Hello ladies and gents!
I’m here today to share with you a few different and fun exercises for the core. Lovely readers: 1,000,000 million sit ups a day will NOT sculpt for you the sleek physique you strive for. Not only is excessive lumbar flexion not healthy (e.g. promotes kyphosis and/or possible lower back problem when in excess), but is also not very effective of an exercise in that tight abs come from low body fat which is NOT achieved by laying on the ground. Right? The one-arm drop-down superset with the push-away are the BEST exercises for tight and toned and rippled or _____ (insert your preferred descriptor here) abs. How are these performed? Sit in front of your plate, and when you feel satisfied, DROP-DOWN your fork on the table, then PUSH AWAY from the table!!
My point is, crunches and sit ups are not the holy grail. Achieving low body fat is key, through sufficient resistance training, proper nutrition, adequate recovery, hydration, cardio may be implemented, and so forth… all the facets of a well-designed program. Core exercises ARE good to do, though, to keep your body strong and protected from injury, as well as for tone. But how about some exercises that don’t numb you with boredom, or promote hunched posture? I offer to you Exhibit A, B, C, and D.
A) Olympic Bar Rotations. Fun times with the bar! This gets you stronger, more powerful, and toned! I LOVE this exercise- it’s fun and gets your heart rate UP! To perform this, take an Olympic barbell and stick it in the corner of a rack, wall, or wherever is appropriate. You may load some weight at one end. Hold the bar with your arms extended in front of you, feet about shoulder width apart, and rotate it in a semi-circle from side to side. Focus on your torso rotation.
B) Single arm, Single leg plank. This exercise presents a major challenge to your stability and strength! Lie facedown with your forearms on the ground. Raise your knees up so only your forearms and toes touch the ground. Draw your abs in and squeeze your glutes. Keep your hips pointed center to the ground as you lift opposite arm and leg. Make sure your hips do not sag or come up too far off the ground. This is an advanced progression, so if you are starting, work on your basic plank, then progress to single leg/single arm variations. (Note that in the video, he should work on keeping his hips centered toward the ground.)
C) Pallof Press. This is an ANTI-rotation exercise. Relax your neck and traps, stand tall, and keep your stomach and glutes tight. As you hold a cable or band with both arms in front of you, do not allow any rotation as you draw it in toward your chest and press it away. It doesn’t look like much, but you’ll feel it! Also, great training for the core/low back.
D) Shovel Lift. Lightly load one end of an Olympic bar. Put both hands on the bar, as if performing a deadlift or shoveling snow. Maintaining proper posture, lift the bar. This assymetrical load targets your obliques. Awkward and hard. But when should workouts be easy? This is more of a functional, free-form exercise, so you don’t necessarily have to worry about this exercises being performed in a very specific way. As long as you follow proper posture, simply lifting the bar with the assymetrical load will do the job of core engagement. I got this idea from Tony Gentilcore who got it from Steven Morris (who got it from…)
Try these babies out for a change, and notice a difference! They are fun, effective, and work the core in a more dynamic way than crunches. Please be aware that these are higher level exercises and should not be performed without supervision or adequate base muscular conditioning. Any questions, comments, videos, ideas, funny stories, love letters, or blank checks? Please contact me! Until next time…
APR
