The Core! Who’s heard of it? You! Who’s tired of the same old boring planks and ab crunches? Me!
All kidding aside, it’s perfectly normal to get tired of the same old exercises, and to get bored. What’s more, our body actually needs diverse stimuli to really train, condition, and prevent injury. That’s why programming is so key, in providing a variety of tools and make sure you’re getting your exercise vitamins.
Now, what’s core stability, and who cares?
Core stability is the ability to control our core (and by extension our limbs) in space under duress from multiple directions. And you care, and I care, because core stability is a huge predicting factor in preventing injury.
We’re 360, which means our core needs to stabilize in all directions, which means we need to train it in all directions. One of my coaches used to say “There’s no such thing as a bad movement, there’s a body unprepared for movement.” And that’s how injury happens, right? You reach for something, you load to heavy, you do something awkward, and wham, you’ve tweaked something, because your body wasn’t prepared.
Training your core in a diverse set of ways is a strategy to make sure your body is prepared for load. And having a strong core will give you the strong foundation you need to move your arms and legs in all kinds of directions. If your core is weak, you’re likely to get back pain, but you’re also going to start driving force out into your larger limbs in an attempt to stabilize, and then suddenly you have back pain and knee pain.
Planks are great. Crunches not so much. But they get boring, and both are more likely to train that sagittal (forward/back) motion rather than the full 360 we need. So, here are some fun exercises to spice up your gym routine, and give you the stability you need.
Dip or Hanging Leg Lifts: While on the dip bars, or from a hanging position, bring your knees and toes up. Make sure your shoulders aren’t hiked up, but engaged, and crunch your lower core. If lifting your legs straight is too difficult, bend your knees, and focus on bringing them as close to your chest as possible.
Single Arm V Ups: Hold a trx or rings with one arm while performing the classic V-Up. You can use the rings to pull yourself up, but it’ll require the opposite side obliques to work even harder. Try 2 sets of 20 and see if your core isn’t burning by the end! As always with V ups, make sure you’re really crunching for your core, not using your quads to lift your leg.
Alternating Slam Balls: I love these for power development, for anyone jumping, swimmers, because we’re working on controlling a lot of force while rotating. With these, you can take them to the next level by jumping as you throw the ball down from up and over one shoulder down and to the opposite hip. Make sure the rotation is coming from your core, not just your shoulders.
Hard Lead Rolls: These are truly my favorite. The purest exercise vegetable there ever was, because they’re hard. Lie on your back, and bring opposite knee and elbow together. Elevate your other arm and leg off the ground. Now roll to one side. And then back over, just using your core. Don’t push off from your other limbs to move from one direction to another.
If elbow to knee is too challenging, you can do hand to knee, still keeping that hollow and that positive pressure between the contact points, but it will make it a bit easier and give you more control. If that’s still a challenge, try just rolling with arms and knees extended straight.
Anti Rotation Jumping Lunges: These are especially relevant for my crossfitters, because you need a lot of core stability for overhead movements. Anchor a band at sternum height, and have it pull away from you at about a 90 degree angle, straight out to the side. Hold your arms in front of you, with good tension in the band. And perform alternating jumping lunges without letting your chest rotate.
With all of these, form is key. If you aren’t feeling it in your core, feel for what is compensating and doing most of the work. Drop down in weight and difficulty until you can find the motion from your center.
