Checkout 5 Best Core Exercises for Bodybuilding

       The core comprises many muscles, but for bodybuilding purposes, most of your efforts need to be placed on the following four muscles: rectus abdominis, obliques, erector spinae and iliopsoas. Technically, the latter three are muscle groups consisting of several parts, rather than being individual muscles. However, you don't need to memorize all the different parts of these muscles. Just realize that they are complex tissues.
You can perform hundreds of different core exercises in the gym or at home. As a bodybuilder, there is no need to occupy yourself with fancy exercises. The five movements listed below are the time-tested and most effective exercises for bringing out the shape of your core musculature.
Note that the following five exercises are not listed in order of effectiveness.

1.  Crunches

If there was one exercise that was synonymous with core training, that exercise would have to be crunches. And for good reason. Crunches are the single best exercise for the rectus abdominis, which is the muscle that everyone refers to as the "six pack." This exercise is so effective because it mimics the exact function of the rectus abdominis, which is bending of the spine. If you are a beginner, then doing crunches with just your body weight will suffice. As you become more advanced, you should hold weights over your chest while performing the exercise to add difficulty to the movement.

2.  Oblique Crunches

When doing crunches, you are just bending your spine forward. By altering the movement and adding a slight spinal rotation to either side, hence performing oblique crunches, you will place much of the muscular emphasis on the obliques. The rectus abdominis is still involved to a large degree during the motion, just not as much as when you do traditional crunches.

3.  Sit Ups

Sit ups are among the most understood exercises, in terms of what muscles are involved. There also tends to be much confusion between this exercise and crunches. The difference, however, is simple. During crunches, you maintain your lower back firmly on the ground, thus only rounding your upper back and lifting it off the ground. In contrast, when you perform sit ups, you are rounding your entire spine and lifting it completely off the ground until your back is parallel to the ground. In addition to bending your spine, you must flex your hips to get the upright torso position. And thus, because you are bending your hips, you involve the iliopsoas muscle of the core. So, sit ups are a great exercise for both your rectus abdominis and your iliopsoas.

4.  Dumbbell Side Bends

The aforementioned exercises consisted of bending of the spine forward and therefore they all worked the rectus abdominis. When bending your spine to either side in a lateral manner, you will shift the work to the obliques and erector spinae. Dumbbell side bends, which you perform while standing up, is an excellent movement that literally only involves bending of your spine laterally. The obliques are the main muscle worked throughout the range of motion, with the erector spinae serving as an assisting muscles.

5.  Spinal Extensions

To place all of the emphasis on the erector spinae muscle, you should perform spinal extensions. This is the very best exercise for the erector spinae, because it mimics their exact function, which is extending of your spine. You are literally doing the opposite movement of crunches. You must be in a standing position, with your torso parallel to the ground to do this exercise. And, you need to be holding a weight below your chest to place resistance against the erector spinae. From this position, all you do is bend and then extend your spine in a slow and controlled motion.

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