Weight Loss For Women Over 35 Succeed Struggling to Poop? Try These 3 Core Workouts to Get Things Moving When your bowels are backed up, an ab workout might do wonders to get things flowing. Indeed, exercise, in general, increases colonic motility (which accelerates transit through the gut) and stimulates your abdominal muscles to help stool move into the rectum, Nikhil A. Kumta, MD, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tells LIVESTRONG.com. Fast and healthy weight loss But core-based exercises can be especially helpful to combat constipation. Here's why: Since your abs are activated during bowel movements (and when you pass gas), engaging these muscles through core training can assist in stool passage, especially when used in combination with a fiber-rich diet and adequate water intake, Dr. Kumta says. So the next time your bathroom habits are at a halt, try these three ab-focused workouts that'll simultaneously strengt