7 Tips For Athletes and Serious Trainees to Help Build a Strong, Ripped, Functional Core
7 Tips For Hardcore CORE Training.
I think by now most people have caught on that crunches and endless amounts of situps just don't cut it anymore.
Doing tons of sit ups and crunches will ultimately do more harm than good for you.
If you want to really develop a strong core, follow these 7 tips below! You'll get a ripped set of STRONG and FUNCTIONAL abs! Enjoy! 1)Do CORE training standing up.
Why lay down or sit when you can stand? Too many people are sitting or laying down while training their abs.
If you want to be more powerful, functional, and overall more ripped, do core work standing up.
A few great hardcore CORE movements you can do standing are these: •Overhead Carries w/ Kettlebells, sandbags, or dumbbells •Sledgehammer swings •Med Ball Tosses and throws •Zercher Walks with Kettlebells, Dumbbells, and Sandbags •Band Rotations From now on, try being on your feet when you train your CORE.
2)Isolation is Key Isolation ab exercises are CRUCIAL for your strength and overall core development.
Too many people overlook isolation exercises.
A quick explanation on isolation exercises is when you hold a position with maximum control and activation of the muscle for a certain amount of time.
These exercises help build endurance and overall stability in the core.
Isolation exercises should be some of the first exercises you choose to do in your core programming.
Some great isolation exercises are: •Planks and various progressions •Weight planks •Planks with band resistance •Hanging L-Seat Holds •L-Seat Rope Climbs •Rack walks with Kettlebells Don't skip over using isolation core exercises! 3)Move like an Animal Ah, the beauty of moving like we're supposed to - Like animals! Too many people and athletes are unable to move properly! It amazes me how many people are unable to walk on all fours or even bend over properly.
Doing primal type animal movements forces the body to work as one and the main thing making all this possible is your CORE strength and stability.
Another amazing thing about animal movement is that the moves are very uncommon for people.
This really forces an adaptation to occur over time.
Throw these into your training routines before or after your main lifts to hit your CORE big time! Animal movements include: •Bear crawls and variations •Crab walks and variations •Spider push ups •Spider walks/ crawls •Frog hops •Duck Walks •Duck Hops •Inch Worms 4)Single Arm and Leg Movements Athletes are used to using both arms and legs.
It's the most common and logical thing to do.
Now, let's remove an arm or leg out of the equation and see what happens..
..
Core activation happens! When you take an arm or leg out of the most common lifts such as kettlebells/dumbbell presses, squats, rows, ect, you create an imbalance in the body that forces your CORE to work even harder to maintain.
The result is a stronger, more functional CORE.
Here's some great single arm and leg variations you need to be including in your training program: •KB/DB single arm military press, jerks, and snatches •KB/DB single arm goblet squats •Pistol squats and all variations •Single Arm overhead DB/KB squats •Single Arm KB swings •Single Arm KB Clean and Press •Bulgarian Split Squats w/ or without KB/DB's •Single Arm Bent Rows with KB/DB 5)Roll it out for CORE Strength As I stated in the beginning, CORE training should never be performed on the floor BUT there are a very few exceptions.
Roll out variations are the exception.
To perform these, sometimes at beginning progressions, you'll be on your knees.
There are many different variations of roll outs but all work the body very hard, especially the CORE.
You work your shoulders, back, legs, arms, and CORE all in one movement.
Try some of these variations and make sure to include them in on your training days: •Inch worms •Wheel rollouts and variations •Rope walk outs •Med ball roll outs •Towel slid outs •Scooter roll outs •Furniture Slider roll outs 6)Rotational Exercises for Strength and Power Rotational CORE exercises usually get thrown into the back burner and are rarely ever used.
You should be including these into your program at least 2 times per week.
Think about how much you twist and turn in sports and daily life.
Now think about how much you do twists and turns in your program.
You'll add tons of functionality and strength to your core by including rotational exercises in your routines.
It's crucial! Here's some rotational core exercises to include: •Med Ball Rotational tosses •Battling Rope Side to Side waves •Plank variations with rotations •Standing Band Rotational Presses and Pulls •Band Rotations •Band Toss Simulations (Great for Wrestlers and MMA fighters!) These are for more functionality, NOT strength.
Use these for that purpose.
You don't want to go too heavy on these exercises as you will be loading the spin when it's twisted.
7)Combo Holds for Serious Core Activation Now, this is a very unconventional method of training the core.
For combo holds, what you're overall goal to do is load the body with weight so it's forced to engage the core and abs.
From there, once you have the body loaded, you're ready to perform various movements.
Some movements I like to incorporate weighted combo holds for core strength and activation are: •Weighted KB/DB Band Pulls •Weighted KB/BD battling rope •Weighted KB/DB band punches •Weighted KB/DB Heavy Bag Drills and variations Well, there you have it! There's 7 different unconventional but highly effective CORE strength and conditioning methods to add into your training program to get some serious results! The important thing to keep in mind is to rotate through you different core movements and variations.
Don't just stick to one variation or movement pattern all the time.
For example, in no particular order, do a rotational core variation on Monday, Isolation on Wednesday, and weighted strength holds on Friday's...
By switching it up, you'll miss over training your core.
Lots of athletes and people tend to stick to the same movement patterns and the reverse happens - they get weaker.
Another thing to think about is if you want a RIPPED, SHREDDED core and abs - doing these exercises alone is only a piece of the puzzle.
In order to have your abs show, NUTRITION is the KEY! Nutrition is a whole other article!
I think by now most people have caught on that crunches and endless amounts of situps just don't cut it anymore.
Doing tons of sit ups and crunches will ultimately do more harm than good for you.
If you want to really develop a strong core, follow these 7 tips below! You'll get a ripped set of STRONG and FUNCTIONAL abs! Enjoy! 1)Do CORE training standing up.
Why lay down or sit when you can stand? Too many people are sitting or laying down while training their abs.
If you want to be more powerful, functional, and overall more ripped, do core work standing up.
A few great hardcore CORE movements you can do standing are these: •Overhead Carries w/ Kettlebells, sandbags, or dumbbells •Sledgehammer swings •Med Ball Tosses and throws •Zercher Walks with Kettlebells, Dumbbells, and Sandbags •Band Rotations From now on, try being on your feet when you train your CORE.
2)Isolation is Key Isolation ab exercises are CRUCIAL for your strength and overall core development.
Too many people overlook isolation exercises.
A quick explanation on isolation exercises is when you hold a position with maximum control and activation of the muscle for a certain amount of time.
These exercises help build endurance and overall stability in the core.
Isolation exercises should be some of the first exercises you choose to do in your core programming.
Some great isolation exercises are: •Planks and various progressions •Weight planks •Planks with band resistance •Hanging L-Seat Holds •L-Seat Rope Climbs •Rack walks with Kettlebells Don't skip over using isolation core exercises! 3)Move like an Animal Ah, the beauty of moving like we're supposed to - Like animals! Too many people and athletes are unable to move properly! It amazes me how many people are unable to walk on all fours or even bend over properly.
Doing primal type animal movements forces the body to work as one and the main thing making all this possible is your CORE strength and stability.
Another amazing thing about animal movement is that the moves are very uncommon for people.
This really forces an adaptation to occur over time.
Throw these into your training routines before or after your main lifts to hit your CORE big time! Animal movements include: •Bear crawls and variations •Crab walks and variations •Spider push ups •Spider walks/ crawls •Frog hops •Duck Walks •Duck Hops •Inch Worms 4)Single Arm and Leg Movements Athletes are used to using both arms and legs.
It's the most common and logical thing to do.
Now, let's remove an arm or leg out of the equation and see what happens..
..
Core activation happens! When you take an arm or leg out of the most common lifts such as kettlebells/dumbbell presses, squats, rows, ect, you create an imbalance in the body that forces your CORE to work even harder to maintain.
The result is a stronger, more functional CORE.
Here's some great single arm and leg variations you need to be including in your training program: •KB/DB single arm military press, jerks, and snatches •KB/DB single arm goblet squats •Pistol squats and all variations •Single Arm overhead DB/KB squats •Single Arm KB swings •Single Arm KB Clean and Press •Bulgarian Split Squats w/ or without KB/DB's •Single Arm Bent Rows with KB/DB 5)Roll it out for CORE Strength As I stated in the beginning, CORE training should never be performed on the floor BUT there are a very few exceptions.
Roll out variations are the exception.
To perform these, sometimes at beginning progressions, you'll be on your knees.
There are many different variations of roll outs but all work the body very hard, especially the CORE.
You work your shoulders, back, legs, arms, and CORE all in one movement.
Try some of these variations and make sure to include them in on your training days: •Inch worms •Wheel rollouts and variations •Rope walk outs •Med ball roll outs •Towel slid outs •Scooter roll outs •Furniture Slider roll outs 6)Rotational Exercises for Strength and Power Rotational CORE exercises usually get thrown into the back burner and are rarely ever used.
You should be including these into your program at least 2 times per week.
Think about how much you twist and turn in sports and daily life.
Now think about how much you do twists and turns in your program.
You'll add tons of functionality and strength to your core by including rotational exercises in your routines.
It's crucial! Here's some rotational core exercises to include: •Med Ball Rotational tosses •Battling Rope Side to Side waves •Plank variations with rotations •Standing Band Rotational Presses and Pulls •Band Rotations •Band Toss Simulations (Great for Wrestlers and MMA fighters!) These are for more functionality, NOT strength.
Use these for that purpose.
You don't want to go too heavy on these exercises as you will be loading the spin when it's twisted.
7)Combo Holds for Serious Core Activation Now, this is a very unconventional method of training the core.
For combo holds, what you're overall goal to do is load the body with weight so it's forced to engage the core and abs.
From there, once you have the body loaded, you're ready to perform various movements.
Some movements I like to incorporate weighted combo holds for core strength and activation are: •Weighted KB/DB Band Pulls •Weighted KB/BD battling rope •Weighted KB/DB band punches •Weighted KB/DB Heavy Bag Drills and variations Well, there you have it! There's 7 different unconventional but highly effective CORE strength and conditioning methods to add into your training program to get some serious results! The important thing to keep in mind is to rotate through you different core movements and variations.
Don't just stick to one variation or movement pattern all the time.
For example, in no particular order, do a rotational core variation on Monday, Isolation on Wednesday, and weighted strength holds on Friday's...
By switching it up, you'll miss over training your core.
Lots of athletes and people tend to stick to the same movement patterns and the reverse happens - they get weaker.
Another thing to think about is if you want a RIPPED, SHREDDED core and abs - doing these exercises alone is only a piece of the puzzle.
In order to have your abs show, NUTRITION is the KEY! Nutrition is a whole other article!
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