There's a moment every beginner knows. You're partway through a workout, going fine, and then the next move comes up — and it's a press-up, or a side plank, and you just know it's not happening today.
Up to now, that moment meant grinding to a halt or skipping the move and feeling like you'd cut a corner. Neither is any good, so I've changed it.
Tap the move, take the easier version
The usual suspects — the moves that stop beginners in their tracks — now have easier versions filmed and built into Core Buddy: knees down, feet on the floor, hands raised. When one of them comes up in a workout, tap it and swap. The timer carries on, the session carries on, and you carry on.
The set so far:
- Press-up — on your knees
- High plank, low plank and side plank — on your knees
- Up-down plank and plank shoulder taps — on your knees
- Bicycle crunch and Russian twist — feet on the floor
- Pike push-up — hands raised on something steady
These aren't watered-down substitutes. They're the exact versions I start people with in the studio, and they build the same strength through the same movement — there's simply less of your bodyweight to move while that strength arrives. Every press-up I've ever coached started on the knees.
Why this matters more than it looks
Most fitness apps quietly assume a starting point — and if you're not there yet, every workout reminds you of it. That assumption is exactly what Core Buddy is built against. The app's job is to meet you where you are today, and some days that's the full plank, and some days it's knees down. Both are you showing up, and both count.
There is nothing to reach first and nothing to qualify for. The easier versions are just there, in every workout the app builds, from your first session onwards.
They're on the website too
Every one of these easier versions is also in the free exercise library, sitting right beside its full move — so you can see both before you ever pick one. And if you want to feel the whole idea in one go, I've put together a 10-minute workout built entirely from the easier versions. No equipment, no fitness level needed first.
