In the first part of this short summary for training the core, we reviewed the very basics of what makes up your core. Hopefully the difference in function between the inner and outer core (timing mechanisms) was clear. If the inner core muscles aren’t functioning at the right time, other muscles will try to fill in that stabilizing role – pretty cool adaptive capabilities of the body but not a good long term strategy as these compensations will lead to pain or other movement dysfunctions.
The main takeaway is that the core musculature is designed to function as stabilizers of the spine as opposed to prime movers. This distinction is what drives the exercise selection that we’ll go over here.
Before we get into actual exercises it’s a good idea to know what a strong and stable core looks like. To me, a person with a good functioning core is one who is able to hold a relatively neutral spine (from the low back all the way to the neck) while performing other activities. This should happen without thinking about “using your core”. A good inner core will work reflexively.
Here are some cues (other than “turn on your core”) that you can think about:
1. Stay Long through your head/spine
2. Keep your ears in line with your shoulders; Keep a “packed neck”
3. Brace like you’re about to take a punch
4. Breathe deep while staying as still as you possibly can
These apply to most, if not all, core exercises (as well as most strength exercises) that you will (should?) be doing.
When designing programs it’s a good idea to categorize each movement or exercise to help develop a somewhat balanced approach. In other words, we don’t want to have too much of one movement and not enough of another. It’s common to see routines with 10 pushing exercises and only 1 or 2 pulling, for example. If you just pick exercises from a list it’s easy to let this happen…if we pick the movement patterns in a balanced fashion first it then becomes easier to decide the best exercise to use. So for an upper body workout you might decide you are going to do 2 pulling exercises and 2 pushing exercises (we actually like to include more pulling than pushing but for the sake of balancing things out we’re going with 2 and 2). Now we pick 2 different exercises in each category and we’re good to go.
For the core we can break it down into 3 or 4 simple categories. We have 3 planes of motion; Transverse (Rotational - think twisting), Saggital (straight ahead – flexion and extension), or Frontal/Coronal (lateral flexion; think side bends, jumping jacks, etc.).
Since we decided that stabilizing is the best way to train the core though, how do we work these movement patterns without actually moving?
What we need to do is use exercises that create forces that need to be resisted by the same muscles used to create the motions we just identified. We train the core this way by “tricking” the muscles into reflexively stabilizing when they need to.
We have 4 categories of movements that we use for this based on each plane of motion (saggital gets 2):
1. Anti-Rotation (Transverse) – Think obliques
2. Anti-Flexion (Saggital) – Think back/glutes
3. Anti-Extension (Saggital) – think Abs
4. Anti-Lateral Flexion (Frontal) – Think sides
Here’s a couple videos of exercises in each pattern that you can use on your own if you’re new to the game. Refer to the cues above for execution:
Anti-Rotation
1. Tall Kneeling Anti-Rotation Press. The band or cable is producing a rotational force on your back and your job is to resist that rotation. 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps each side OR 3 reps each side with longer holds (10 seconds) are a good start. The narrower your knees, the harder this will be. It won’t take much resistance.
2. Bird-Dogs (Quadruped diagonals). Go slow. The goal is NO movement of the low back. You’ve got a full drink on your back that you can’t spill! 2 sets 6-10 reps each side is plenty in a single workout.
Anti-Extension
1. Front Plank. Hold for 10 second reps and slowly increase the number of reps you do. Keep your nose over your thumbs.
2. Stability Ball Rollout. Slow tempo, 2 sets for 6-10 reps. The further the ball is from you at the start the harder this movement will be.
Anti-Flexion
1. 2 Leg Glute Bridge. 2-3 sets of 10 reps
2. 2 Leg RDL/Hip Hinging Pattern. This is also one of our basic strength moves but the muscles that keep the back extended (actually preventing flexion) are hard at work here.
Anti-Lateral Flexion
1. Side Plank. Similar to the front plank you’ll want to work towards 10 seconds hold if you’re a beginner. Work up to where you can do 4-5 reps of 10 seconds on each side, in each set, before adding time.
2. 1 Arm Farmer’s Walk. Maybe my favorite exercise to program due to its short learning curve, functional carryover to real life, and the challenge it can impose on beginners and advanced lifters alike. Like the others, stay long and focus on keeping the shoulder blades locked down and back. Crush the handle!!!
I got yelled at by the ATC for not having my brace on before filming this
If you hit each movement pattern 2-3 times per week and 2-3 sets of each you’ll be ahead of most gym-goers when it comes to core function. Would love to hear your thoughts, questions, or suggestions on core exercise you like to do at the gym!
Have a great Thursday,
Jon
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