Core Workout for Functional Fitness
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“Core strength” refers to your ab and back muscles and their ability to support your spine and keep your body stable and balanced. These muscles receive a lot of buzz, and rightfully so - they are vital for functional fitness. But guess what - you don’t need pilates classes or a gym membership to develop core strength. There are plenty of exercises you can do at home to develop these muscles.
I recently came up with this workout based on the painproof circuit outlines in Men’s Health and the Total Core Workout described on About.com. The hope is that these exercises improve “the endurance of my core muscles, which removes excess strain from my back and distributes weight more evenly throughout your body.”
How it works:
Perform one exercise after another without rest. Repeat this circuit once or twice in a row, 2-3 days per week.
- Glute Bridge March (6-12 reps)
- Plank with Diagnoal Arm Lift (4-12 reps)
- Horizontal Wood Chops (10-12 reps)
- Side Bridge (14-45 seconds on each side)
Glute-Bridge March
Lie with your knees bent and your arms and heels on the floor. Push down through your heels and squeeze your glutes to raise your body into a straight line from knees to shoulders. Next, bring a knee toward your chest. Reverse the move, then repeat with your other leg. That’s one rep. Don’t allow your hips to sag at any time during the movement.
Plank with Diagonal Arm Lift
Assume a modified pushup position with your feet shoulder-width apart, forearms on the floor. Keeping your torso steady, raise your right arm for-ward and to the right, so that it points to 2 o’clock. Hold for 2 seconds, then lower and repeat with your left arm, raising it to 10 o’clock. That’s one rep. Your elbows should be bent 90 degrees and directly under your shoulders.
Horizontal Wood Chops
Wrap tube or band around a sturdy object and stand to the left, holding handles in both hands. Keeping the arms straight, swing the arms across the body and rotate towards the left, contracting the abs. Return to start and repeat for 10-12 reps before switching sides.
Side Bridge
Lie on your side with your forearm on the floor under your shoulder to prop you up, and your feet stacked. Contract your core and press your forearm against the floor to raise your hips until your body is straight from ankles to shoulders. Hold for 15 to 45 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Contract your abs and butt muscles forcefully to keep your body straight.
More Core
Jen recently posted an impressive list of ab exercises based on “the plank” on Survival of the Fittest.
Elsewhere, Monkeybar Gym has a bunch of videos demonstrating core exercises you can do with or without equipment.
Any Advice?
I’m new to this core training thing so I’d love to hear some advice or ideas from the seasoned pros. I’m sure this routine will get old fast and I’m on the lookout for other exercises I can do to vary things up without throwing my back out. Any ideas?
Related posts:
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
(hope this is not a double post - I think my first attempt got lost in the ether)
The circuit you have put together for yourself is actually quite complete and will form a great base. It’s limitation is in the fact that it does a great job of “activating” and building your core musculature, but doesn’t do much in the way of integrating it with functional or applicable movement. This is often the case with most of the conventional fitness industry.
By taking the base you lay with the type of program you are using now, and then applying ever increasing sophistication to your movement patterns, you can really augment the cross-over from your training to life and sport. And you can have a lot of fun with it too!
A great example of how to add sophistication to your core training is a program that a buddy and colleague of mine, Ryan Murdock, put together. You can see a YouTube trailer for it here. It’s called Beyond Situps and is definitely worth a look if you want to keep your core training applicable and interesting.
Cheers,
Adam
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
That’s a great set of “core” exercises!
However, a beginner/intermediate may be unable to generate the ’super-stiffness’ required through the core to perform these exercises without over-taxing the para-spinals.
Starting with versions of the Dead-Bug exercise allows a beginner to develop that super-stiffness without asking the lower back muscles to take on a load they weren’t designed to handle.
Dr. Stuart McGill gives a verrrryyyyy thorough explanation of super stiffness in his books - This is his site - http://www.backfitpro.com/
Here is an article he wrote on super stiffness - http://www.backfitpro.com/articles/Enhancing%20back%20performance%20with%20super%20stiffness.pdf
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
All I can say is WOW. Both of your comments have given me so much to think about, and just cause to reconsider my whole approach.
DR, I think it’s likely that I’m a beginner/intermediate and that article has me wondering whether I’m diving into too much too soon.
Adam, I watched that video and I LOVE the idea of working in more functional movement into the program. In fact, this seems to be inline with some of the aspects of the article that DR sent…
Ok, so this program is definitely a work in progress. Thank you for passing on the info. This actually has me really excited about training. My goal is to not only do it, but to do it RIGHT. Thanks for helping me along.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I can only work up to that at this stage since I have slipped a disc again…
I love that video Adam Posted. Very fluid movement.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I hate to say it but Core or ab exercises performed in a prone (plank) supine (glut bridge) or the side bridge position are not truly functional exercises. For an exercise to be truly functional it must mimic the position in space that the core has to contend with. This is usually an upright position. The reason for this is that firstly, we train a nervous system. The proprioceptors in the muscles and joints respond to gravity and ground reaction and create strength and stability in the position that that we train them. For us to have a strong core in functional upright position we need to train the core in an upright position. Secondly, when we utilize our core strength the core muscles are never isolated out. They, the core muscles, are always integrated with other muscles and create a chain reaction from the ground up. In function (upright position) it is the foot acting with the ground that turns on the hips which integrate with the core. I could go on but check out my website and read the articles about functional training. The website is still in the developmental stage but has good information on function.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Shawn, thanks for passing on the info. I’m sure my workout leaves PLENTY of room for improvement. I’ll have a look through your site…I have much to learn.
Aside: your site reminds me of one of my favourite movies. Can anyone guess the quote?
“Obviously you’re not a golfer.”