Sculpt Your Core and Relieve Back Pain With This 5-Minute Daily Circuit
Tom's Guide is running a 5-minute core circuit — 50 seconds work, 10 seconds transition — pitched as a daily fix for tight hips and lower-back pain.
One dumbbell, one round, four to five sessions per week. That's the cost-benefit ratio on paper. Popsugar, meanwhile, dropped a 30-minute no-equipment HIIT built around broad jumps, plank jacks, lateral shuffles, curtsy lunges, squats, side planks, bird dogs, dead bugs, and a burpee finisher. Two pieces, two different time budgets. Here's the read.
The 5-minute protocol
Interval structure: 50 seconds per movement, 10 seconds to switch. A single round takes five minutes. The writer runs it once daily, four to five times weekly, occasionally doubling to two rounds. Equipment: one adjustable or hex dumbbell. Bodyweight scales it down. Reps stay even across sides.
Four movements stack the circuit:
| Move | Primary target | Load |
|---|---|---|
| Kneeling twist + arm raise | Obliques, anterior deltoid | Dumbbell |
| Leg liftover over dumbbell | Hip flexors, glutes, stabilizers | Dumbbell |
| Crunch + toe taps | Lower abs, TVA | Bodyweight |
| Boat pose + optional arm raise | Anterior core (isometric), shoulders | Bodyweight |
The biomechanics check
The pitch: hit the muscles "responsible for protecting" the spine. Two of the four moves keep the lumbar neutral — crunches with toe taps press the lower back into the mat throughout, and the article cues drawing the navel in and breathing into the ribcage to fire the TVA. Legitimate deep-core work.
The other two carry real risk. The kneeling twist loads rotation under load; the source itself tells you to skip it or reduce the weight if your back protests. Leg liftovers need active hip stability — taking the supporting hand off the mat is explicitly flagged as unsuitable for anyone with back concerns. Two of four moves demand caution.
On visible definition: the source concedes diet, sleep, stress, and genetics move the needle more. Five minutes of core work won't override any of those.
Verdict
Do the 5-minute circuit if: you want a low-equipment core primer and your back tolerates rotation under load. Skip the twist and the leg-liftover progression if you have active lower-back issues — the two neutral-spine moves alone are enough.
Pick the Popsugar 30-minute HIIT if: you have the time window and want cardiovascular load plus full-body volume in one block. No equipment. Higher time cost. Higher training effect.
Pass on both if: you need progressive overload — neither protocol provides it.
