiny living room the size, so my at-home workouts need to be hard, fast, and inexpensive. One thing that’s made a huge difference is adding in sliders to my workouts. Slider discs go underneath your hands or feet and they’re a great way for beginners to get the most out of their workouts.

Sliders dial up the intensity by turning your floor into an unstable surface. This requires a lot more balance and strength. “In turn it gives you more bang for your buck in a short amount of time,” says Megan Roup, founder of The Sculpt Society, adding that you’re likely to see a noticeable difference in you core strength after you start using sliders in your workouts.

“First and foremost it’s important that you feel confident in your technique with any exercise before progressing to using a slider,” says Roup. Meaning, don’t start throwing sliders into movements where your technique isn’t solid. She also advises using precaution if you are prenatal. “During pregnancy we have a hormone called relaxin in our bodies, which loosens our joints and ligaments in preparation for labor,” she says, so if you do incorporate sliders she recommends having a chair or stool to hold onto for more stability.

Sliders are a relatively inexpensive way to spice your workouts up; TSS double-sided sliders are $25 for a pair, but you can also find sets that cost under $10. If you don’t have sliders, you sub in things you can find in your home, like hand towels, paper plates, or socks. Sliders also happen to be incredibly versatile—they spice up functional exercises like squats and lunges, and if you combine them with resistance bands you can even get a reformer-like workout. And you don’t need to spend hours in order to get the most out of your slider workouts, as evidenced by this intense 10-minute sequence that targets your core, and this 15-minute one that gives you a full-body workout.

Roup recommends doing this sequence of three exercises with a slider under your working foot.

The best slider workouts for beginners

1. Curtsy squat (x 8 reps)

Cross your working foot behind your body at a 45 degree angle, and lower your hips down vertically. As you come back up, really plant your forward foot into the ground and engage your legs and core for stability.

2. Lunge back (x 8 reps)

Adding a slider to this classic move forces your glutes and quads to work even harder. Plant your forward foot into the ground and place the toes of your other foot on the slider. Slide your foot back, lowering your hips and making sure that your front knee doesn’t go over your toes. Slide your foot back to the starting position.

3. Alternate between a curtsy squat and lunge (x 8 reps)

Combine the two movements for this last exercise. First, do a curtsey squat. Bring your leg back to the starting position, and then lunge backward. That’s one rep.

Go through the exercises twice with your right leg, then do the same with your left.

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