How To Train Your Core

This post was done by Troy Grube, a great friend of mine and fellow member of the Salisbury University Laboratory for Human Performance. Troy is also a lifeguard and Personal Trainer whom everyone can gain a great bit of fitnowledge from. Enjoy.

Core training (abs, hips, and lower back) is an important piece to everybody’s fitness goals. Power lifters, field athletes, and even weight loss oriented gym goers should include core work as an important aspect of their workout regiment.

If you’re thinking, “I already do 500 sit-ups a day, this advice isn’t for me.” Stay tuned; there is a lot of room for new improvements. Sit-ups, although valuable as a measure of general fitness, are not the necessarily best way to train your core. Stability training is the best route to take when looking for a strong core.

The best part of stability training is that you can do it while you work out the rest of your body. Through the use of these simple pieces of gym equipment and small weight lifting tricks:

Buso ball:

This is my favorite piece of equipment in the gym. It is a half moon shaped ball, usually blue, and has a flat plastic side. You can stand on either the blue, inflatable side or the black flat plastic side. Standing on either side can be very challenging because it is difficult to balance, use your core muscles to stabilize your body and prevent you from falling. I tell my clients all the time, “do your best L.L. Cool J impression.” Once you are comfortable standing on the ball, incorporate it into your other lifts. Anything that is done standing up can be done on a buso ball. Curls, shoulder press, tricep extensions, even squats and deadlifts can be done while standing on the ball.

Swiss ball:

This full sized inflatable ball is a little bit more difficult to manage but incredibly valuable. Although not impossible standing on this ball is far more challenging; I prefer to use it as a platform. Lying on top of this ball and using it as a bench is a great alternative to conventional bench press. Also, propping your feet up on the ball and doing push-ups is a great way to work both your chest, arms and core.

Unilateral or Suitcase Exercises:

Have you ever carried something very heavy that only fits in one hand? Like a duffle bag or a cooler? If you have, you notice that your body tends to tip to help make it easier to carry. Well using that principle in weight lifting helps us train our core muscles. Curls are always a great example of a suitcase exercise. Grab only one dumbbell to do your curl work with next time. Stand in front of the mirror and get to work. Make sure that your shoulders are level and that you are keeping your core tight (doing your L.L. Cool J impression). This same principle will work for any exercise that you are holding weight below your shoulders. Try it with heavy dumbbell deadlifts or lunges and feel the difference.

These methods of training your core not only works better than sit-ups on the floor or silly As Seen on TV products; but can show great dividends toward whatever your fitness goals may be. Many power lifters would be surprised how much of a limiting factor your core is. Working your core can improve most, if not all of your other lifts such as squats cleans and deadlifts. Field athletes need their core to be among their strongest body parts. Core muscles help speed, power and especially strength out of awkward positions, which is often in any sport. Most importantly though, those of you or are weight loss oriented and are trying to burn as many calories as possible in a short window of time can benefit immensely from stability training. By working on an unstable surface you are forcing your body to contract more muscle, and therefore burning more calories. Stability training is useful for everybody in gym.