Core Circles – Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Place your palms on your thighs with your fingers pointing towards each other. Circle your core in a clockwise direction, keeping your abs engaged. Do 12-15 reps and switch sides. Do 3 sets.

Leg Lifts – Lie on your back with your legs together, straight in front of you. Engage your abs and slowly lift both legs together up off the ground. Lift legs as high as you can without feeling any back pain. Hold your legs up for one count and then slowly lower them back down to the floor. Do 2 sets of 10-12 reps.

Ball Pass– Use a Swiss ball or other light weight, large object for this exercise. Lie on your back with your legs straight in front of you and your arms straight out behind you. Place the Swiss ball in between your lower legs and tighten your legs around the ball to move it. Holding the Swiss ball in between your legs, lift your legs (and the ball) up. At the same time, raise your upper body. While your arms and legs are raised, pass the Swiss ball from your legs to your hands and lower back down. Repeat, transferring the ball back to your legs. Do 2 sets of 10-12 passes.

Torso Twists – Sit on a mat with your knees bent. Hinge your upper body back. Keeping your knees bent, lift your feet off the ground by just an inch or two. Keep your abs engaged to hold yourself in this position. Move your entire torso from side to side, letting your arms dip down a bit on each side. To make this move more challenging, hold an 8- or 10-pound weight in your hand while twisting. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps.