Exercise of the Week

CRAZY CORE!

At Fitness Together- Red Bank, the core (no pun intended) of our training philosophy is efficient movement. And with movement must also come stability. To keep it simple, great movement starts with great stability. So to train efficiently, we must learn stabilization before mobilization. And where does most of our stabilization occur? You guessed it, our core. And our core (abdominal muscles and spinal erectors) stabilizes most efficiently when our spine is in its natural position (erect). This means to train our core, we must position ourselves accordingly. When training our clients, the most basic progressions usually start in a static, neutral spine position. Then, with progression, we simply change the center of gravity of the position requiring more stabilization. As compared to "old school" core training, e.g. sit-ups and crunches, you'll find the following simple progressions far more challenging.





This is one of the more basic progressions:

Begin on your hands and knees, back flat-you can ensure this by performing this in front of a mirror.

Then inhale through your nose, then tighten (draw) your core in.


First raise the one leg (you can keep your knee bent to make it easier or fully extend it to make it tougher), then once you have the leg stabilized, raise the opposite arm in-line with your head as shown. Exhale your breath through your mouth as you raise your arm.


The next progression is simply a hold in standard push-up position.

Shoulders should be directly over the hands.


Back should be level with the floor.


You can spread the feet for a more stable base, or you can keep your feet closer together to make it tougher.



As I stated earlier, to progress this, we simply change our COG.


Once in position, inhale through your nose, tighten your core, then raise your foot off the ground. Exhale as you stabilize.

We can also change the degree of difficulty by raising the arm in-line with the head, or moving the arm across the body.

The sequencing is the same as the other progressions.

Enjoy!






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