The 6 most creative core and butt moves you don’t know about yet (but should)

Doing the same workout moves over and over (and over and over again) is like eating the same sad desk salad every day for lunch or wearing the exact same white t-shirt everywhere you go: Eventually, it’s going to get boring. Like, really boring. In fact, I am a firm believer that there is a finite number of regular ol’ crunches a human can do before they max out and never want to exercise again.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder that’s there’s an entire industry built on the concept of mixing up your moves (hello, boutique fitness!) and giving people a variety of ways to get their workouts in. But now, thanks to the rise of digital fitness, you can get an entire buffet of moves brought to you in your living room.

Technology like Obé and The Mirror give people the opportunity to stream a seemingly endless number of different workouts, without having to go anywhere for the sake of trying something new. “All of our trainers bring something different to the table. We have nine different class types, and that’s very purposeful because variety is important to mix it up and also keep your mind engaged,” Obé co-founder Ashley Mills said on Wednesday night during the most recent Well+Good TALK in New York City held at Made by We. “I think if you’re doing the same thing over and over again, you get bored of it, so by offering so many different types of classes, we can keep people excited and keep people engaged in their fitness regimen.”

While her platform offers its fair share of planks (and, yes, plenty of crunches), it also has so much more—and the physical and motivational value of that is not to be discounted. When you change up your programming, it gives new stimulus to your body so you don’t plateau,” explains Obé trainer Emily Diers. “Doing creative moves keeps your mind engaged, creates new neural pathways, sharpens your awareness, and fires different muscle groups.” As Wellness Coach Janine Delaney, Ph. D puts it, “variety is the spice of life, and this is true when it comes to exercise, too.”

Here, Diers shares some not-at-all-boring (but super effective) butt and core moves to keep you motivated to mix things up.

Core

1. Oblique twister: Start lying on your back with your hands behind your head. Curl your head and upper spine off of the floor, bringing your knees to a tabletop.  Extend your legs straight out in front of you, trying to lower the legs as far as you can while keeping your back on the floor. As you pull your knees into tabletop, twist the knees to the left and swing your shins and feet to the right. Squeeze the right oblique as you reach your right hand to tap your right shin or ankle. Repeat 15 times on your right side, then switch to 15 on the left.

2. Sit up and twist down: Start lying on your back with your feet on the floor.  Reach your arms overhead, energize through your fingers and deepen in the belly to roll up to sit.  Lean back as you twist side-to-side four times. Round through your low back as you roll back down, reaching arms overhead. Repeat 10 times.

3. Tap and cross: Start lying on your back with your feet wide on the floor, knees apart, and hands behind your head. Lengthen your legs up to the ceiling, crossing your right ankle on top of the left, squeezing your inner thighs.  As your legs straighten, curl your head and pelvis off the floor. Lower your spine down as your feet tap the floor and your knees stay wide. Repeat 30 times, alternating your leg cross.

Butt

Do all three moves on the left before switching to the right.

1. Hydrant to corner: Start on all fours and drop your left elbow. Lift your right knee straight out to the side side in a hydrant, and close back to the starting position. Then, invert the thigh and kick the right foot to the right diagonal, lengthening one long line from the right hip to the right toes. Bend your knee to return to start. Repeat 30 times.

2. Outer thigh lift to attitude: Start on all fours and drop the left elbow.  Lengthen your right leg straight out to the side with your foot pointed, and lift up and down to tap the floor. Then, from the floor, arc the leg behind you and bend the knee to hook it in a back attitude. Straighten the leg and bring it out to the side, and tap back on the floor to start. Repeat 30 times.

3. Side plank push: Start lying on your left hip and left forearm. Bend your right knee toward your chest and flex your right foot. Push your right foot away so that the right leg is in one long line out from the hip. To make it harder, press the left forearm and shin to lift the hips as you kick your leg, and lower your hips when your knee bends. Repeat 30 times.

No matter what types of workouts you’re doing, you’ve gotta be sure to recover on the reg, and this tech is making it easier than ever. Plus, why the rise of digital fitness could mean good things for your local gym.